Effects of Inclusion on the Ultimate Outcome of Special Education of Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of inclusion on the ultimate outcome of special education for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities(IDDs) by comparing the two groups: one group of individuals with IDDs that spent their whole school life in inclusive schools, and the other group that spent theirs in separate special schools. The “2021 Work and Life Survey for the Individuals with Developmental Disabilities” data from the Korea Employment Agency for the Disabled(KEAD) was used. The data of 549 individuals with IDDs was analyzed; 231 were those spent their whole school life in separate special schools, and 318 were those spent theirs in inclusive schools. The SPecial education’s Ultimate Outcome Index(SP-UO-Index) developed by Kim & Park(2023) was used to measure the outcome. Firstly, among the 8 sub-areas of the SP-UO-Index, all but postsecondary education and life satisfaction showed a higher score in terms of the ultimate outcome index when one received education in an inclusive setting: employment, self-care and domestic living skills, functional academic skills and social competence, community participation, self-determination, and health maintenance. Secondly, even after controlling the effect of the severity of disability of the individuals with IDDs, inclusion still had effects on the postschool outcomes. Lastly, the severity of disability had a moderating effect on inclusion and postschool outcomes. As one had more severe disability, the effect of inclusion on the postschool outcomes was greater. The results that the score measured with the SP-UO-Index was greater in an inclusive education setting and that those with more severe IDDs benefited more from inclusion put the brakes on the long history of placing students with more severe IDDs in a more restrictive education environment, usually in separate special schools in Korea. This study is significant that it empirically revealed that the inclusive education had positive effects on the special education’s ultimate outcome of IDDs and an individual’s severity of disability should not be operated as the major factor to determine the placement.