The effect of the Pandemic on the transition to tertiary education in Chile: A focus on

students with disabilities

M. Ignacia Contreras, Suzanne Duryea, Claudia Martinez A.
First Impact, Chile, Inter-American Development Bank, Pontifical Catholic University of
Chile

INTRODUCTION
The transition to adulthood for youth with disabilities presents challenges, including lower wages
and difficulty and decision- making. Promoting post-secondary education can help them acquire
skills and yield economic and social returns. Chile, a country with 80% of students with
disabilities completing secondary school, has made significant progress in mainstreaming them.
However, the pandemic has disrupted the main program promoting inclusive education,
preventing face-to-face interactions and transitions information.
This paper analyzes inclusive education in Latin American and other countries, finding that
access to resource rooms with assistive technology and pedagogical material improves
enrollment and academic performance of students with disabilities. Studies in the US, Norway,
and Chile have found no negative spillovers to learning for students without disabilities if
inclusion is accompanied by resources. This is the first paper to quantitatively identify the effects
of the pandemic on studies with disabilities. The study provides an overview of the Chilean
educational system for students with disabilities.
METHODS
The Chilean educational system comprises preschool, primary, secondary, and tertiary education.
Preschool education includes nursery and two years, while primary and secondary education
consist of eight and four years respectively. Secondary education has a general core of two years
and splits between academic and vocational education. Funding sources and administration are
classified as public school (41.5%), voucher private schools (45.7%), and private schools
(12.8%). Chile has largely closed the gap in school attendance for children with and without
disabilities, with a difference in net secondary attendance by disability status lower than any
other country in the region.
Chile has a high rate of disability inclusion among students with disabilities, with two-thirds
attending mainstream schools. This is a significant increase from the average of half of children
with disabilities in Latin American and the Caribbean attending regular schools. The School
Integration Program (PIE), launched in the 1990s and updated in 2009, support the assessment
processes of disabilities and resources for inclusion in mainstream schools. The PIE program
serves as gateway to tertiary education for students with disabilities, offering financial support to
mainstream schools participating in the voluntary program. In the 2019, monthly vouchers for
students with permanent or transitory needs were US$333 and US$285 respectively, while the
non-differential subsidy per student in primary school was US$113. Over half of public and
voucher schools participated in PIE in 2019.
RESULTS
This study reveals that being a student with a disability decreases the probability of taking the
national general admission test and enrollment in tertiary education by 3.4 and 9.5 percentage
points, respectively. The pandemic significantly affected these outcomes for all students, with a
negative effect on the probability of taking the test and enrollment in tertiary education. The
pandemic also had a negative interaction term, indicating that students with disabilities were
even more affected by the pandemic in terms of taking the admissions test. However, the
pandemic did not significantly affect the probability of enrollment in tertiary education.
The pandemic has significantly impacted the enrollment of students with disabilities in high-
quality and medium-quality institutions, with a 2.16 percentage point decrease in overall
enrollment. The pandemic also impacted the probability of PIE students taking the tertiary
admissions test, with a 3.5 percentage point decrease compared to years before the pandemic.
This likely due to lack of support, accommodations, or other barriers affecting access to the
exam.
DISCUSSIONS
The PIE program in Chile supports students with disabilities in mainstream public schools, but
there is no national program for tertiary education. Students with disabilities are 15.7% less
likely to transition to post-secondary education, a gap that has widened with the pandemic. The
transition to tertiary education is crucial for high returns to education and access to quality jobs.
Policies should support the transition of students with disabilities from basic schooling to next
steps in education, training programs, or internships. Tertiary students with government funding
for assistive technology or accommodation services, but this does not require university
coordination. Addressing the transition for post-secondary education more holistically is
warranted. The study has limitations, including limited data for the years immediately after the
pandemic and changes in teacher reporting in 2020-2021. As student performance returns to
previous standards, it will be possible to assess the heterogeneous on early education levels and
determine remedial ineterventions.

