Intellectual disabilities (ID) are “characterised by significantly below average intellectual functioning and adaptive behaviour” (World Health Organisation, 2022). Students with ID are schooled in various types of placements, including inclusive settings within regular schools and separated settings in special schools. Although research on inclusive education for students with ID remains limited, existing studies suggest better outcomes in the domains of academic learning and adaptive skills for inclusive placements, with mixed findings for participation and social skills (Dell’Anna et al., 2022). Still, students with ID are more likely to be schooled in separated placements than students with other types of special educational needs (SEN) (Buchner et al., 2021). Furthermore, previous research suggests disparities regarding the choice of school placements for students with SEN related to various factors such as sex, race, or migration background (Morgan et al., 2023; Morrier & Gallagher, 2011; Sullivan, 2011).
To date, knowledge about the placement trajectories of students with ID and their associations with student characteristics remains scarce. More insight on how these factors relate to the types of placements attended and the frequencies of placement transfers may allow identifying critical differences in how educational pathways of students with ID unfold compared to those with other types of SEN. This insight may guide strategies to promote equitable access to inclusive education for students with ID. Hence, our research question was as follows: Do the placement trajectories of students with ID differ from those of students with other types of SEN? Specifically, we investigated differences in the type of placements attended in each school year as well as the number of placement transfers over the entire school trajectory.
We used longitudinal administrative census data about students with intensive SEN support (‘verstärkte Massnahmen’) between 2009 and 2022 in the canton of Zurich. We selected a subsample of 3227 students for whom there were data over eleven school years (compulsory education). 590 students (18%) in the sample were assigned the administrative label ID in at least one school year. To answer our research question, we computed multinomial logistic regressions for the placement category (i.e., inclusive placement, separated placement, no intensive SEN support) in each school year as well as the number of placement transfers experienced. The label ID was used as an explanatory variable in each model. Furthermore, students’ gender and first language as well as interaction terms with the label ID were added to the models as explanatory variables.
Our results indicated that students with the label ID had higher odds of being placed in separated rather than inclusive placements compared to students with other types of SEN, with odds ratios increasing over the school years. They were also more likely to receive SEN support in inclusive placements compared to being without intensive SEN support. Over the entire trajectory, students with the label ID had lower odds of transferring between placements than students with other types of SEN; however, this effect appeared to be driven by status transfers within regular schools (i.e., between inclusive schooling and no intensive SEN support), which do not necessarily involve moving between classes or schools. Additionally, sex and first language were associated with placement types and the number of placement transfers, with some interaction effects observed with the label ID.
Our results suggest that the placement trajectories of students with ID differ significantly from those of students with other types of SEN. However, the limitations of our administrative data prevent deeper exploration into the mechanisms underlying these differences. While this study provides important initial insights, further research is needed to better understand the complex factors influencing the educational pathways of students with ID.