Reconfiguration of educational practices by Japanese special school teachers from the 1960s to the 1980s: history of special education for children with severe disabilities

Purpose This study examines how teachers at a Japanese special school collectively reconfigured their educational practices from the 1960s to the early 1980s as student populations changed. The findings contribute to the history of education by foregrounding teachers' collective practices within a segregated schooling context, rather than examining special education primarily via policy frameworks or ideological debates. Design/methodology/approach The study analyses historical school research bulletins produced by teachers at a metropolitan special school in Tokyo. These sources trace changes in professional discussions, instructional arrangements, and organisational practices over time. Rix's distinction between “certainty” and “uncertainty” serves as an analytical lens. Findings The analysis identifies two phases in teaching practices. During the 1960s, teachers focused on stabilising their work by organising students into special classes and ability-based groups, thereby establishing forms of certainty that enabled schooling for students with disabilities. Around 1970, teachers initiated questions on the adequacy of existing approaches and engaged in sustained collective discussions aimed at reorganising teaching, curriculum and school structures in more flexible and exploratory ways. Originality/value By focusing on everyday teaching practices and internal deliberations, the findings challenge static representations of segregated schooling and demonstrate the operation of special schools as dynamic sites of pedagogical negotiation and change. This study offers a perspective that contributes to international discussions concerning teachers' work and the relationship between special and inclusive education.