REFERNCES:
 Understanding medical students’ attitudes towards and experience with persons with
disabilities and disability education
Paige C. Chardavoyne M.D., M.Ed., April M. Henry M.D., M.Ed., Karin Sprow Forte
D.Ed.
Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, 700 HMC Cres Rd, Hershey, PA,
17033, USA
Pennsylvania State University Harrisburg Campus, 777 W Harrisburg Pike, Middletown,
PA, 17057, USA

INRODUCTION
The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding about fourth-year medical students’ self-
reported attitudes towards and experience with PWD and disability education. We hypothesized
that medical students would recall having education about disabilities, would be able to identify
a pivotal disability education experience, and would report being less comfortable working with
PWD than persons without disabilities.
METHODS
This mixed methods observational study was conducted via an online survey distributed to
medical students during Winter 2020/20201. It contained an adapted instrument and a few short
answer questions.
This study highlights the need for continued development of disability curricula, which likely
extends beyond the studied institution. Additional educational elements could be added to
humanities sessions, as well as other courses and clerkships.
RESULTS
Our survey had 44 respondents, a 28% response rate. Though 98% of students reported receiving
disability education during one or more courses, 80% felt their disability education during
medical school has been inadequate. Additionally, 64% reported having an influential learning
experience involving PWD. Despite their attitudes, education, and experiences, respondents
reported feeling less comfortable obtaining a history, performing a physical exam, and
establishing a differential diagnosis when working with PWD.
DISCUSSION
A lack of comfort and confidence working with PWD can make providers feel overwhelmed
and, thus, less likely to provide effective, high-quality care. Fortunately, educational
interventions to increase provider knowledge, comfort, confidence, and skills when working with
this population have been shown to improve the care offered to PWD in short and long term.
Overall, although 98% of surveyed fourth-year medical students acknowledge receiving
education about disabilities during medical school, 80% of respondents felt it has been
inadequate. Many expressed that most of this education was incidental on clerkships and that
disability education could be better incorporated throughout the curriculum.

REFERENCES:
 Perceptions of Saudi Arabian school teachers in private general education schools
towards the inclusion of students with disabilities
Mubarak S. Aldosari
Department of Specia Education, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Alkharj,
Saudi Arabia

INRODUCTION
Since early 2000s, special education (SE) services in Saudi Arabia have significantly
improved, with students with disabilities incorporated into local schools and enrolled in specific
programs. Severe disabilities attend separate institutions, while mild/moderate disabilities are
integrated into general education (GE) schools. Students with less severe challenges may be
instructed in self-contained classroom or spend most of their time in the GE classroom with their
peers. Depending on the type of disability, additional services may be provided in a resource
room. Inclusive education has several advantages, including increased sensitivity and social
development, reduce segregation, and a positive relationship between inclusion and academic
achievement.
METHODS
The study sample comprised 213 teachers working in private elementary schools in
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia that offer inclusive special education programming alongside a general
education curriculum. The Opinions Relative to the Integration of Students with Disabilities
(ORI) survey, was utilized to adapt the survey instrument for this study.
This research consisted of a survey conducted with teachers at private elementary schools
in Saudi Arabia. The survey employed is an established on that was designed to quantify
attitudes towards students with disabilities.
RESULTS
We concluded that private school teachers have a slightly negative attitudes toward the
inclusion of students with disabilities. Although the results did not reveal a relationship between
teachers’ attitudes and their age or education level, a relationship was found between their
perceptions toward inclusion of students with disabilities and the type of disabilities and the type
of disability, the individual teachers’ gender, the role of the teacher (general vs. special
education), and the individual’s training in inclusive education.
DISCUSSION
This study analyzed teachers’ perspective on including students with disabilities in private
elementary schools in Riyadh and whether their attitudes and perceptions were related to certain
other identified factors. Overall, according to the findings, private elementary schools’ teachers
had slightly unfavorable perceptions about including students with disabilities in GE schools.
 The implications of the results to Saudi and beyond and suggestion for further research
including outside of the urban context are discussed.

