Investigating the educational experiences of students with disabilities during the COVID-19 school disruption: an international perspective

Abstract

Students with disabilities generally experience educational inequities around the world. The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic likely exacerbated these inequities in access, resources, and support as schools shut down to mitigate the spread of the disease. Although some research has explored disparities between students with and without disabilities during the pandemic, limited research has explored this issue from the perspective of students across multiple countries. Therefore, we conducted a secondary analysis of the UNESCO Responses to Educational Disruption Survey student questionnaire administered to eighth graders in five countries to investigate changes in the educational experiences of students with disabilities during COVID-19 school disruptions and differences between these experiences and the experiences of students without disabilities during these disruptions. Specifically, we aimed to understand how students with disabilities’ perceptions of their educational experiences changed during disruptions and varied from those of students without disabilities. Contrary to previous research, our findings revealed that students with disabilities generally reported positive experiences to a greater extent than students without disabilities. We discuss the implications of these findings and areas for future research beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.