This article examines inclusive education in view of the current US policy climate. The "No Child Left Behind Act" provides the opportunity to examine dominant social forces and the underlying theories of mechanism and positivism that run counter to a constructivist approach to inclusive education. The incompatibility of these theories is explored in terms of four factors that influence efforts to implement change: images of teaching and learning, images of organisation, approaches to policy and organisational characteristics. This framework provides a means of clarifying and working to restore the movement towards inclusive education within local schools and communities.