Incremental development towards more inclusive education in Saudi Arabia:Issues and challenges

This chapter offers an overview of the historical development of inclusive education in Saudi Arabia and the situation today. After a brief outline of Saudi Arabia’s political and economic context, the chapter offers a history of special education and inclusion in the country. We describe how curricula and programmes for different special educational needs (SEN) have expanded considerably in recent years through a combination of inclusive and private education, although this needs to be developed further. We then explore some of the issues and challenges Saudi Arabia faces, particularly in relation to teachers’ attitudes to disability, and suggest that teacher training interventions can have a positive effect, which if replicated at scale could significantly influence special education and inclusion in Saudi Arabia. While considerable progress has been made in relation to SEN and inclusion, much work remains to be done