A historical and comparative analysis on homebound instruction for children with severe disabilities in China

Ensuring education rights for children with severe disabilities worldwide is quite complex, requiring countries to offer reasonable provisions. This study explores homebound instruction as an alternative placement and educational practice for students with severe disabilities in China. Adopting a historical perspective, this study first describes the policy of homebound instruction for children with severe disabilities and its underlying social-political context in China. Then, it presents governmental data and reviews practices of homebound instruction to help understand the policy implementation in China. The study further considers the evolution of homebound instruction in the United States and draws comparative insights with the Chinese experience. Lastly, this study identifies five key challenges of holding back greater inclusion for children with severe disabilities in China, including disability awareness, understanding the supplementary nature of homebound instruction, professional development and collaboration, financial support and the application of information technology, and parent involvement and empowerment. Accordingly, the study provides recommendations for improving the provision of homebound instruction in China and other countries facing similar circumstances.