Among the range of topics addressed in the World Report on Disability is a chapter on the education of children and adults with disabilities. The report notes that education is a key contributor to human capital formations, and a determinant of personal wellbeing and welfare. Thus, the exclusion of children with disabilities from educational systems can potentially lead to fewer employment opportunities and increased susceptibility to poverty in adulthood. It is imperative that children with disabilities be allowed equal access to quality education to enable them to reach their full potential.

As noted in Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, chapter 7 of the World Report on Disability stresses the rights of individuals with disabilities to education and documents the barriers these individuals often face – both at the policy and practical level. At the policy level, barriers include: education falling under different government responsibilities; lack of legislation, policy, target, and plans; and inadequate resources. At a practical level, children with disabilities can experience difficulty at schools where there is inflexible curriculum or inadequate support for training and support for teachers; physical or attitudinal barriers; or there may be issues related to bullying and abuse.

Children with disabilities may experience difficulty gaining access to education, as noted in the World Health Survey. Out of the 51 countries in the analysis, a reported 50.6 percent of males with disability have completed primary school, compared with 61.3 percent of males without disability. Additionally, reports indicate that females with disability report 41.7 percent primary school completion compared with 52.9 percent of females without disability. The Survey also found that enrollment rates differ according to disability type, and that children with physical disabilities generally fare better than those with intellectual or sensory disabilities. For example, in Burkina Faso in 2006 only 10 percent of 7- to 12-year olds with low-hearing or deafness were in school, whereas 40 percent of children with physical disabilities attended – only slightly lower than the attendance rate of children without disabilities.

The report also acknowledges the different approaches taken to provide education to individuals with disabilities. These include: the inclusion of special schools and institutions, integrated schools, and inclusive schools. The difference between inclusion in the broad and narrower sense is explored within the report, with broad inclusion meaning education of all children including those with disabilities, with common rules and procedures as dictated by the education ministry or equivalent. The narrower sense of inclusion is described as a system in which children with disabilities are educated in traditional classrooms with age-appropriate peers. The difference between these approaches can be seen in the variance that exists between countries. Across European nations, 2.3 percent of pupils within compulsory schooling are educated in a segregated setting – either a special school or a separate class within a mainstream school. Belgium and Germany in particular rely heavily on special schools in which children with disabilities are separated from their peers while Cyprus, Lithuania, Malta, Norway, and Portugal include the majority of students with disabilities in regular classes with their same-age peers.

According to the report, children with disabilities should have equal access to quality education and there is a need for a systemic and school-level change to remove physical and attitudinal barriers and provide reasonable accommodation and support services to ensure that children with disabilities have equal access to education. The Report provides a number of recommendations for the creation of inclusive education for children and adults with disabilities. These include:

  • Formulate clear policies and improve data and information
  • Develop a clear national policy on the inclusion of children with disabilities in education supported by the necessary legal framework
  • Identify, through surveys, the level and nature of need to ensure that the correct support and accommodations can be introduced
  • Establish monitoring and evaluation systems
  • Share knowledge about how to achieve educational inclusion among policy- makers, educators, and families
  • Adopt strategies to promote inclusion
  • Focus on educating children in a fashion as close to the mainstream as possible. Do not build new special schools if no special schools exist
  • Ensure an inclusive educational infrastructure
  • Make teachers aware of their responsibilities towards all children and work to improve their skills for teaching children with disabilities
  • Provide specialist services where necessary
  • Increase investment in school infrastructure and personnel so that children with disabilities that are identified as having special educational needs obtain the required support during their education
  • Make speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy available to students with moderate or significant disabilities
  • Support the participation and involvement of parents and family members
  • Consider the introduction of teaching assistants to provide special support to children with disabilities

 

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