As an educational trend of thought, inclusive education rose in the 1990s. Inclusive education rose and developed in the wave of international education democratization, especially under the vigorous promotion of international organizations, among which three international education conferences played a direct role.

UNESCO defines inclusive education as a process of reducing exclusion inside and outside the education system by increasing the participation of learning, culture and community, and paying attention to and meeting the diverse needs of all learners. Inclusive education is based on the consensus that all school-age children are covered and the belief that the formal system has the responsibility to educate all children. It involves the reform and adjustment of educational content, educational methods, educational structure and educational strategies. Inclusiveness includes properly coping with different learning needs in formal and informal education environments. Inclusive education is not a small problem of how to integrate some students into the mainstream, but a way to examine how to reform the education system and other learning environments to adapt to the diversity of learners. Its purpose is to make both teachers and students accept diversity as an opportunity and treat it as a rich learning environment rather than a problem.