Over the last thirty years inclusive education has become a major concern globally. However, there remains considerable confusion in the field as to what is meant by the term. This paper seeks to throw light on what is involved by tracing the history of its evolution. Starting with a brief review of the international milestones that have shaped what is now often referred to as inclusion and equity in education, the paper provides an analysis of the progress that has been made, as well as the factors that have limited developments in the field. This analysis is presented in three sections. The first of these sections maps the development of the concept in a way that explains current disputes as to its purposes and how these might be achieved. The second section explores pathways that have proved to be valuable in bringing about the transformations needed in order to achieve progress in developing more inclusive education settings. The third section provides an analysis of frontiers that are hindering the advancement of knowledge that encourages a transformation of the social imagination about schools and relationships within them. The article concludes with a roadmap for transforming schools into arenas for promoting citizen participation and democracy. It is argued that this requires a paradigm shift in the way that the idea of inclusive education is understood and addressed. This involves a move away from an individual gaze, where educational difficulties are explained in terms of the characteristics of children and their social backgrounds, towards a perspective where difficulties experienced by learners are defined in relation to the ways in which education is provided within particular contexts. In this way, the focus on inclusion provides a pathway for achieving excellence within education systems, promoting the humanization of the processes that occur therein.