Improving educational outcomes for people with disabilities in low and middle-income countries: why does it matter and what works?

Abstract

There are approximately 150 million children with disabilities globally, and, on average, they are less likely to be enrolled in school or to progress as well as their peers without disabilities. Exclusion from education is a violation of human rights, as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). Furthermore, it is a development issue as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for quality education for all, including children with disabilities. Barriers to the inclusion of children with disabilities operate at the level of the system (e.g. lack of policy), school (e.g. lack of accessible infrastructure or skilled teachers), and the family/child (e.g. poor health). Consequently, effective interventions should be evaluated to determine ‘what works’ to produce educational inclusion and good outcomes for children with disabilities. The aim of this Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) is to provide an overview assessment of the effectiveness of interventions to improve educational outcomes for people with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). There is also a summary report with accompanying ‘easy read’ version. A second REA has been undertaken to assess the effectiveness of interventions to improve social inclusion and empowerment for people with disabilities in LMICs. These 2 REAs were commissioned in advance of the Global Disability Summit in July 2018, co-hosted by the UK Government, the Government of Kenya, and International Disability Alliance, and will be used to inform global action to implement the SDGs and the UNCRPD