Establishing the foundations for an inclusive education system in Iraq: reflection on findings from a nationwide survey

Abstract

This paper reports a national study on the prevalence of childhood disability designed to inform initiatives promoting improved school attendance by children with disabilities in Iraq. The study was commissioned by UNICEF, coordinated by the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics, and designed by academics in the UK in consultation with Iraqi academics and professionals. The mixed methods study included a major household survey, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups across four of Iraq's 18 governorates (Erbil, Baghdad, Najaf and Basra). An initial scoping study collected background data through interviews, site-visits and document analysis, establishing the context and informing the design of the main study. In this paper, we provide an overview of the educational context in Iraq, data on school attendance and disability among children aged 6–18 years, and the perspectives and vision for education in Iraq verbalised by key stakeholders. This research provides insights into current patterns of school attendance, and considers some of the implications for inclusive education in Iraq. We conclude by discussing the potential for implementation of Iraqi policy initiatives to impact on the rights of disabled people within education and wider social provision.

Keywords:

• disability
• inclusive education
• Iraq
• conflict
• school attendance

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the pivotal role played by the Council for the Assistance of Refugee Academics in co-ordinating the activities of UK academics and Iraqi research group who conducted the study on which this paper is based. We would like to thank the families who participated in the survey and the many stakeholders who gave their views and experiences to this study. We are grateful for the dedication of the Iraqi fieldworkers and their team leaders who conducted household interviews, sometimes in difficult circumstances. Finally, we are grateful to UNICEF and AusAID for the opportunity to conduct this research and contribute to this important redevelopment work.

Notes

Throughout this paper we have used both ‘disabled people’ and ‘people with disabilities/difficulties’ interchangeably. In doing this we acknowledge the People First view that the latter term recognises the primacy of the individual over any kind of difficulty they may have. However, we also wish to recognise that many activist groups adopt the former term as a political statement as a means to highlight society's discrimination towards them.

The sample excludes any young person under the age of 18 who had established their own ‘household’ by virtue of employment, marriage and/or parenthood.