A History of International Engagement in the Council for Exceptional Children Since 1980. Part 1: Organizational Components

Is the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), arguably the largest professional organization in exceptional education in the world, international or not? What does it mean to be international? An integrative literature review of primary sources of CEC news articles, reports of initiatives and workgroups, and columns in CEC publications that provided records of the Council’s internationally related thinking and activities involving countries outside the United States and Canada was conducted to reconceptualize CEC’s international nature since 1980. In this article, we report the findings from these sources that provide evidence of international aspirations and activities at times for six organizational components of CEC—mission and vision, policy, units, committees, work groups, and membership. There were instances of international thinking and efforts in these components. Both are necessary for meaningful international engagement, as neither is sufficient on its own. Our results suggest, though, that each may have been wanting. Recommendations are provided on how CEC can increase its global engagement through these elements.