Do inclusive education laws improve primary schooling among children with disabilities?

Bijetri Bose and Jody Heymann

International Journal of Educational Development, 2020, vol. 77, issue C

Abstract: Of the approximately 93 million children with moderate or severe disabilities around the world, large numbers do not have access to quality education. Inclusive education systems have been advocated as a solution to this problem. In this paper, we examine whether legislation to advance inclusive education can increase the likelihood of children with disabilities attending school in a low-income country. Using a difference-in-difference methodology, we find that children with visual, hearing, and physical disabilities, who began school at a time when inclusive education was guaranteed in Uganda, had a significantly higher likelihood of going to school than children with disabilities in comparator countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as children with disabilities in Uganda who became of school age prior to the passage of legislation. However, this was no longer true when considering only the sample of children reported to have no ability to see, hear, or engage in physical activities. While our findings are promising, comparable data on more countries are needed to comprehensively examine the impact of similar legislation across multiple settings.

Keywords: Disability; Inclusive education; Persons with Disabilities Act; Special needs; School participation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:injoed:v:77:y:2020:i:c:s0738059320303679

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2020.102208

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