When analyzing the educational and welfare systems in a given society, it is dangerous to focus on present institutions and compare them to others without careful study of related areas such as social and historical aspects. The purpose of writing this paper is, by grasping the supporting systems for the handicapped in OU as a cultural phenomenon, to describe how this phenomenon has been created and established in the British social context. A social anthropological approach is appropriate to study this both synchronically and chronologically. Results of the study are presented in the following manner: 1) The supporting systems for the handicapped in OU 1-Accepting the handicapped learner in OU 2-The statistical figure relating to handicapped students 3-The organization and function of OU\u27s supporting systems 2) The development of welfare and educational systems for the handicapped in the U K in the 20th century 1-"handicapped": its definition and problems of categorization 2-Emergence of the concept of "handicap" 3-The actual condition of the handicapped in UK 4-The social trends and policy towards the handicapped in the 20th century 5-The structure of the British welfare systems 6-Education for handicapped children 7-Education for handicapped after the secondary school level 3) The social history of the handicapped in UK 1-Society and the handicapped 2-"Mentalite" towards the handicapped in the Judeo-christian society 3-"The handicapped" in the Bible 4-Charity and Almsgiving-""-the approach from the concept of reciprocity 5-The history of welfare for the handicapped in UK 6-The development of public educational system
