Gary Thomas: Professor in Education at the University of Leeds, UK. His books include The Making of the Inclusive School (1998), Deconstructing Special Education and Constructing Inclusion (Open University Press, 2001) and Evidence-based Practice in Education (Open University Press, 2004).

Mark Vaughan is Founder and Co-Director of Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education (CSIE), a national independent centre supporting inclusion and challenging exclusion. Set up CSIE in 1982, following over four years at the Advisory Centre for Education. Prior to this he followed a career in journalism and was Deputy News Editor for the Times Educational Supplement.