Global progress on Inclusive Education

Reaching the 4th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG4) will require intense and coordinated action on inclusive education for children with disabilities. Household survey data reveal that, in low- and middle-income countries,... [ view full abstract ]

Reaching the 4^th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG4) will require intense and coordinated action on inclusive education for children with disabilities. Household survey data reveal that, in low- and middle-income countries, barely half of children with disabilities currently go to any type of school and, in countries approaching universal enrolment, up to 40 percent of children who are still out of school have a disability.   

UNICEF reports from 140 countries show that, while national governments have made moderate progress on laws and policies on inclusive education, there has been less progress on collecting data, which would enable governments to make evidence-based plans for their education systems, or on popular attitudes towards children with disabilities, which are often the most serious barriers that they face. There are also serious weaknesses in training teachers on inclusive methods, building accessible school infrastructure such as classrooms and toilets, and the provision of accessible materials and assistive devices for learning.  Without these critical front-line resources in place, it will be impossible to enable children with disabilities to go to school. 

This paper will present an overview of recent progress by UNICEF and partners, including:  initial findings from the Module on Child Functioning for the 6^th Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS6) which aims to provide reliable data on children with disabilities; findings from a test of new guidance on Education Sector Analysis that enables Ministries of Education to assess their own approaches to inclusive education; and an initiative with international publishers to produce accessible versions of textbooks (eg in talking book or easy read formats) that has the potential to greatly increase the availability of these materials.