Early Grade Reading and Mathematics Initiative

This report presents the findings of the assessment of the situation of primary education for students with disabilities in Jordan and compares the current practices and policies with international standards and best practice. Students with all types of disabilities—physical, sensory, learning, intellectual, and developmental—were included in this assessment. Topics addressed include the following: 

• legal framework; 
• policies and strategic plans; 
• prevalence rates, enrollment rates, and out-of-school children with disabilities; 
• screenings and diagnostic evaluations; 
• educational settings, resource rooms, and accessible environments; 
• teacher training, curriculum, and individualized education plans (IEPs); and 
• classroom supports (such as reasonable accommodations, sign language instruction, braille and assistive technologies and other related services). 

The report recommends several concrete steps the Ministry of Education in Jordan could take to most effectively transit toward a more inclusive system aligned with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and other international best practices. This updated inclusive education system would allow the government to reach all students with disabilities and provide them with a quality education, improve learning opportunities for all students, and in the end, incur less cost for the government compared to expanding a segregated system.