The development of the concept of inclusive education was based on several sources and surrounded by other notions, such as failure, quality and effectiveness, which influence its interpretation and implementation. This article is a theoretical discussion that seeks to understand, from an educational perspective, how this confluence of ideas was formed. To that end, we establish a historical chronology of international policies, national Chilean policies, and research trends, which are understood as universal concerns, work hypotheses and objects of study, respectively. The discussion reveals the complexity of the concept when we contextualize it and when we clarify its logic in psycho-pedagogical terms and in terms of resource effectiveness, quality and inclusion.