School autonomy and discrimination against students with disability in Australian primary and secondary education settings: a scoping review

Abstract

It is unlawful under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) for Australian schools to discriminate against students based on disability. Yet discrimination against students with disability is on the increase in Australian schools, and so is the decentralisation and autonomy of schools. This scoping review set out to determine what evidence exists of an association between school autonomy and discrimination against students with disability, primarily in Australia but with an additional examination of studies conducted in England. It further examined the type of research methods that have been used to investigate this topic. Included studies did not provide direct evidence of a causal association between school autonomy and discrimination against students with disability; however, the findings uncovered worrisome trends suggesting that an association may exist. Examination of the included studies’ research methods suggests that a more fit-for-purpose methodology is required to determine the association between school autonomy and discrimination against students with disability in primary and secondary education settings.