Tracking Inclusion in Norwegian Development Support to Global Education

Disability affects all groups in society: girls and boys, rich and poor, of all races, religions, and ethnicities. For children belonging to marginalized or under-represented groups, having a disability can make them even more vulnerable.

This report assesses Norway’s progress on the commitments made in the White Paper. It finds that the verdict is decidedly mixed. While Norway has played an important normative role in advocating for disability inclusion in global education, it is nevertheless the case that these efforts have, thus far, resulted in few verifiable results. The report further finds a global “implementation gap” with respect to disability inclusive education. Disability inclusion is not (yet) an integral and necessary component of the global education agenda, as evidenced by the fact that disability inclusion is not mainstreamed at the programmatic, sectoral, or strategic levels in Norway, partner countries, or implementing agencies. There is also a troubling lack of decent data on the extent to which children with disabilities have access to education in developing countries.