Measuring Environmental Factors and School Participation for Children with Disabilities

Cappa, Claudia; Njelesani, Janet; Neil, Nicole; Maladwala, Asma

doi:10.1080/1034912x.2021.1959021

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 35 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In most countries there is considerable variance in the kinds of educational opportunities that are available to disabled as compared to non-disabled children ( 7 ). Not surprisingly children in LMICs have fewer educational opportunities because of significant socio-environmental barriers ( 5 ); and CWD in LMICs s are 90% more likely to lack access to educational opportunities than CWD in developed countries ( 8 ). Further, CWD often live in fragile situations and girls, in particular, are most at risk of losing out on education ( 9 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Barriers to, and facilitators of, education for children with disabilities worldwide: a descriptive review

Bani Odeh,

Lach

2024

Front. Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundInclusionary ideals regarding the education of children with disabilities (CWD) are articulated in various international human rights treaties and instruments such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights (2006), the Salamanca Statement (1994), and the 2030 agenda of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In the latter, the fourth goal explicitly focuses on the removal of barriers to education and supporting access to quality, equity, and inclusion for people with disabilities. Although data regarding access to education among CWD remains scarce, it is well known that rates of their participation in education remain low, particularly among those in LMICs. The research question of this descriptive review is what are the barriers to and facilitators of education for children with disabilities worldwide aged between 6 and 18 years old?MethodsA descriptive review of literature published in English between 2013 and 2021 was conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) guidelines for a scoping review using the following databases: EBSCO, SocINDEX with full text (EBSCO), and ERIC (EBSCO). The search resulted in 7,072 titles and abstracts, which were narrowed down to 1,335 papers for full text review. After data extraction, 54 papers were included in the analysis, with 34 being qualitative, 10 quantitative, and 10 mixed-methods studies. The findings on the facilitators and barriers to education for children with disabilities were analyzed using the International Classification of Function, Disability and Health (ICF) and Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Framework (1979).ResultsOut of the eligible studies included in our research, 40 were conducted in developing countries, while 14 studies conducted on LMICs. Of the five environmental domains in the ICF, the most significant barriers were found to be that of attitudes and services, while technology and effective communication with school staff were found to play a crucial role in facilitating the education process. Applying Bronfenbrenner’s framework, barriers occurred at the micro-system (school level), meso-system (parent and teacher communication), exo-system (services), and macro-system (education policy). Only 3 out of the 54 studies included the voices of CWD.ConclusionDespite documented barriers, facilitators of education for CWD are underexplored, lacking research on their voices. Further investigation is needed.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Barriers to, and facilitators of, education for children with disabilities worldwide: a descriptive review

Bani Odeh,

Lach

2024

Front. Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

School participation of autistic youths: The influence of youth, family and school factors

Li,

Heyne,

Scheeren

et al. 2024

Autism

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Many autistic youths experience restricted school participation. The present study investigated the influences of youth, family and school factors on autistic youths’ school participation. Parents of 200 Dutch autistic youths (age range: 4–16 years, Mage = 12.23 years, SDage = 2.93 years) filled in questionnaires in a national survey for autistic individuals, reporting the school participation, age and autistic traits of their child, parents’ education level and self-efficacy for supporting their child’s schoolwork, and the impact of problems their child experienced with the physical and social environments of the school. Multivariate linear regression analysis using imputed data revealed that among the six predictor variables, only the impact of problems autistic youths experienced with the physical environment of school was negatively associated with their school participation. This study provided support for the essential role of the school environment in predicting autistic youths’ school participation, indicating that problematic aspects in the school environment could have a greater impact on autistic youths’ school participation than youth factors or family factors. This highlights the need to create a more accommodating environment at school, where autistic youths can participate easily and comfortably. Lay abstract School-aged youths have a basic human right to participate in educational and recreational activities at school. Yet, autistic youths are at high risk of being excluded from school and from school-based activities. It is important to understand how this occurs, to ensure that all autistic youths have opportunities to participate in school activities that are equal to the opportunities of their non-autistic peers. The present study investigated multiple influences on the school participation of autistic youths, including youth factors (age and autistic traits), family factors (parent education level and parental self-efficacy for supporting their child’s schoolwork) and school factors (the impact of problems autistic youths experienced with the physical and social environments of school). Using an online survey, we gathered the views and experiences of the parents of 200 autistic youths aged between 4 and 16 years, in the Netherlands. We found that among the factors, only the impact of problems that autistic youths experienced with the physical environment of school was associated with their school participation. In particular, autistic youths who experienced greater difficulties with the physical environment of school had lower levels of school participation. Our findings highlight the pressing need to modify school environments to better accommodate the needs of autistic youths so that they can participate easily and comfortably.

show abstract

Measuring Environmental Factors and School Participation for Children with Disabilities

Cited by 2 publications

References 35 publications

Barriers to, and facilitators of, education for children with disabilities worldwide: a descriptive review

Barriers to, and facilitators of, education for children with disabilities worldwide: a descriptive review

School participation of autistic youths: The influence of youth, family and school factors

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About