The Role of Policy in the Development of Special Education

Abstract

In terms of the number of students served and the overall quality of special education services provided, it is clear that special education has, from its early beginnings in the late seventeenth century, advanced at various rates in the different countries of the world. Data from the United States Department of Education (2007) indicates that 12% of the school age population (6-17 year olds) in the nation are children with disabilities in special education. Kenya's population of students with disabilities in the schools now stands a little over 221,995 (Ministry of Education, 2008) in a country where 25% of the estimated 3.2 million people with disabilities are school age children. This paper provides a comparative overview of the role of government policy in the progress of special education in both the United States of America and in Kenya with the aim of emphasizing the role of comprehensive policy, follow-through, oversight, and accountability to achieve targeted results in the field of special education in Kenya.