How Can Children with Disabilities be Included in School Education? : A Case in Sierra Leone <Special Issue : Right to Education>

Based on the author's field research, this paper reviews the current status of education for Children with Disabilities (CWD) in Sierra Leone and examines the obstacles to their learning in school and where they should be educated. Committed to achieving Universal Primary Education (UPE), Sierra Leone has enacted policy reforms. However, the government’s effort in education for CWD was untouched until very recently. This study fi nds that education for CWD has moved forward in the direction of favoring that these children should receive education in mainstream schools. Arguing that policy reforms should be swiftly reflected at a practical level, tackling challenges in finance, teacher guidance, accessibility to and within school, and discriminatory attitudes of family and community toward CWD, this paper contends that these processes need to involve various actors working together for social learning and transformation toward building an inclusive society.