Including students with disabilities in Education for All: lessons from Ethiopia

ABSTRACT

This article addresses the inclusion of students with disabilities into the Education for All and Sustainable Development Goals agenda through a case study of Ethiopia, a country aiming to promote inclusive education amidst rapidly rising school enrolments. The article begins with a review of debates concerning inclusive education in the Global South and the strategy taken by Ethiopia. It then examines how inclusive education is currently being implemented drawing on recent fieldwork at rural and urban schools in Tigray province. Through interviews, participant observation, and focus groups, we found that teachers and school administrators are generally in favour of mainstreaming children with disabilities into ‘normal’ schools. However, insufficient training of teachers and itinerant teachers along with shortages of teaching materials and resources present major challenges to addressing special education needs.

KEYWORDS:

• Africa
• disabilities
• Education for All
• Ethiopia
• inclusive education
• Special Needs Education
• Sustainable Development Goals
• universal basic education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Brittany Franck is a doctoral student in the School of Anthropology at the University of Arizona. She holds an M.A. degree in international development and a certificate in global health affairs from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver where she was a recipient of a Sié Fellowship from the Sié Chéou-Kang Center for International Security and Diplomacy. Her field research has focused on the delivery of inclusive education and health services in Ethiopia.

Dr Devin K. Joshi is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Sciences at Singapore Management University and at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver where he is currently on leave. Co-author of the book Strengthening Governance Globally (Paradigm/Oxford University Press), his research focuses on international relations, comparative politics, and education policy. His recent journal articles appear in International Journal of Educational Development, Journal of Peace Research, Women’s Studies International Forum, and World Development.