{"title":"Enhancing quality of life for individuals with disabilities in Saudi Arabia: Teachers’ perspectives on the role of leadership in inclusive education","authors":"Abdulmalik Alkhunini , Ibraheem M. Alsawalem","doi":"10.1016/j.ridd.2025.105114","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Inclusive education is pivotal to enhancing the quality of life of individuals with disabilities by ensuring equal access to educational opportunities, fostering social inclusion, and providing necessary support and resources. Successful implementation depends on a range of systemic factors, such as policy, resources, teacher training, and leadership.</div></div><div><h3>Aims</h3><div>The goals of the study were to obtain insights from elementary school teachers on the role of school leaders in implementing IE and to identify the challenges these teachers identify to successful IE implementation.</div></div><div><h3>Methods and procedure</h3><div>Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with teachers recruited from three public primary schools. These data were supplemented by field notes and document analysis.</div></div><div><h3>Results and outcomes</h3><div>Analysis of the data identified several themes: school leaders have limited knowledge and understanding of those with disabilities, administrators lack adequate professional development and training on IE, lack of emphasis on collaboration between special and general education teachers, lack of transparency regarding how teachers are chosen for assignment to inclusive classrooms, and limited or no use of the official materials developed and provided by the Ministry of Education to implement inclusion.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions and implications</h3><div>Certain steps should be taken to improve the implementation of IE in Saudi Arabia, including professional development on IE for administrators, greater collaboration on IE across school staff, and greater emphasis on the official IE manuals to ensure consistent and effective implementation of inclusion throughout the Saudi educational system.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51351,"journal":{"name":"Research in Developmental Disabilities","volume":"166 ","pages":"Article 105114"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Research in Developmental Disabilities","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891422225001982","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"EDUCATION, SPECIAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background
Inclusive education is pivotal to enhancing the quality of life of individuals with disabilities by ensuring equal access to educational opportunities, fostering social inclusion, and providing necessary support and resources. Successful implementation depends on a range of systemic factors, such as policy, resources, teacher training, and leadership.
Aims
The goals of the study were to obtain insights from elementary school teachers on the role of school leaders in implementing IE and to identify the challenges these teachers identify to successful IE implementation.
Methods and procedure
Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with teachers recruited from three public primary schools. These data were supplemented by field notes and document analysis.
Results and outcomes
Analysis of the data identified several themes: school leaders have limited knowledge and understanding of those with disabilities, administrators lack adequate professional development and training on IE, lack of emphasis on collaboration between special and general education teachers, lack of transparency regarding how teachers are chosen for assignment to inclusive classrooms, and limited or no use of the official materials developed and provided by the Ministry of Education to implement inclusion.
Conclusions and implications
Certain steps should be taken to improve the implementation of IE in Saudi Arabia, including professional development on IE for administrators, greater collaboration on IE across school staff, and greater emphasis on the official IE manuals to ensure consistent and effective implementation of inclusion throughout the Saudi educational system.
期刊介绍:
Research In Developmental Disabilities is aimed at publishing original research of an interdisciplinary nature that has a direct bearing on the remediation of problems associated with developmental disabilities. Manuscripts will be solicited throughout the world. Articles will be primarily empirical studies, although an occasional position paper or review will be accepted. The aim of the journal will be to publish articles on all aspects of research with the developmentally disabled, with any methodologically sound approach being acceptable.