The Mirage and Reality of Special Education in Developing Countries

Abstract

The provision of education for all in an inclusive manner is spelt out in several international policies and in the sustainable and millennium development goals. The implementation in practice though remains a challenge in most developing countries where financial and human resource capacity is low. This chapter explores the expected developments in inclusive education defined by various international agreements and policies and compares them to the reality using several named case studies of developing countries. It is evident that many agreements are in place with good intentions to develop the educational sector in the regions. However, infrastructural challenges, limited personnel training, retrogressive cultural beliefs, inaccessibility to schools, and poor-quality education hinder the full realization of inclusive education for individuals with disabilities. In line with these challenges, this chapter proposes several recommendations to alleviate the highlighted challenges.