Inclusion of children with developmental disabilities in Arab countries: A review of the research literature from 1990 to 2014

• Inclusion for children with developmental disabilities is evolving in Arab countries.
• We investigated inclusion research in Arab countries published in English.
• Forty-two studies were analyzed.
• Studies addressed attitudes toward inclusion, barriers, or evaluated inclusion programs.

BackgroundIn this study, a literature review was conducted to analyze studies published from 1990 to 2014 in English-written literature on inclusion of children with developmental disabilities in Arab countries.AimsThis study sought to review and analyze research conducted on Inclusive Education (IE) in Arab countries.Methods and proceduresThe following electronic databases were used in searching the relevant literature: ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, PsychINFO, EBSCOhost Databases, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Database, ERIC, and Google Scholar. After the publications to be included in this study were retrieved, each study was reviewed and analyzed. Each study was examined for details such as authors, title of research, publication year, country, purpose, methods, and key findings.Outcomes and resultsThe results showed that a total of 42 empirical studies related to inclusion of children with developmental disabilities in Arab countries have been published. More than two-thirds of these studies came from United Arab Emirates (UAE), Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The majority of the studies were published in the last 6 years. The main parameters in these studies were: attitudes toward inclusion, barriers to inclusion, and evaluating inclusion.Conclusions and implicationsThe results of the current study revealed that relatively little IE research has been conducted in Arab countries. More research is warranted to test the generalizability of the results of the current study. Further research is also needed to analyze IE practices and demonstrate strategies for the effective implementation of IE in these countries.