Disability and learning in Ethiopia: what changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Abstract

This paper expands debates on disability and education by focusing on issues of prevalence and examining loss of formal learning when schools were closed for extended periods in Ethiopia as a result of COVID-19. Using data collected during two academic years, before the pandemic in 2018–2019 and after the schools reopened in 2020–2021, results show an increased prevalence of disability among children in grades 1 and 4, as identified through the Washington Group Child Functioning Module. In addition, we found some evidence of loss in foundational numeracy for children with disabilities in these grades, but the extent of this loss depends on whether children were reported as having mild or moderate to severe disabilities. Taken together, results show that COVID-19 and the accompanying school closures were likely to have affected both the prevalence of disability and learning for children with disabilities, highlighting the need for a careful exploration of changing student needs as a result of the pandemic.