4 Global Education Review 3(3) From Rights to Realities: Confronting the Challenge of Educating Persons with Disabilities in Developing Countries Paula J. Beckman University of Maryland College Park Nicole Abera University of Maryland College Park Thomas Sabella University of Maryland College Park Kimberly Podzimek University of Maryland College Park Lenisa Joseph Alfred University Abstract The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) has been the catalyst for countless national policies around the world which focus on increased participation of individuals with disabilities in educational and community settings. Despite these national and international policies, most children with disabilities in developing countries are out-of-school. This manuscript examines local factors which make it difficult to address the needs of individuals with disabilities in developing nations. We begin by describing the link between global poverty and disability and a summary of relevant international agreements. We then describe common barriers to the realization of these agreements that have been reported in a number of studies. In addition to relevant literature on this topic, we highlight examples that have emerged from studies conducted in El Salvador, Ethiopia, and Liberia to illustrate salient issues about the topic. The studies revealed some common barriers to educational access that are consistent with the relatively limited literature conducted in local contexts. Recommendations for addressing these challenges include focusing on public acceptance and awareness, seeking community voice, connection, and support, providing training that is practical, functional, and widely available, investing in systems for transportation, and improving the overall quality of programming. Keywords disabilities, developing countries, inclusion, low and middle income countries, local realities Global Education Review is a publication of The School of Education at Mercy College, New York. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License, permitting all non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Citation: Beckman, Paula J., Abera, Nicole, Sabella, Thomas, Podzimek, Kimberly & Joseph, Lenisa (2016). From rights to realities: Confronting the challenge of educating persons with disabilities in developing countries. Global Education Review, 3 (3). 4-27 From rights to realities 5 Introduction often hungry and sorely lacks education, where In an effort to address the needs of individuals there is a large knowledge gap and technological with disabilities around the world, the innovation is scarce” and “where health and Convention on the Rights of Persons with education systems are poor and/or lacking and Disabilities (CRPD) has been ratified by 160 where transportation, potable water, power and countries and has spurred the adoption of communications infrastructure is also scarce…” national policies designed to assure that (World Bank, 2015a, FAQ, “About individuals with disabilities have the ability to Development,” para A). Both low and middle participate in a broad range of educational and income countries are included in this community settings. Despite this commitment, description. there is widespread consensus that progress has The World Bank (2015b) further defines a been too slow. An estimated 90 percent of low-income country as one in which the Gross school-age children with disabilities in National Income (GNI) per capita was $ 1045 or developing countries are excluded from the less in 2014 and a “lower-middle income education system (Filmer, 2008; World Health country” as one in which the GNI was between Organization, 2011; UNESCO, 2015). Disability $1046 - $4,125. remains a better predictor of out-of-school We begin by providing general status than gender, socioeconomic status or information regarding the link between global rurality (UNESCO, 2015; Filmer, 2008). The poverty and disability as well as a brief summary problem is particularly acute in low and middle of relevant international agreements. We then income countries where an estimated 80 percent describe common barriers to the realization of of the one billion individuals with disabilities these agreements that have been reported in a live (Barron, & Ncube, 2010; United Nations number of studies conducted in low and middle Development Programme, 2013). The need is income countries. In addition to relevant critical, the challenges are complex, and, if not literature on this topic, we highlight examples addressed, the goal of universal education that have emerged from studies conducted by cannot be realized. To achieve the aims of CRPD some of the present authors in three countries as well as the newly articulated Sustainable (El Salvador, Ethiopia, and Liberia) to illustrate Development Goals (SDG), it is critical to better salient issues. We end with recommendations understand the complicated and intersecting which could be of use in addressing these array of barriers that prevent children with challenges. disabilities from full educational participation. The purpose of this manuscript is to Poverty and Disability examine local factors in developing countries People with disabilities are among the most that contribute to this challenge. Throughout marginalized people in the world (Baron & Nuebe, this paper, we use the terms “developing 2012). Not only do the vast majority of persons with countries” and “low and lower-middle income disabilities live in developing nations, evidence countries” interchangeably. While there is some suggests they are more likely to live in poverty variation with respect to these definitions in the ______________________________ literature, the World Bank describes a Corresponding Author: developing country as “.. one in which the Paula J. Beckman, PhD, Department of Counseling, Higher Education and Special Education, 3214 Benjamin Building, majority lives on far less money—with far fewer University of Maryland College Park, College Park, basic public services—than the population in Maryland, 20742 highly industrialized countries.” They include as Email: [email protected] examples countries “…where the populace is 6 Global Education Review 3(3) (Braithwaite, Carroll, Mont & Peffley, 2008; many Liberians believed that the only types of Filmer,2008; Mitra, Posarac & Vick, 2013). disabilities that exist are blindness, deafness and Disabilities can be both a consequence of the physical disabilities; anyone with a cognitive “cumulative deprivations of poverty” (Filmer, 2008, disability was simply, ‘crazy’. In a participatory pp 149) and a contributor to poverty since the poor action research study designed to develop an use more of their income to obtain services, and inclusion index, Polat (2011) found that in disability can prevent individuals and their families addition to assessment issues, definitions of from generating income (Mitra, et al., 2013; Mont & disability influenced prevalence rates – such that Viet Cuong, 2011; World Health Organization, 2011). in Tanzania, Albinism is considered a disability As a result, the World Health Organization (2011) whereas one head teacher described attention concluded that, “…disability may increase the risk of deficit disorders, autism and hyperactivity as poverty, and poverty may increase the risk of “western problems” that don’t exist in Africa (p. disability” (p.10). 56). In El Salvador, learning disabilities and In addition, children and youth with speech and language disorders are not disabilities are less likely to attend school (Croft, considered disabilities for purposes of statistical 2013; Filmer, 2008; UNESCO, 2014). The World reporting at the national level (MINED, 2015). Bank has estimated that of 115 million children Moreover, it also appears that the availability of who were out of school, 40 million had programs and services may be associated with disabilities (World Bank, 2003). Anastasiou & higher reporting rates (Filmer, 2008). Thus, an Keller (2014) analyzed data from 143 countries estimated 13 percent of public school students to identify factors that contributed to large are reported to have a disability in the United disparities in access to education using States (National Center for Education Statistics, structural equation modeling. They found that 2015), where there is a broad array of public 77.3 percent of the variance in special education services and a nation-wide child-find system. By coverage was accounted for by gross national comparison, low and middle income countries income per capita, adult literacy rate, often report lower educational participation educational variables, and expected years of rates (Abera, 2014; Podzimek, 2014; Sabella, formal schooling. Moreover, in a study of 2015)1. household surveys from 14 developing countries, Filmer (2008) found that the gap in schooling Historical Context: Establishing between children with and without disabilities the Right to Education starts at grade one and continues to widen – The lack of school participation for children and even for countries that have achieved relatively youth with disabilities is alarming, particularly high overall enrollment rates. since these out-of-school rates persist despite a In considering these conclusions, it is history of international agreements intended to important to note that overall disability establish their right to full school participation.