Abstract
This study examines the academic status, challenges, and prospects of students with disabilities in integrated school settings in karat town of Konso Zone. The study utilized a convergent mixed research design. The findings revealed low academic statusamong students with disabilities in integrated school setting. Key challenges include a rigid curriculum, shortage of special needs education teachers, inaccessible physical environments, negative attitudes, communication barriers, lack of assistive learning materials, parental overload and limited participation in extracurricular activities. Academic prospects of students with disabilities have when schools provide accessible environments and sufficient assistive learning materials, students with disabilities are able to meet academic standards and pursue their education successfully. Moreover, the result of multiple regression (p=.00) proved that the predictor and residence variable had strong relationship and there is no multi-collinearity problem and they are auto-correlated. The result of two-way ANOVA indicated that the variables are statistically significant (P<0.05), we will reject the null hypothesis. Finally, the recommendations emphasize the school should make accessible and become active inclusion of students with disabilities.
References
Awetash, H. (2015). Psychosocial and educational challenges and opportunities of students with visual impairment: The case of Adimahleka Primary School in Adwa Town (Master’s thesis).
Bender, W. N., Leone, P. E., &Blacher, J. (2012). Predictors of self-esteem among students with learning disabilities: Peer relationships, internalizing problems, and coping strategies. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 27(1), 35-46.
Burgstahler, S. E., &Jeong, S. (2015). Providing accommodations in classes with students with disabilities.Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 28(1), 5-11.
Cochran, W. G. (1977). Sampling techniques (3rd ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. (2006). Retrieved from https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities.html
Drasgow, E. (2015). Inclusive education, special education, and the principle of care.Journal of Moral Education, 44(4), 397-409.
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Ministry of Education.(1994). Education and training policy. Retrieved from http://www.moe.gov.et/documents/20182/0/Education+and+Training+Policy.pdf
Friend, M., & Cook, L. (2016).Interactions: Collaboration skills for school professionals. Pearson.
Juvonen, J., Le, V. N., Kaganoff, T., Augustine, C., & Constant, L. (2006). Focus article: To befriend or not to befriend: Using sociometric nominations to identify rejected students' reluctance or disinclination to form new friendships. Developmental Psychology, 42(2), 267-280.
King-Sears, M. E., Banda, D. R., &Weist, M. D. (2020). Individualized education programs (IEPs) for students with emotional and behavioral disorders in general and special education settings. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 28(4), 607-617. https://doi.org/10.1177/1063426620915453
Kothari, C. (2005). Research methodology: Methods and techniques. New Delhi: New Age International (P) LTD.
Loftin, R. L., Newman, L., Dumas, H., &Gilden, G. (2014).Building a continuous pathway to employment: Findings from a nationwide database on supported employment for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities.Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 41(3), 213-227.
Ministry of Education.(2015). Inclusive education policy. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/ethiopia/media/1861/file/Inclusive%20Education%20Policy%202015.pdf
National Council on Disability.(2018). Inclusion of students with disabilities in general education settings. Retrieved from https://ncd.gov/sites/default/files/NCD_Education_Toolkit-3.pdf
Nelson, D., Alber-Morgan, S., & Keane, S. (2018).Strategies for successful inclusive classroom management.
Patterson, L. E., &Biesecker, J. (2019).Enhancing disability attitudes of undergraduate students through disability studies courses.International Journal of Disability, Development, and Education, 1-16.
Rose, D. H., Meyer, A., & Hitchcock, C. (2005).The universally designed classroom: Accessible curriculum and digital technologies. Harvard Education Press.
Silver, P., Bourke, A., &Strehorn, K. C. (2010). Influence of classroom accommodation on the reading and mathematics performance of students with disabilities in grade 4 reading and grades 3 and 4 mathematics. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 43(5), 466-480.
Smith, T., Polloway, E. A., Patton, J. R., & Dowdy, C. A. (2017).Inclusive education for students with severe disabilities.Routledge.
Soodak, L. C., Podell, D. M., & Lehman, L. R. (2013). The parental perspective on academic progress of students with disabilities: Findings from a qualitative study. Exceptional Children, 80(1), 7-23. https://doi.org/10.1177/001440291308000101
Tilahun, T. (2018).Challenges and prospects of inclusive education in Ethiopia.Journal of Educational and Social Research, 8(4), 9-19.
Tirussew, T. (2018). Inclusive education in Ethiopia: Practices, challenges, and prospects. Journal of Education and Practice, 9(4), 1-9.
Tomlinson, C. A., Brighton, C., Hertberg, H., Callahan, C. M., Moon, T. R., Brimijoin, K., ...& Reynolds, T. (2012). Differentiated instruction in response to student readiness, interest, and learning profile in academically diverse classrooms: A review of literature. Journal for the Education of Gifted Young Scientists, 1(1), 37-43.
UNESCO. (1994). The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/education/pdf/salama_e.pdf
United Nations.(2006). Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities.html
Whitehead, K. A., &Lingard, B. (2011).Connecting students with special needs to English: A look at inclusive practices in South Australia.Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 11(2), 118-127.
World Health Organization. (2001). International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health: ICF.
Yakubu, I., &Salau, M. A. (2019). Academic performance and inclusion of students with disabilities in regular primary schools: The situation in Africa. Disabilities Studies Quarterly, 39(2). Retrieved from http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/6466/5154

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2025 Eshetu Tessema, B., Tesfaye Kabtyimer, M, Debasu Belay, H (Author)