REFRENCES:
 Students experiences of inclusive education in Secondary schools: A systematic review of
the literature
Pearl Subban, Stuart Woodcock, Umesh Sharma, Fiona May
Monash University, Australia, Griffith University, Australia

INTRODUCTION
De Vroey and colleagues’ (2016) review identified the focus on the voice of students as a
strength of the literature on inclusive education in secondary schools. These findings are
encouraging, given the growing body of literature which emphasizes the importance of the
learning directly from students about their experiences and perceptions of school, with some
research identifying positive impacts on academic achievement and behavior associated with
eliciting students’ views and experiences.
Electronic databases searched included SCOPUS, PsycINFO, ERIC, ProQuest Education
Research, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. In addition, the citations and
references from the eligible studies as well as references from previous reviews were manually
searched. The main search terms were based on a combination of key words such as inclusion,
inclusive education, student voice, secondary school, and high school.
METHODS
The protocol for this review followed the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for
Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis) guidelines (Moher et al., 2015).
Database search results were exported before removing duplicates and downloading the
articles for screening. The titles and abstracts of articles were screened according to the
eligibility criteria and were then rated from 0-5 according to their alignment with the inclusion
criteria by at least two members of the research team. To measure the reliability of ratings
according to the eligibility criteria across different members of the research team, a Cohen’s
Kappa calculation.
RESULTS
After the removal of duplicates, a total of 903 articles were curated according to inclusion
criteria, yielding 159 articles shortlisted for eligibility screening. Of these, 132 articles were
excluded for one or more of the following reasons: they did not include empirical data, they were
not published in a peer reviewed source, they did not include a focus on secondary schools,
and/or they did not include students’ perspective on school inclusion.
Some limitations of the current review must be acknowledged. Firstly, there was substantial
heterogeneity of the studies included in this review. Although many studies used a qualitative
methodology, some involved mixed methods, and other used a convenience sampling survey
design.
 DISCUSSION
This study aimed to provide a systematic review of the literature investigating the factors that
support or are barriers to inclusive education in secondary schools according to the experiences
of the students with diverse learning needs. The study addressed a gap in the literature by
synthesizing the findings from scholarly articles published over the past 10 years and through
focusing on students’ voice in relation to inclusive education in secondary school settings.

REFERENCES:
 “Already too late”: A qualitative study of respite care among mothers of children with
special needs healthcare needs and disabilities
Anne-Catherine Dubois, Noor Seghers, Isa Van Dorsselaer, Yves Dario, Isabelle Swolfs,
Pierre Gerain
Instityte of Health and Society, UCLouvain, 30 Chapelle-aux-Champs, 1200 Brussels,
Belgium
Family and Orthopedagogy Research Unit, KULeuven, Belgium
Freelance, Belgium
King Baudouin Foundation, Brussels, Belgium
Psychological and Educational Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium

INTRODUCTION
The present study aims to understand the reasons why PCHNs, mother in particular, (do not) use
these services, with the underlying goal of understanding what parents’ needs and expectations
are regarding these services.
Parents of children and youth with special healthcare needs (PCHN) are under particular pressure
that can lead to physical, emotional, and social difficulties. Respite care services provide
temporary relief for PCHNs from their caregiving responsibilities. Several studies have
examined why PCHNs do not make greater use of these potentially supportive services, but
existing studies do not focus on the psychological or subjective aspects of this process.
METHODS
The present study is based on a qualitative thematic analysis of the experience of respite services
of 14 Belgian mothers PCHN.
To answer this question’s, the present study is based on a qualitative thematic investigation of
the experience of respite care of mothers PCHN in Belgium. This study uses the Journal Article
Reporting Standards for Qualitative Research (JARS-Qual, Levitt et al., 2018)
RESULTS
This study showed that PCHNs regularly exceed their limits and are often n the verge of physical
and emotional exhaustion and that respite services could be a way to meet their needs. However,
issues of availability and accessibility impede equal access to these services.
The results of our study are organized around several key themes that elucidate the complexities
of the respite care experience for parents of children with healthcare needs (PCHN). First, “An
important, urgent, constant need” delves into the physical and psychological difficulties PCHN
face, often silently, until their distress reaches an acute level. Respite care isn’t seen as a regular
support system but as an extreme solution to avoid total burnout.
DISCUSSION
These findings highlight the need for a comprehensive approach to respite care, by including
PCHNs in the process as early as possible, not normalizing exhaustion as the trigger, and not
focusing solely on the needs of children when the need arises.

RERENCES: