Living with Disability in New Zealand
Date of publication: October 2004
ISBN 0-478-28305-9
HP 4002
Table of Contents:
Index
Foreword
Acknowledgements
1 Introduction
2 Patterns of Disability
3 Support, Equipment and Services
4 Education
5 Employment and Income
6 House and Home
7 Travel and Transport
8 Māori and Disability
9 Pacific Peoples and Disability
10 Adults with Disability Living in Residential Facilities
11 Future Focus
Glossary
Appendix 1: Classification of Disability Type
Appendix 2: Relative Sampling Error (RSE) Cut-off Points Used for this Report and Appendix Tables
Appendix 3: Tables in Excel format
References
4 Education
Within this section:
Key points
Introduction
Children with disability
Adults with disability
Comparing 2001 and 1996
Key points
Most children with disability participate fully in New Zealand's regular education system and many gain educational qualifications. Special education services, assistive technology and support services help some of these children to achieve their educational potential.
However, other children with disability face barriers when accessing education services and do not reach the educational levels of their non-disabled counterparts. This restricts their subsequent employment and other life opportunities.
The key points below illustrate these issues.
Children with disability
- In March 2001, an estimated 12,300 children aged 0-4 with disability (77 percent of all pre-school children with disability) attended, or were enrolled in, at least one type of early childhood education service. Kindergartens were the early childhood education service most commonly used by these pre-school age children with disability.
- Ninety-seven percent of children aged 5-14 with disability living in households, an estimated 71,600 students, were enrolled in some type of primary or secondary education.
- An estimated 12,400 children aged 5-14 with disability, 2 percent of all children aged 5-14 living in households, were attending a special school, special unit or special class at a regular school, or a regular class where special education was provided. This was 17 percent of all children with disability aged 5-14.
- An estimated 1400 children aged 5-14 with disability, 2 percent of children with disability, were enrolled at a special school at the beginning of 2001. Another 3100 children with disability (4 percent) in this age group had previously attended a special school.
- Most children aged 5-14 with disability attended only mainstream classes (53,300 children or 74 percent of children with disability). A further 11,400 children with disability (16 percent) attended 'mainstream' (regular) classes and a special unit. An estimated 2400 students (3 percent) attended only a special unit.
- Children with intellectual disability were more likely than children with other types of disability to attend only a special unit, or a mixture of mainstream and special unit classes. Children with chronic conditions/health problems and with seeing disability were most likely to attend only mainstream classes.
- Thirty-eight percent of children aged 0-14 with disability had been professionally assessed at some time in their life to determine their developmental or educational needs. Children using special education (66 percent) and with intellectual disability (64 percent) were twice as likely as children with hearing disability (31 percent) and chronic conditions/health problems (32 percent) to have been professionally assessed.
- An estimated 17,800 children with disability, or 20 percent of children with disability living in households, had an Individual Education Programme (IEP) or Individual Development Programme (IDP). Children most likely to have an IEP or IDP were children with intellectual disability (54 percent) and children using special education (50 percent).
- An estimated 25,000, or 3 percent of all children aged 0-14 living in households, had learning difficulties such as dyslexia, attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other conditions that interfere with typical learning processes.
- A high proportion (89 percent) of parents or caregivers of children with disability aged 5-14 said they had always been able to enrol their child in the school of their choice. However, parents or caregivers of 7 percent of children with disability (an estimated 5000) said they had not been able to do so. The most common reason parents or caregivers gave for why they were unable to enrol their child in a chosen school was that the school was unwelcoming. The second most common reason was the unavailability of special services or equipment.
- In 2001, just over half (51 percent) of all children with disability aged 5-14 were limited in school activities because of disability. The most common kind of limitation reported was a restriction on the ability to take part in school sports or games. This limitation was experienced by 30 percent of all children with disability living in households.
- Children aged 5-14 who used technical aids were most likely to have their school activities limited by disability. Those with a seeing disability were the least likely to have their school activities limited by disability.
- Disability was estimated to have affected the education of just under half (45 percent) of all children aged 5-14 with disability living in households. The most common effect on children's education was that they had to change schools. The second most common effect was that their education was interrupted for long periods.
- Children aged 5-14 with intellectual disability and those who used technical aids were the most likely to have had their education affected by disability. Children with hearing disability and children with seeing disability were the least likely to have had their education affected.
- Parents or caregivers of an estimated 27,900 school-age children with disability reported their child needed at least one type of disability-related equipment and/or service to help them with their education. It was most common for children aged 5-14 with disability to need teacher aides (24 percent) and itinerant teachers (15 percent) because of disability.
- Children most likely to require equipment or services had intellectual disability (80 percent of children with intellectual disability), used technical aids (69 percent) or were receiving special education (65 percent).
Adults with disability
- In 2001, in every age-group from 15-24 to 65 and over, adults with disability were less likely than adults without disability to have a post-school qualification. This difference was particularly marked in the 15-24 age group, where 7 percent of people with disability had post-school qualifications compared with 16 percent of people without disability.
- Consistent with this, in all age groups adults with disability were more likely than adults without disability to have no educational qualifications. In the 15-24 age group, people with disability were almost twice as likely as people without disability to have no educational qualifications.
- In 2001, adults with disability generally had lower personal incomes than adults without disability, even when they had the same broad level of educational attainment.
- Adults whose main disability was a hearing, seeing or psychiatric/psychological disability were more likely than adults with other types of main disability to have school or post-school qualifications.
- A third (35 percent) of the adults whose main disability was caused by a sports accident/injury had post-secondary school qualifications. However, adults whose main disability was caused by disease/illness, conditions existing at birth, ageing or accidents/injuries at home were much less likely to have post-school qualifications.
- In the week ending 4 March 2001, an estimated 55,800 adults with disability living in households were enrolled in formal education such as secondary school, polytechnic or university. This was 9 percent of all adults with disability living in households.
- A quarter (25 percent) of adults with disability living in households and receiving formal education or training in March 2001 were enrolled in polytechnics, 22 percent were enrolled in universities and 20 percent were enrolled in secondary schools. Eight percent were enrolled in private training establishments, 4 percent in correspondence schools and 4 percent in colleges of education.
- A third (33 percent) of adults with disability living in households and enrolled in formal education in March 2001 had a main disability that was a physical disability (that is, mobility and/or agility disability). Seventeen percent had a main disability that was a psychiatric/ psychological disability, while 15 percent had a main disability that was a hearing disability. Three percent had a main disability that was an intellectual disability.
- An estimated 136,500 adults, 22 percent of all adults with disability living in households, had a disability that started before they finished their formal education and training. Almost half (47 percent) of adults aged 15-44 with disability had a disability that started before they finished their formal education.
- In 2001, an estimated 22,100 (16 percent) adults with disability living in households, whose disability started before they completed their formal education or training, had attended a special school or special classes in a mainstream school in the past.
- An estimated 51,700 (8 percent) adults with disability living in households indicated that disability had resulted in their education being interrupted for long periods.
Introduction
The New Zealand Disability Strategy states that educational services must be improved 'so that all children, young people and adult learners [with disability] will have equal opportunities to learn and develop in their local, regular educational centres' (Minister for Disability Issues 2001: 11). Specifically, the strategy promotes the following actions to provide the best education for people with disability:
3.1 Ensure that no child is denied access to their local, regular school because of their impairment.
3.2 Support the development of effective communication by providing access to education in New Zealand Sign Language, communication technologies and human aids.
3.3 Ensure that teachers and other educators understand the learning needs of disabled people.
3.4 Ensure that disabled students, families, teachers and other educators have equitable access to the resources available to meet their needs.
3.5 Facilitate opportunities for disabled students to make contact with their disabled peers in other schools.
3.6 Improve schools' responsiveness to and accountability for the needs of disabled students.
3.7 Promote appropriate and effective inclusive educational settings that will meet individual educational needs.
3.8 Improve post-compulsory education options for disabled people, including: promoting best practice, providing career guidance, increasing lifelong opportunities for learning and better aligning financial support with educational opportunities.
(Minister for Disability Issues 2001: 16.)
This chapter examines the participation of New Zealanders with disability in regular (mainstream) education and special education. It also examines the educational achievements of people with disability and the educational barriers some of them face.
The chapter is divided into two sections. The first examines the educational experiences of children (aged 0-14) with disability. [As was the case for the rest of the issues covered by the 2001 Household Disability Survey, questions about the educational experiences of children with disability were usually answered by parents or caregivers, not the children.] The second examines the educational experiences and qualifications of adults (aged 15 years and over) who had a disability at the time of the 2001 Household Disability Survey. [Note that adults may have first experienced disabilityaftertheir formal education had finished.] This separation is necessary because the Disability Survey asked children and adults different questions about their educational experiences.
All the information presented in this chapter refers to adults and children living in households and does not include people with disability living in residential facilities. [The 2001 Disability Survey of Residential Facilities did not ask adults about their education and excluded children. Also it was not possible to link the results of this survey with those of the Census.]
Children with disability
As chapter 2 showed, in 2001 an estimated 90,000 children with disability were living in New Zealand households (11 percent of all children living in households). Of these, 15,900 (18 percent) were pre-school children (aged 0-4) and the remaining 74,100 (82 percent) were school-age children (aged 5-14). [Education is compulsory in New Zealand from 6 to 16 years, although most children start school soon after their fifth birthday.]
Early childhood education services
In the week ended 4 March 2001, 77 percent of pre-school children with disability, an estimated 12,300 children, attended, or were enrolled in, some type of early childhood education service. [Comparable information on the use of early childhood education services by children without disability was not available.]
Kindergartens were the early childhood education service most commonly attended by pre-schoolers with disability. Thirty-three percent of pre-school children with disability, an estimated 5200 children, attended, or were enrolled in, kindergartens.
Childcare centres or crèches were the second most commonly used early childhood education services, with 13 percent of pre-school children with disability attending or enrolled. Playcentres were used by 11 percent of pre-school children with disability (Figure 4.1).
Figure 4.1: Number of children aged 0-4 with disability living in households attending or enrolled in different types of early childhood services, week ending 4 March 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Notes:
- Data in Appendix Table 4.1.
- If individuals reported attendance or enrolment at more than one type of early childhood education service, they were counted in each applicable type of service.
Sixty percent of children aged 0-2 and 87 percent of children aged 3-4 with disability participated in early childhood education in 2001. European pre-school children were more likely to attend early childhood education than Mäori or Pacific pre-school children (83 percent compared with 72 percent and 67 percent respectively).
Pre-school children with hearing or psychiatric/psychological disability were most likely to participate in early childhood education and children with chronic conditions/health problems and intellectual disability were least likely to do so (Figure 4.2).
A smaller percentage (71 percent) of pre-school children who were severely disabled attended early childhood education than those with mild disability (80 percent).
Figure 4.2: Percentage of children aged 0-4 with disability living in households attending or enrolled in at least one type of early childhood service, by disability type, week ending 4 March 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
- Percentages too small to report (estimated frequencies outside the 70 percent relative sampling error cut-off point).
Notes:
- Data in Appendix Table 4.2.
- If individuals reported more than one disability type, they were counted in each applicable disability group.
Primary and secondary education
In March 2001, an estimated 71,600 children aged 5-14 with disability were enrolled in some type of primary or secondary education. This was 97 percent of all children aged 5-14 with disability living in households. [Comparable information on the use of primary and secondary education services by children without disability was not available.]
Most children aged 5-14 with disability were enrolled in primary or intermediate schools (an estimated 56,100 or 76 percent of children with disability in this age group). A much smaller number were enrolled in secondary schools (9900 children, 13 percent) or area/composite schools (2500 children, 3 percent). About 1400 (2 percent) were enrolled in special schools and another 1300 (2 percent) were being home-schooled (Figure 4.3). [Combining survey results for children aged 5-14 and adults aged 15 years and over indicates that in the week ending 4 March 2001 21,000 people with disability were enrolled in secondary schools (see the section on adults with disability later in this chapter). Another 2200 were enrolled in special schools and 2300 were enrolled in the Correspondence School.] , [Students who are home-schooled have a Ministry of Education exemption from participating in the state school system. This is different to students who study at home and are enrolled in the Correspondence School, which is a state school.]
Figure 4.3: Number of children aged 5-14 with disability living in households enrolled in different types of primary or secondary education services, week ending 4 March 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Notes:
- Data in Appendix Table 4.3.
- If individuals reported attendance or enrolment at more than one type of primary or secondary education service, they were counted in each applicable type of service.
While 76 percent of all children aged 5-14 with disability were enrolled in primary or intermediate schools, only 54 percent of children with accident/injury-related disability were enrolled in these types of school. Conversely, while only 13 percent of all children aged 5-14 with disability were enrolled in secondary schools, 38 percent of children in the same age group with accident/injury-related disability were enrolled in this type of school. These differences in enrolment are likely to be due to accident and injury-related disability being more common among older children than younger children. [The number of children aged 5-14 with disability enrolled in the other types of education were too small for a more detailed analysis using these variables.]
Special education services
Special education is the provision of extra assistance, adapted programmes or learning environments, and specialised equipment or materials to support children and young people with special needs to access the education curriculum in a range of settings (Ministry of Education 2003). Some of these children are provided with specialised programmes to accelerate learning, for instance behavioural programmes or therapies.
Receiving special education services
In 2001, an estimated 12,400 children aged 5-14 were receiving special education services. That is, they were attending a special school, a special unit or special class at a regular school, or a regular class where special education services were provided. [The 2001 Household Disability Survey classified all these children receiving special education services, as well as all children who had IEPs, IDPs or a learning disability, as having the disability type 'use of special education'.] This was 2 percent of all children aged 5-14 living in households and 17 percent of all children aged 5-14 with disability.
Twenty-nine percent of Asian/Other children with disability were receiving special education services compared with 17 percent of European, 17 percent of Mäori, and 13 percent of Pacific children.
Children with disability living in the Northern region (20 percent) were more likely than children living in the Central region (11 percent) to be receiving special education services. Eighteen percent of children living in the Midland region were receiving special education services, as were 16 percent of children in the Southern region.
Fifteen percent of children living in the most socioeconomically deprived areas (NZDep2001
9-10) and the least deprived areas (NZDep2001 1-2) received special education services compared with 23 percent of children living in NZDep2001 areas 5-6.
Children with intellectual disability were most likely to be receiving special education services (46 percent); whereas children with hearing disability were least likely to be doing so (15 percent) (Figure 4.4).
Figure 4.4: Percentage of children aged 5-14 with disability living in households receiving special education services, by disability type, week ending 4 March 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
- Percentages too small to report (estimated frequencies outside the 70% relative sampling error cut-off point).
Notes:
- Data in Appendix Table 4.5
- If individuals reported more than one disability type, they were counted in each applicable disability group.
- The 'use of special education' category in this chart refers to the 'use of special education' disability type, which includes children currently attending special schools, special units or special classes (that is, receiving special education services) as well as children with learning difficulties such as dyslexia, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and children who have IEPs or IDPs.
Children with disability present when they were born were more likely than children with chronic conditions/health problems to be receiving special education services (24 percent compared with 12 percent). Also, children with multiple disabilities were much more likely than children with a single disability to receive special education services (32 percent compared with 4 percent).
None of the children with mild disability were receiving special education services. On the other hand, a quarter (26 percent) of children with moderate disability and nearly a third (32 percent) of children with severe disability received special education services.
Nearly half (42 percent) of the children aged 5-14 receiving special education services had first started using these services when they were five or six. Twenty percent had started using these services before they were five, and the remaining 38 percent started receiving special education services when they were seven or older (Figure 4.5).
Figure 4.5: Percentage of children aged 5-14 with disability living in households receiving special education services, by age when first started to receive special education services, week ending 4 March 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Note: Data in Appendix Table 4.6.
Attendance at special schools
As indicated above, 1400 children aged 5-14 with disability (2 percent) are estimated to have been enrolled at a special school at the beginning of 2001 (special schools cater only for children with special needs). To this figure can be added a further 3100 children who were not enrolled in a special school, but had attended a special school in the past. [These children who had attended a special school in the past, but were not doing so at the time of the 2001 Household Disability Survey, were not defined as 'receiving special education services'.] This means that altogether 4500, or 6 percent, of school-aged children with disability were estimated to have ever attended a special school.
Children using technical aids (25 percent) were most likely to have attended a special school at some time, and those with seeing disability were least likely to have attended one of these facilities (Figure 4.6).
Figure 4.6: Percentage of children aged 5-14 with disability living in households, who had ever attended a special school, by disability type, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
- Percentages too small to report (estimated frequencies outside the 70 percent relative sampling error cut-off point).
Notes:
- Data in Appendix Table 4.7.
- If individuals reported more than one disability type, they were counted in each applicable disability group.
Ten percent of children with multiple disabilities had ever gone to a special school, compared with three percent of children with a single disability.
Children with severe disability were more likely than children with moderate disability to have ever attended a special school (22 percent compared with 6 percent respectively). No children with mild disability had attended a special school.
Attendance at mainstream classes and/or special units
In the week ending 4 March 2001, an estimated 71,900 children aged 5-14 with disability attended 'mainstream' (regular) classes and/or special units. [The 2001 Household Disability Survey used the term 'mainstreamclasses' so this term has been used in this part of this report. It is now more usual to use the term 'regularclasses'. Some children with disability attending regular classes receive special education services, while others do not.]
Most children with disability (53,300 children; 74 percent) attended only mainstream classes, although 11,400 (16 percent) attended mainstream classes and a special unit. An estimated 2400 students (3 percent) attended only a special unit.
Twenty-four percent of children with disability whose annual household income was $15,000 and under received a mixture of mainstream and special unit education, compared with the average of 16 percent. Children with household incomes of $15,000 and under were also less likely to receive only mainstream education (69 percent compared with 79 percent of children with household incomes of $15,001-30,000 and $30,001-$50,000 per year).
Similarly, children with disability living in the most deprived areas of New Zealand were most likely to attend a mixture of mainstream and special unit classes, and were the least likely to receive only mainstream education (Figure 4.7).
Figure 4.7: Percentage of children aged 5-14 with disability living in households attending only mainstream classes, by residence in NZDep2001 decile areas, week ending 4 March 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Notes:
- Data in Appendix Table 4.8.
- Excludes children attending special schools, attending only the Correspondence School, or having only home schooling.
Children with intellectual disability were more likely than children with other types of disability to attend only a special unit, or a mixture of mainstream and special unit classes. In 2001, 8 percent of children aged 5-14 with intellectual disability attended only a special unit, while 32 percent attended a mixture of mainstream and special unit classes. Fifty-five percent received mainstream education only.
Comparatively high proportions of school-aged children with seeing or hearing disability and chronic conditions/health problems attended only mainstream classes (Figure 4.8).
Figure 4.8: Percentage of children aged 5-14 with disability living in households attending only mainstream classes, by disability type, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Notes:
- Data in Appendix Table 4.8.
- Excludes children attending special schools, the Correspondence school only, or having only home schooling.
- If individuals reported more than one disability type, they were counted in each applicable disability group.
- The 'use of special education' category in this chart refers to the 'use of special education' disability type, which includes children currently attending special schools, special units or special classes (receiving special education services) as well as children with learning difficulties such as dyslexia, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and children who have IEPs or IDPs.
Children with a single disability (82 percent) were more likely than children with multiple disabilities (64 percent) to attend mainstream classes only. They were also less likely than children with multiple disabilities to attend a mixture of mainstream and special classes (8 percent compared with 24 percent) (Figure 4.9).
Similarly, school-aged children with mild disability were more likely than school-age children with moderate or severe disability to attend mainstream classes only. Ninety-one percent of children aged 5-14 with mild disability attended mainstream classes only, compared with 64 percent of children with moderate disability and 61 percent of children with severe disability.
Figure 4.9: Percentage of children aged 5-14 with disability living in households attending mainstream classes and/or special units, by severity of disability, week ending 4 March 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
- Percentages too small to report (estimated frequencies outside the 70 percent relative sampling error cut-off point).
Notes:
- Data in Appendix Table 4.8.
- Excludes children attending special schools, attending only the Correspondence School, or having only home schooling.
Assessments of developmental and educational need
The 2001 Household Disability Survey asked the caregivers of children with disability if their child had ever had a 'professional assessment' (that is, an assessment carried out by a professional) to determine their developmental or educational needs.
In 2001, an estimated 3400 children aged 0-4 with disability, 22 percent of all children aged 0-4 with disability, had experienced an assessment by a professional to determine their developmental or educational needs.
Of pre-school children with disability who had been assessed, just over a third (35 percent) had been assessed by special education or early intervention teachers. A further 30 percent had been assessed by special education advisers or educational psychologists (Figure 4.10).
An estimated 30,500 school-aged children with disability (41 percent) had experienced assessments.
More than a third of these older children (40 percent) had been assessed by special education advisers or educational psychologists. Special education teachers or early intervention teachers had assessed another 28 percent.
Figure 4.10: Number of children aged 0-14 with disability living in households who were assessed by different types of professionals, by age, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Notes:
- Data in Appendix Table 4.10.
- If individuals reported being assessed by more than one type of professional, they were counted for each applicable type of professional.
Children with psychiatric/psychological disability were more likely than children with other types of disability to have been assessed by clinical psychologists or paediatricians. Children who used technical equipment were most likely to have been assessed by special education advisers/educational psychologists or physiotherapists/occupational therapists. Children with hearing disability were most often assessed by special education teachers/early intervention teachers, school teachers or speech and language therapists.
Older children with disability were more likely than younger children to have had an assessment by a professional, an estimated 30,500 or 41 percent of all children aged 5-14 with disability.
Overall, 38 percent of all children with disability had received an assessment by a professional. Boys were more likely to have been assessed than girls (43 percent compared with 29 percent). European children (45 percent) and Asian/Other children (39 percent) were more likely to have been assessed than Mäori and Pacific children (28 percent and 18 percent respectively).
Children with disability living in urban areas were slightly more likely (39 percent) than children in rural areas (31 percent) to have had an assessment by a professional.
Children living in NZDep2001 decile areas 1-2 (the least socioeconomically deprived areas) were more likely to have been assessed (46 percent) than those living in NZDep2001 decile areas 9-10 (the most deprived areas) (34 percent).
Similarly, children with household incomes of $70,001 and over per year were more likely to have been assessed than children with medium or low household incomes. [Forty-nine percent of children with household incomes of $70,001 and over per year compared with, for example, 40 percent of children with annual household incomes of $15,000 and under and 35 percent of children with annual household incomes of $30,001-50,000.]
Looking at different disability types, children using special education services (66 percent) and with intellectual disability (64 percent) were twice as likely as children with hearing disability (31 percent) and chronic conditions/health problems (32 percent) to have received a professional assessment (Figure 4.11).
Figure 4.11: Percentage of children aged 0-14 with disability living in households who received a professional assessment, by disability type, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Notes:
- Data in Appendix Table 4.9.
- If individuals reported more than one disability type, they were counted in each applicable disability group.
Turning to disability causes, children with disability that was present at birth (44 percent) or caused by 'other' factors (45 percent) were more likely to have been assessed than children with disability caused by accident/injury (24 percent) or disease/illness (30 percent).
Children with multiple disabilities were more than twice as likely as children with a single disability to have had assessments (53 percent compared with 25 percent), while children with severe disability (55 percent) were three times more likely than children with mild disability to have had assessments (18 percent) (Figure 4.12).
Figure 4.12: Percentage of children aged 0-14 with disability living in households who had received a professional assessment, by age and severity of disability, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Note: Data in Appendix Table 4.9.
Participation in Individual Education Programmes or Individual Development Programmes
Individual Education Programmes (IEPs) are programmes for primary and secondary school students who have special educational needs due to disability, learning difficulties or behavioural difficulties. IEPs offer extra assistance and adapted programmes or learning environments, as well as special equipment or materials to support students in special or regular education settings (Ministry of Education 2003).
The term IEP is often used to refer to one or more of the following:
- the complete cycle of IEP assessment, planning, provision and evaluation
- the meeting at which the individual needs of a student are discussed
- a plan for an individual student
- a documented programme for an individual student.
Written plans for IEPs are prepared in consultation with teachers, parents, special educational professionals and students. These plans are regularly updated as students progress.
Individual Development Programmes (IDPs) are similar programmes for pre-school children with special needs.
In 2001, an estimated 17,800 children, or 20 percent of children with disability living in households, had an IEP or IDP. [The 2001 Household Disability Survey categorised all children with IEPS or IDPs, as well as all children with a learning disability and all children attending special schools, special units or special classes (receiving special education services) as children with the disability type 'use of special education'.] This was 2 percent of all children living in households (with or without a disability).
Children aged 10-14 with disability (24 percent) were more likely than children aged 5-9 (21 percent) or 0-4 (7 percent) to have an IEP or IDP.
Boys with disability were more likely than girls with disability to have an IEP or IDP (23 compared with 15 percent), while European (23 percent) and Asian/Other (29 percent) children were more likely than Mäori (15 percent) or Pacific (12 percent) children to have one.
Children from mid-range NZDep2001 areas were slightly more likely than children from other NZDep2001 areas to have an IEP or IDP, as were those living in households with incomes of $70,001 and over per year compared with those with lower annual incomes.
The likelihood of having an IEP or IDP varied with the type of disability children experienced. Just over half (54 percent) of children with intellectual disability and half (50 percent) of children using special education had an IEP or IDP. [See previous footnote.] By contrast, just 16 percent of children with hearing disability had an IEP or IDP (Figure 4.13).
Figure 4.13: Percentage of children aged 0-14 with disability living in households with an IEP or IDP, by disability type, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Notes:
- Data in Appendix Table 4.12.
- If individuals reported more than one disability type, they were counted in each applicable disability group.
- The 'use of special education' category in this chart refers to the 'use of special education' disability type, which includes children currently attending special schools, special units or special classes (receiving special education services) as well as children with learning difficulties such as dyslexia, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and children who have IEPs or IDPs.
Looking at disability cause, 20 percent of children with disability present at birth had an IEP or IDP, as did 22 percent of children with disability caused by accident/injury. A lower percentage of children with disability caused by disease/illness had an IEP or IDP (14 percent).
Five times as many children with multiple disabilities had an IEP or IDP as did children with a single disability (35 percent compared with 7 percent). No children with mild disability had an IEP or IDP; whereas 32 percent of children with moderate disability and 37 percent of children with severe disability had one.
Age when first received an Individual Education Programme or Individual Development Programme
Children with disability most commonly received their first IEP or IDP when they were 5 or 6, the usual age for starting primary school. A third (33 percent) of the estimated 17,800 children with an IEP or IDP received their first programmes at this age. A further 9 percent first had an IEP or IDP before they were 3, while 19 percent first had one when they were 3 or 4.
Table 4.1 shows that the age at which children had their first IEP or IDP was determined to some extent by their current age (that is, the age they were when they participated in the 2001 Household Disability Survey).
Table 4.1: Percentage of children aged 0-14 with disability living in households, by age when first had Individual Education Programme or Individual Development Programme and current age, 2001
|
Age first had IEP/IDP (years)
|
Current age (years)
|
|
0-4
(n=1100)
|
5-9
(n=7900)
|
10-14
(n=8700)
|
Total
(n=17,800)
|
|
Younger than 3
|
66
|
-
|
6
|
9
|
|
3-4
|
-
|
23
|
13
|
19
|
|
5-6
|
N/A
|
48
|
24
|
33
|
|
7-8
|
N/A
|
20
|
19
|
18
|
|
9+
|
N/A
|
-
|
37
|
20
|
|
Total
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
- Percentages too small to report (estimated frequencies outside the 70 percent relative sampling error cut-off point).
N/A Not applicable.
Note: Numbers in table refer to the percentage of children currently in a specific age group (for example, aged 0-4) who first had an Individual Education Programme or Individual Development Programme at a specific age (for example, younger than 3 years).
The age when children with disability first had an IEP or IDP was also partly determined by the age they were when they first became disabled. Again, 5-6 years was a common age to first have an IEP or IDP. It was also quite common to have a delay of several years after the onset of disability before getting an IEP or IDP. For example, 25 percent of children whose disability started when they were younger than 3 first had an IEP or IDP when they were 7 or older (Table 4.2).
Table 4.2: Percentage of children aged 0-14 with disability living in households, by age when first had Individual Education Programme or Individual Development Programme and age of onset of first disability, 2001
|
Age first had IEP/IDP
|
Age of onset of first disability
|
|
Younger than 3
(n=10,500)
|
3-4
(n=1800)
|
5-8
(n=4500)
|
9+
(n=900)
|
Total
(n=900)
|
|
Younger than 3
|
15
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
9
|
|
3-4
|
26
|
33
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
19
|
|
5-6
|
34
|
37
|
37
|
N/A
|
33
|
|
7-8
|
12
|
--
|
37
|
N/A
|
18
|
|
9+
|
13
|
--
|
24
|
100
|
20
|
|
Total
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
- Percentages too small to report (estimated frequencies outside the 70 percent relative sampling error cut-off point).
N/A Not applicable.
Note: Numbers in table refer to the percentage of children whose first disability started at a specific age (for example, younger than 3 years) who first had an IEP or IEP at a specific age (for example, younger than 3 years).
Learning disability
In 2001, an estimated 25,000 children or 3 percent of all children aged 0-14 living in households, had 'learning difficulties' such as dyslexia, attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other conditions that interfere with typical learning processes. [This was how the 2001 Household Disability Survey questionnaire defined 'learning' disability. Note too that the reported prevalence of these types of conditions among different population groups depends to some extent on their access to services that carry out assessments and diagnose these conditions (such as special education services and paediatricians).] , [The 2001 Household Disability Survey classified these children, along with all children attending special schools, special units or special classes (receiving special education services), and all children with an IEP or IDP, as children having the disability type 'use of special education'.]
Learning disability was more common among older children than younger children, and boys aged 0-14 were nearly three times as likely as girls aged 0-14 to have a learning disability (4309 per 100,000 compared with 1538 per 100,000) (Figure 4.14).
Figure 4.14: Rates of learning disability among children aged 0-14 living in households, by age and sex, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Note: Data in Appendix Table 4.13.
Rates of learning disability also varied across the different ethnic groups. European children had the highest rates, followed by Mäori, Asian/Other and Pacific children. European children were two-and-a-half times more likely than Pacific children to have a learning disability (Figure 4.15).
Figure 4.15: Rates of learning disability among children aged 0-14 living in households, by ethnic group, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Note: Data in Appendix Table 4.13.
Learning disability was also more common in children from low income households than children from high income households (Figure 4.16).
Figure 4.16: Rates of learning disability among children aged 0-14 living in households, by household income, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Notes:
- Data in Appendix Table 4.13.
- The household incomes of 25 percent of children were unknown.
Children living in the mid-range NZDep2001 areas had higher rates of learning disability than children living in the least and the most deprived areas of New Zealand (Figure 4.17).
Figure 4.17: Rates of learning disability among children aged 0-14 living in households, by NZDep2001 decile areas, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Note: Data in Appendix Table 4.13.
Choosing schools for children with disability
A high proportion of the parents or caregivers of children aged 5-14 with disability (89 percent) said they had always been able to enrol their child in the school of their choice. However, the parents or caregivers of 7 percent of children with disability (an estimated 5000) said they had not been able to do so. [It is unknown how many children aged 5-14withoutdisability are able to enrol in their school of choice.]
Parents or caregivers of children with intellectual or psychiatric/psychological disability (11 percent) were slightly more likely than caregivers of children with hearing disability (6 percent) and chronic conditions/health problems (8 percent) to report being unable to enrol their child in a chosen school.
Parents or caregivers of children with multiple disabilities (10 percent) were also more likely than parents or caregivers of children with a single disability (4 percent) to report not being able to enrol their child in a chosen school. Similarly, the parents or caregivers of 12 percent of children with severe disability reported being unable to enrol their child in a preferred school, compared with 8 percent of children with moderate disability and 3 percent of children with mild disability.
The most common reason parents or caregivers gave for being unable to enrol their child in a chosen school was that the school was unwelcoming. This reason was mentioned by 17 percent of parents or caregivers who had been unable to enrol their child in a chosen school. The second most common reason given was the unavailability of special services or equipment. [Because only a relatively small number of parents or caregivers of children answered this question, further analysis has not been possible.]
Impact of disability on school activities
The parents or caregivers of an estimated 34,900 children aged 5-14 reported their children were 'limited' in some way at school because of disability in the week before their participation in the 2001 Household Disability Survey. [The word 'limited' was used in the survey questionnaire, so this term has been used in this section.] This was just over half (51 percent) of children with disability living in households who were asked this question. [The questions addressed in this section applied to an estimated 71,900 children. Excluded were children with disability who were enrolled in only the Correspondence School, or were being only home schooled.] Just under half (49 percent) of children with disability were reported by their caregivers to be not limited at school in any way.
How activities at school were limited
The most common kind of reported limitation related to taking part in school sports or games. This effect was experienced by 30 percent of all children with disability living in households.
A quarter (25 percent) of children were said to be limited in playing at school, and 22 percent found it difficult to make friends. The ability to go on school outings was affected for 15 percent of children with disability (Figure 4.18).
Figure 4.18: Percentage of children aged 5-14 with disability living in households experiencing different types of limitations on school activities, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Notes:
- Data in Appendix Table 4.15.
- If individuals reported more than one type of limitation, they were counted in each applicable limitation category.
Children with disability who used technical aids were more likely (76 percent) than children with other types of disability to have a limited ability to participate in school sports or games. They were also the most likely to have their ability to play affected (61 percent), and the most likely to be restricted in going on school outings or camps (46 percent).
Parents or caregivers of children with psychiatric/psychological disability were most likely to indicate their child found it difficult to make friends (51 percent).
For every one of the different types of school activities listed in the survey question, children with multiple disabilities were more likely than children with a single disabilityto experience 'limitations'. The same was the case for children with severe disability, compared with children with mild or moderate disability.
At least one effect on school activities
A relatively high proportion of parents or caregivers of children from the Asian/Other ethnic group (71 percent) reported their children's school activities were affected because of disability. This compares with 53 percent of Mäori, 50 percent of European and 49 percent of Pacific children.
Children with low household incomes were also slightly more likely than children with high household incomes to be affected (for example, 56 percent of children with household incomes of $15,000 or under per year compared with 49 percent of children with household incomes of $70,001 and over per year).
Looking at different types of disability, children who used technical aids (81 percent) or had psychiatric/psychological disability (75 percent) were the most likely to be limited in some way at school. Children with seeing or hearing disability were the least likely to be affected (41 percent and 51 percent respectively) (Figure 4.19).
Figure 4.19: Percentage of children aged 5-14 with disability living in households experiencing at least one effect on school activities, by disability type
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Notes:
- Data in Appendix Table 4.15.
- If individuals reported more than one disability type, they were counted in each applicable disability group.
Parents or caregivers of children with disability caused by accident/injury (79 percent) and disease/illness (61 percent) were more likely to say their children were limited at school than parents or caregivers of children with disability caused by conditions present at birth (53 percent).
The school activities of 63 percent of children with multiple disabilities were affected in some way, compared with 42 percent of children with a single disability (Figure 4.20).
Figure 4.20: Percentage of children aged 5-14 with disability living in households experiencing at least one effect on school activities, by single/multiple disability and severity of disability, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Note: Data in Appendix Table 4.15.
As might be expected, the greater the severity of disability the more likely it was that school activities were perceived to be limited. In 2001, 44 percent of children with mild disability experienced some limitation on their school activities, compared with 50 percent of children with moderate disability and 77 percent of children with severe disability.
Effect of disability on children's education
In 2001, parents or caregivers of an estimated 33,400 or 45 percent of children aged 5-14 with disability reported their child's education had been affected by disability. Parents or caregivers of the remaining 55 percent of children with disability reported no effects on their child's education.
How children's education was affected
The most common effect of disability on children's education was that they had to change schools. An estimated 15,100 children, 20 percent of all children aged 5-14 with disability living in households, experienced this (Figure 4.21).
Figure 4.21: Percentage of children aged 5-14 with disability living in households experiencing different types of effects on education, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Notes:
- Data in Appendix Table 4.16.
- If individuals reported more than one type of effect, they were counted in each applicable effect category.
The second most common effect was that the child's education was interrupted for long periods. Seventeen percent of children aged 5-14 with disability experienced this.
Because of disability, children aged 5-14 who used technical aids were more likely than children with other types of disability to have started their schooling late (20 percent). They were also more likely to have had their education interrupted for long periods (37 percent) or to have taken courses by correspondence or using home schooling (16 percent).
Children aged 5-14 with intellectual disability were the most likely to have changed schools (31 percent), changed subjects (12 percent) or taken fewer subjects (18 percent).
In addition, a comparatively high proportion (30 percent) of children aged 5-14 with psychiatric/ psychological disability had changed schools as result of disability.
At least one effect on education
Parents or caregivers of 54 percent of children aged 10-14 indicated their child's education had been affected by disability, compared with 37 percent of children aged 5-9.
Children with lower household incomes were more likely than children with higher household incomes to have experienced an effect on their education as a result of disability. Fifty percent of children with disability who had household incomes of $15,000 and under per year experienced an effect on their education, compared with 40 percent of children with disability who had household incomes of more than $70,001 and over per year.
However, children living in NZDep2001 decile 1-2 areas, the least socioeconomically deprived areas of New Zealand, were more likely than children from the more disadvantaged decile areas to experience effects on their education because of disability.
Children living in the Southern region were slightly less likely (41 percent) than children living in the three other regions to experience an effect on their education.
Children aged 5-14 with intellectual disability and children who used technical aids were the most likely to have had their education affected by disability (65 percent and 62 percent respectively). Children with hearing disability (42 percent) and children with seeing disability (42 percent) were the least likely to have had their education affected (Figure 4.22).
Figure 4.22: Percentage of children aged 5-14 with disability living in households experiencing at least one effect on their education, by type of disability, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Notes:
- Data in Appendix Table 4.16.
- If individuals reported more than one disability type, they were counted in each applicable disability group.
A higher proportion of children with multiple disabilities (56 percent) than children with a single disability (36 percent) were reported to have had their education affected by disability (Figure 4.23).
Figure 4.23: Percentage of children with disability aged 5-14 living in households experiencing at least one effect on their education, by single/multiple disability and severity of disability, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Note: Data in Appendix Table 4.16.
The likelihood of children's education being affected also increased with the severity of disability. Whereas the education of 31 percent of children with mild disability had been affected by their condition, the education of 48 percent of children with moderate disability and 75 percent of children with severe disability had been affected.
Equipment and support services children needed to help their education
Parents or caregivers were asked if their children needed various equipment and support services because of their condition to help with their education. [Other equipment and services that children with disability needed to help with other aspects of their lives are discussed in chapter 3.] Parents or caregivers of an estimated 27,900 school-age children with disability (38 percent) reported their child needed at least one type of equipment or support service to help them with their education. However, the majority (59 percent) of school-age children with disability did not need any support services or equipment. [Survey questions often used the term 'special equipment', rather than the term 'equipment' that has been used in this section. The 'need' for equipment was based on the perception of parents or caregivers.]
Types of equipment and support service needed
Parents or caregivers of children aged 5-14 were most likely to indicate their children needed teacher aides (24 percent) and itinerant teachers (15 percent) because of disability. Thirteen percent of children needed help with notetaking, writing or reading and 12 percent needed computer access (Figure 4.24).
Figure 4.24: Percentage of children aged 5-14 with disability living in households needing different types of equipment and support service for education, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Notes:
- Data in Appendix Table 4.17.
- If individuals reported more than one type of equipment or service, they were counted in each applicable equipment or service category.
