Excluded in Inclusive Schools: Experiences of Children with Disabilities, their Families and Teachers in Sri Lanka
Purpose: This study examined the experiences of children with disabilities, their parents and teachers at the special education units in 3 public schools, located in the Kandy district of Sri Lanka.
Method: The participants were 20 children with disabilities, 18 parents and 8 teachers. In order to examine the influence of physical, social and psychological environments on children’s participation in learning, this qualitative study employed participatory tools, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and non-participatory observations. The data were manually coded using thematic analysis.
Results: Five themes emerged: attitudes, values and beliefs; support and relationships; devices and technology; natural and built environment; and services systems and policies. Factors facilitating or hindering learning were identified within each theme. Parents and teachers tend to focus on the children’s impairments and academic achievements. However, extracurricular activities and supportive relationships were found to promote student participation.
Conclusions: Overall, the current practices in Sri Lankan education for children with disabilities did not meet the global recommendations. There is a need to design culturally compatible inclusive education models and to achieve a paradigm shift within all communities towards inclusion.
Keywords
Authors
How to Cite
Download Citation
License
Copyright © 2013 The Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License By-NC-ND 4.0 that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access ).
Similar Articles
- Nimisha Muttiah, Ground Realities of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Sri Lanka , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 32 No. 1 (2021): Spring
- Shyamani Hettiarachchi, Gopi Kitnasamy, Raj Mahendran, Fathima Shamra Nizar, Chamara Bandara, Paramaguru Gowritharan, Efficacy of a Low-cost Multidisciplinary Team-led Experiential Workshop for Public Health Midwives on Dysphagia Management for Children with Cerebral Palsy , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 29 No. 3 (2018): Autumn 2018
- Shyamani Hettiarachchi, Mahishi Ranaweera, R.M.W. Rajapaksha, /t/ before /ʈ/ or /ʈ/ before /t/: Emerging Trends from a Preliminary Study of Consonant Acquisition in Typically developing Sinhala-speaking Children aged 3 to 6 years , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 32 No. 3 (2021): Autumn 2021
- Masateru Higashida, M R Shantha Kumara, Yuko Nakashima, Educational Opportunity, Post-School Life and CBR: A Multisectoral Approach in Rural Sri Lanka , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 27 No. 1 (2016): Spring 2016
- Shyamani Hettiarachchi, Gopi Kitnasamy, Effect of an Experiential Dysphagia Workshop on Caregivers’ Knowledge, Confidence, Anxiety and Behaviour During Mealtimes , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 24 No. 3 (2013): Autumn
- Shalini Felicity Wickremesooriya, Teaching Children with Learning Difficulties via Community-Based Rehabilitation Projects in rural Sri Lanka , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 26 No. 4 (2015): Winter 2015
- Masateru Higashida, Developmental Social Work for Promoting the Socioeconomic Participation of Persons with Disabilities: An Application of the Capability Approach , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 29 No. 2 (2018): Summer 2018
- Dilani Logan, Vijitha De Silva, Shayna M. Clancy, Rae-Jean Proeschold-Bell, Champa Wijesinghe, Lauren J. Hart, Truls Ostbye, School-aged Children with Down Syndrome in Galle, Sri Lanka: Relationship between Level of Disability, Resource Use and Caregiver Burden , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 34 No. 3 (2023): Autumn Issue 2023
- Anju George, Jeena Mary Joy, Sita Sreekumar, Academic Outcomes and Coping Mechanisms of Children using Cochlear Implants in Mainstream Schools in Kerala, India , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 31 No. 4 (2020): Winter
- Khaled Nasser, Malcolm MacLachlan, Joanne McVeigh, Social Inclusion and Mental Health of Children with Physical Disabilities in Gaza, Palestine , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 27 No. 4 (2016): Winter 2016
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.