The history of educational services for mentally retarded persons in Denmark is traced, along with the evolution of attitudes toward the population from a protectionist philosophy which promoted segregation to current thinking about normalization. The role of the national parents' association in influencing service review and reform is stressed. The relationship between the objective of normalization and the working methods of integration and segregation is considered. Changes in Danish laws to guarantee equal rights to mentally retarded persons are reviewed, as are conditions surrounding and influencing the changes. The effects of the normalization principle on housing and work of mentally retarded persons, including adults, are discussed. (CL)