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Co-Authored with: Maryam Wagner, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario
Since the 1980s, many children with disabilities in Canada have attended their neighbourhood schools with age-appropriate peers. Research exists that reveals parents’ perceptions of their children’s school In particular, Statistics Canada’s 2001 Children’s Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS), a post-censal survey of people with disabilities, has been undertaken. PALS provides a wealth of information about children with disabilities in Canada.
The purpose of the “Inclusive Education Knowledge Exchange Initiative” research project was to assist in creating an effective knowledge exchange process in order to accommodate a scarcity of knowledge surrounding inclusive education. Researchers from across Canada engaged in an analysis of Statistics Canada’s 2001 Participation and Activity Limitation Survey to test the hypothesis that where educational services are organized to ensure inclusion, parents are more likely to report that their children are in good general health and that their children are doing well in school.
Because education is legislated provincially, students with disabilities across Canada are placed in more or less robust inclusive settings. Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick have the highest percentage of their students in the high-inclusive grouping (approximately 50% or half of the students with disabilities). Most of the other provinces, including Ontario, which has the largest student population with disabilities, have only one-third (approximately) of their students in the most robust inclusive settings.
The analysis of data revealed that parents were more likely to report that their children with disabilities are in better general health, progress very well/well at school, interact very well/well with their peers, and more frequently look forward to going to school in higher inclusive educational settings than in mid-range or lower inclusion settings. This positive association was consistent, regardless of severity and type of disability.
Although it cannot be stated definitively that inclusive education has a direct impact on health, this research points to the likelihood that this association does exist. Health is a predominant issue for all children, and this research highlights the association between the health of children with disabilities and inclusive educational practices.
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