One of 16 booklets designed for use in an Open University course on the education of handicapped children in the United Kingdom, this document deals with the evolution of special education in the country. Initial chapters analyze the rationale for studying the history of special education, describe pioneers in the field, and cite the emergence of a special education system with its primary aim to remove the unfit from society. Legislative efforts, based on public and professional opinion in favor of state supported special education and care for persons with deafness, blindness, mental deficiency, and physical defects, are traced. The years between World War I and World War II are seen to be ones in which private agencies and voluntary societies made great strides in improving Great Britain's special educational system. A final chapter asks just how much progress has really been achieved. Suggested readings and exercises are included throughout. (CL)