The impact of inclusive education on students with disabilities: a qualitative study in Takhar province of Afghanistan

Inclusive education (IE) is a process which guarantees the right to education for all. The present study aimed at investigating the impact of inclusive education on Afghan students with disabilities. It also attempted to determine the effects of IE on employment condition of students with disability. Furthermore, the study aimed to find out whether IE has a positive effect on community participation people with disability in an Afghan context. To collect the data, the study employed a semi-structured interview. After the data was transcribed and coded, four major themes were extracted: (1) the impact of IE on students with disabilities, (2) the attitudes of students with disabilities towards IE, (3) the challenges and obstacles students with disabilities face while studying in mainstream schools, and (4) the effects of IE on community participation and involvement of students with disabilities and their employment condition. The findings yielded that IE has positive effects on children with disabilities. The study also showed that children with disability made more positive changes not only in their ordinary lives, but they could also find an opportunity to study and work in the community. However, all the participants faced a number of challenges when they joined inclusive classrooms.