Over the years, the term "inclusive" has come to mean "including children with disabilities" in "regular" classrooms for children without disabilities. In this Toolkit, "inclusive" means much more.

"Inclusive" does include children with disabilities such as children who have difficulties in seeing or hearing, who cannot walk, or who are slower to learn. However, "inclusive" also means including ALL children who are left out or excluded from school. These children may not speak the language of the classroom; are at risk of dropping out because they are sick, hungry, or not achieving well; or they belong to a different religion or caste. They also may be girls who are pregnant, children affected by HIV/ AIDS, and all girls and boys who should be in school but are not, especially those who work at home, in the fields, or elsewhere (migrants) and who have paying jobs to help their families survive.

"Inclusive" means that as teachers, we have the responsibility to seek out all available support (from school authorities, the community, families, children, educational institutions, health services, community leaders, and so on) for finding and facilitating ALL children to learn.