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Education and disability: Analysis of data from 49 countries

UNESCO
March 2018

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Persons with a disability are among the population groups most likely to suffer from exclusion from education but data that permit an analysis of the links between disability and education remain scarce. This paper examines educational disparities linked to disability based on data from 49 countries and territories for five education indicators:

● Proportion of 15- to 29-year-olds who ever attended school

● Out-of-school rate (primary school age, lower secondary school age)

● Completion rate (primary education, lower secondary education)

● Mean years of schooling of the population 25 years and older

● Adult literacy rate (population 15 years and older)

 

The education indicators were calculated with data from three sources, collected between 2005 and 2015: Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) sponsored by USAID, School-to-Work Transition Surveys (SWTS) by ILO, and population census data compiled by IPUMS-International. Comparability of the data across countries is limited because only some of the surveys and censuses used questions developed by the Washington Group on Disability Statistics to identify persons with a disability. The accuracy of the indicator estimates is also affected by sampling and non-sampling errors in the data, the small sample size of many of the surveys that were analysed, and the relatively small proportion of persons with disabilities in each country’s population. Moreover, because of the scarcity of national data, it is currently not possible to generate statistics on the status of persons with disabilities with regard to education that are regionally or globally representative.

Information Paper No.49

 

Education and disability - UIS fact sheet no.40

UNESCO INSTITUTE FOR STATISTICS
February 2017

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"The Washington Group on Disability Statistics has developed questions for household surveys that allow the collection and analysis of internationally comparable data on persons with disabilities. This fact sheet presents attendance rates and completion rates disaggregated by disability status based on data from Demographic and Health Surveys that applied the questions recommended by the Washington Group. The findings of the analysis by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) confirm that persons with disabilities are more likely to be out of school or to leave school before completing primary or secondary education. The fact sheet also summarises plans by the UIS for future data analysis and activities in standard setting to strengthen the evidence base for monitoring of SDG 4 and the design of education policy"

Global Out-of-School Children initiative operational manual

UNICEF
UNESCO INSTITUE FOR STATISTICS
May 2015

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The Out-of-School Children Initiative (OOSCI) aims to support countries in their study and analysis of out-of-school children and children who are at risk of dropping out by using innovative statistical methods to develop comprehensive profiles of excluded children, linking these profiles to the barriers that lead to exclusion, and identifying, promoting and implementing sound policies that address exclusion often from a multi-sectoral perspective. The manual aims to provide concise and powerful tools for achieving this goal. 

OOSCI studies are intended to stimulate policy changes and enable governments to target their strategies for reaching out-of-school children. By using a systematic approach to identifying out-of-school children and analysing the associated issues, the studies can guide education sector reforms that will help bring all children into school.

 

 

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