Of the different types of equipment and support service available, children with hearing or seeing disability were most likely to require a teacher aide (25 percent each). This was also the case for children with chronic conditions/health problems (24 percent), children with psychiatric/ psychological disability (43 percent) and children receiving special education (44 percent).
Children who used technical aids were also likely to require a teacher aide (51 percent), as well as access to a computer (43 percent) and help with notetaking, writing or reading (42 percent).
A relatively high proportion of children with an intellectual disability needed a teacher aide (61 percent), help with notetaking, writing or reading (41 percent), computer access (37 percent), or an itinerant teacher (35 percent).
At least one type of equipment or support service needed
Parents or caregivers of older children (aged 10-14) with disability were slightly more likely than parents or caregivers of younger children (aged 5-9) to indicate their child required at least one type of equipment or support service to help with their education (41 percent compared with 35 percent).
Children from the Asian/Other ethnic group were the most likely (58 percent) to need one type of equipment or support service (compared with 37 percent of European and Mäori children and 35 percent of Pacific children).
Children living in households with the lowest annual incomes were more likely than children living in households with higher incomes to report they needed equipment or support services to help with their education (for example, 42 percent of children with household incomes of $15,000 and under per year compared with 27 percent of children with household incomes of $70,001 and over per year).
Again, this was somewhat contradicted by the results for children living in different NZDep2001 areas. Children living in the least deprived areas (NZDep2001 1-2) were the most likely to report they required equipment or support services to help with their education (68 percent), compared with children from moderately deprived areas (NZDep2001 5-6 - 16 percent) and most deprived areas (NZDep2001 9-10 - 31 percent).
Children most likely to require equipment or support services had intellectual disability (80 percent), used technical aids (69 percent) or used special education (65 percent) (Figure 4.25).
Figure 4.25: Percentage of children aged 5-14 with disability living in households requiring at least one type of equipment or support service to help with their education, by disability type, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Notes:
- Data in Appendix Table 4.17.
- If individuals reported more than one disability type, they were counted in each applicable disability group.
As might be expected, children with multiple disabilities were more likely than children with a single disability to require help with their education in the form of equipment or support services (58 percent compared with 20 percent) (Figure 4.26).
Figure 4.26: Percentage of children aged 5-14 with disability living in households requiring at least one type of equipment or support service to help with their education, by single/multiple disability and severity of disability, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
- Percentages too small to report (estimated frequencies outside the 70 percent relative sampling error cut-off point).
Note: Data in Appendix Table 4.17.
Just over two-thirds (68 percent) of children with severe disability needed equipment or support services, compared with 59 percent of children with moderate disability.
Adults with disability
Participation in formal education or training
In the week ending 4 March 2001, an estimated 55,800 adults with disability living in households were enrolled in formal education such as a secondary school, polytechnic or university. [No survey or census data were available on the enrolment of adultswithoutdisability in formal education or training.] This was 9 percent of all adults with disability living in households. It included an estimated 38,800 European, 11,600 Mäori, 2300 Pacific and 2500 Asian/Other adults.
As might be expected, adults with disability aged 15-24 had the highest rates of participation in formal education. More than a third (37 percent) were enrolled in formal education, compared with 14 percent of adults aged 25-44 and 8 percent of adults aged 45-64 with disability.
Types of educational institution
A quarter (25 percent) of the estimated 55,800 adults with disability aged 15 and over receiving formal education or training were enrolled in polytechnics, 22 percent were enrolled in universities and 20 percent were enrolled in secondary schools. Eight percent were enrolled in private training establishments, 4 percent in correspondence schools and 4 percent in colleges of education. Eighteen percent were enrolled in other kinds of formal education or training (Figure 4.27).
Figure 4.27: Number of adults with disability living in households enrolled in main types of educational institutions, by age, week ending 4 March 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Notes:
- Data in Appendix Table 4.19.
- If individuals reported attending more than one educational institution, they were counted in each applicable category.
Of the 16,605 adults aged 15-24 with disability enrolled in formal education and training in March 2001, half (50 percent) were enrolled in secondary school, 21 percent were enrolled in universities and 13 percent were enrolled in polytechnics.
The estimated 21,800 adults aged 25-44 with disability enrolled in formal education and training were most likely to be at a polytechnic (41 percent). A quarter (24 percent) were at university and 12 percent were at private training establishments.
Main disability
Adults whose main disability was an intellectual disability had the highest rate of participation in formal education (27 percent), followed closely by adults whose main disability was a psychiatric/psychological disability (22 percent). Adults whose main disability was a hearing disability or a physical disability were much less likely to be enrolled in formal education (8 percent and 6 percent respectively).
That said, a third (33 percent) of the entire group of adults with disability enrolled in formal education in 2001 had a main disability that was a physical disability (that is, mobility and/or agility disability). Seventeen percent had a main disability that was a psychiatric/psychological disability, while 15 percent had a main disability that was a hearing disability. Three percent had a main disability that was an intellectual disability.
Cause of main disability
Nearly a third (31 percent) of the estimated 55,800 adults with disability enrolled in formal education or training in March 2001 had a main disability that had been caused by accident/ injury, especially work-related accidents or injuries. Disease/illness caused the main disability of a further 24 percent of adults enrolled in formal education; while for 16 percent their main disability was caused by a condition present at birth.
Severity of disability
A slightly higher percentage of adults with mild disability (10 percent) were enrolled in formal education or training than adults with moderate (8 percent) and severe (7 percent) disability.
Impact of disability on education and training
To help better identify the effects of disability on educational attainment it is possible to look specifically at features of the adults whose disability started before they completed their formal education. [Because this was a cross-sectional survey (a 'snapshot' taken at one time), rather than a longitudinal survey, the results in this section could be influenced by period and cohort effects. For example, education policies and services are likely to have been quite different for adults who were older at the time of the survey, compared with adults who were younger. People's ability to remember their experiences may also be affected by how long ago they participated in the education system.]
In 2001, an estimated 136,500 adults, or 22 percent of all adults with disability living in households, had a disability that started before they finished their formal education and training. Most (70 percent) of these 136,500 adults were under the age of 45 (Figure 4.28).
Figure 4.28: Percentage of adults with disability living in households whose disability started before formal education was completed, by age, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Note: Data in Appendix Table 4.21.
Just 14 percent of adults aged 45-64 with disability had a disability that started before they finished their education. This dropped to 6 percent of adults aged 65-74 and 4 percent of adults aged 75 and over with disability. By contrast, almost half (47 percent) of adults aged 15-44 with disability had a disability that started before they finished their formal education.
Special education
Sixteen percent of adults with disability living in households whose disability started before they completed their formal education or training had attended a special school or special classes in a mainstream school. This was an estimated 22,100 adults.
Of this group, an estimated 15,100 adults (8700 men and 6500 women) had been to a special school or received special education at some time in their lives specifically because of an intellectual disability. This included 11,300 European and 2900 Mäori adults.
