Does Inclusive Education Harm Non-Disabled Students?: Examining Impacts on Long-Term Educational Outcomes for All Students

Abstract

Inclusion of disabled or special educational needs (SEN) students in general education has become commonplace in the past few decades. Despite this, the long-term effect of inclusion on non-SEN students has not been widely examined, especially in the U.S. In this paper, I answer the question: To what extent, if any, does the degree of special education student inclusion into general education impact long-term educational outcomes across all students (including both SEN and non-SEN students) in the U.S.? Utilizing data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth, Children, and Young Adults (1979 cohort), I estimate an Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression model. My explanatory variable of frequent inclusion, as well as individual- and school-level control covariates, are taken from 1995-1996 while my outcome variable is measured as different levels of degree attainment from 2018. Empirical results show neutral (i.e. statistically insignificant) effects of inclusion on degree attainment at all levels – from GED to Bachelor’s degree – for all students. Examining heterogeneous effects by gender and by race reveal similar findings. These findings suggest that regarding degree attainment, inclusive education does not have negative long-term externalities on non-SEN students.