Special Education in Syria: Challenges and Recommendations, a Descriptive Study

ABSTRACT

Over the past three decades, various efforts have been made to develop special education policies and services in Syria. However, to guarantee the improvement of special education services and to develop sustainable national enhancements during both the emergency and reconstruction phases of the Syrian Civil War, it is necessary to continue to address the intersectional ways by which people with disabilities have been disproportionately impacted. This paper provides an update on disability and special education in Syria, including a brief account of the historical development of, impact of the civil war on, and major current challenges for the field of special education. These challenges include, but are not limited to, inadequate financial resources, a scarcity of integration programs, negative social attitudes because of a lack of knowledge, limited accessibility to services, and barriers to appropriate disability programmes. Recommendations for action are also offered. Further, we provide suggestions to improve special-education services for people with disabilities in Syria, as well as to develop sustainable national improvements for them.

KEYWORDS:

• Syria
• people with disabilities
• Syrian Civil War
• special education
• Arab countries
• Middle East

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability

No restrictions are imposed on free access to, or publication of, the research data.

Additional information

Funding

No research funding was received for this study.