Special education in the 15-44 age group
Most of the adults who had attended a special school or special classes were in the 15-44 age group. In fact, 9 percent of adults aged 15-44 with disability, a total of 18,400 people, had attended a special school or special classes in a mainstream school at some time.
The types of disability experienced by the adults aged 15-44 who attended special education schools or classes are summarised in Figure 4.29. Note that these are the types of disability people had at the time they participated in the 2001 Household Disability Survey and may not necessarily be the same condition they had when they attended special schools or classes.
Figure 4.29: Percentage of adults aged 15-44 with disability living in households who had ever attended special education schools or classes, by disability type, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Notes:
- Data in Appendix Table 4.24.
- If individuals reported more than one disability type, they were counted in each applicable category.
- Physical disability comprises agility and mobility disabilities.
Almost 60 percent of the adults aged 15-44 who had attended special education schools or classes had intellectual disability at the time of the 2001 Household Disability Survey. Over 40 percent had psychiatric/psychological disability, while 87 percent had a range of 'other' kinds of disability (including learning, speaking and remembering disabilities).
Over half (59 percent) of the adults aged 15-44 who attended special education schools or classes had experienced their first disability by age 4. Twenty-seven percent had experienced their first disability from ages 5 to 9, while the remaining 15 percent had experienced their first disability from age 10.
Other effects of disability on education
In the 2001 Household Disability Survey, adults whose disability began before they finished their formal education or training were asked to state what effects, if any, they considered disability had on their formal education or training. Their answers are summarised in Figure 4.30.
Figure 4.30: Percentage of adults with disability living in households, whose disability began before they finished formal education, experiencing different effects on their education, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Notes:
- Data in Appendix Table 4.27.
- If individuals reported more than one disability type, they were counted in each applicable category.
Thirty-eight percent of adults whose disability began before they finished their formal education indicated that disability had resulted in their education being interrupted for long periods. This was an estimated 51,700 adults with disability, or 8 percent of all adults with disability living in households in 2001.
Thirty-eight percent of adults whose disability began before they finished their formal education also indicated that it had taken longer to achieve their present level of education because of disability. Of this group, 41 percent, or an estimated 20,800 adults, reported that it took up to two years longer to achieve their present level of education, while a further 34 percent, an estimated 16,200 adults, reported it took an extra three years or more to achieve their present level of education. Twenty-eight percent of the group did not know, or were unable to estimate, how much longer it had taken to achieve their present level of education because of disability.
Educational qualifications
This section examines the educational qualifications of adults aged 15 and over with and without disability living in households.
When interpreting these data, it is important to remember that most of the adults with disability who participated in the 2001 Household Disability Survey, especially those in the older age groups, had finished their formal education before experiencing disability (see the earlier section 'Impact of disability on education and training'). The educational attainment of these people is, therefore, unlikely to have been affected by the presence of disability. [See also the discussion in chapter 1 on age effects in other findings.]
In 2001, 21 percent of adults aged 15 and over with disability living in households had post-school qualifications. Another 27 percent of these adults had school qualifications (but no post-school qualifications), and 31 percent had no educational qualifications. [Information for another 20 percent of adults with disability was not available for this question.] , [Fifteen is usually the earliest age at which young people start gaining school qualifications.]
Post-school qualifications
Post-school qualifications include certificates, diplomas and degrees from tertiary-level education facilities like polytechnics, universities and private training institutes. In 2001, 21 percent of the estimated 626,500 adults with disability living in New Zealand households had these kinds of qualification.
Twenty-four percent of men with disability had post-school qualifications, as did 19 percent of women.
In all adult age groups, adults with disability were less likely to have a post-school qualification than adults without disability. The greatest difference between adults with and without disability was in the 15-24 age group, where the percentage of disabled people with post-school qualifications was under half that of non-disabled people (7 percent compared with 16 percent) (Figure 4.31).
Figure 4.31: Percentage with post-school qualifications, adults with and without disability living in households, by age, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Notes:
- Data in Appendix Table 4.29.
- Information on the educational qualifications of 20 percent of adults with disability and 13 percent of adults without disability living in households was not available.
School qualifications
In 2001, 27 percent of adults with disability had school qualifications, but no post-school qualifications. School qualifications included School Certificate, Sixth Form Certificate, University Entrance and Bursary.
Twenty-six percent of men with disability and 28 percent of women with disability had school qualifications.
In most of the adult age groups, adults with disability were less likely than adults without disability to have school qualifications. However, in the 65 and over age group almost the same percentage of both groups had school qualifications (23 percent compared with 24 percent) (Figure 4.32).
Figure 4.32: Percentage with school qualifications, adults with and without disability living in households, by age, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Notes:
- Data in Appendix Table 4.29.
- Information on the educational qualifications of 20 percent of adults with disability and 13 percent of adults without disability living in households was not available.
No educational qualifications
In 2001, 31 percent of adults with disability had no educational qualifications. This applied to 31 percent of both men and women.
In keeping with the results for school and post-school qualifications, in all age groups adults with disability were more likely than adults without disability to have no educational qualifications. The greatest differences were in the 15-24 and 25-44 age groups. In particular, adults with disability in the 15-24 age group were almost twice as likely as adults without disability in this age group to have no educational qualifications (35 percent compared with 19 percent) (Figure 4.33).
Figure 4.33: Percentage with no educational qualifications, adults with and without disability living in households, by age, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Notes:
- Data in Appendix Table 4.29.
- Information on the educational qualifications of 20 percent of adults with disability and 13 percent of adults without disability living in households was not available.
Educational qualifications and ethnicity
Adults with disability in the Asian/Other (52 percent) and European (52 percent) ethnic groups were more likely to have school or post-school educational qualifications than adults with disability in the Mäori (38 percent) and Pacific (36 percent) ethnic groups. The greatest difference in educational attainment between adults with disability and adults without disability was in the Asian/Other ethnic group (where 52 percent of adults with disability and 82 percent of adults without disability had school or post-school qualifications) (Figure 4.34).
Figure 4.34: Percentage with school or post-school qualifications, adults with and without disability living in households, by ethnic group, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Note: Data in Appendix Table 4.29.
Educational qualifications and income
Personal income
Figure 4.35 compares the annual pre-tax personal incomes of adults with and without disability who had post-school qualifications. [Chapter 4 focuses on the economic and employment status of people with disability.] Generally, adults with disability had lower personal incomes than adults without disability, even when they had the same broad level of educational attainment.
Figure 4.35: Percentage with post-school qualifications, adults with and without disability living in households, by total annual personal income, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Note: Data in Appendix Table 4.29.
In 2001, adults with disability with post-school qualifications were more likely than adults without disability with post-school qualifications to be in the lower personal income groups. Sixty-three percent of adults with disability with post-school qualifications received $30,000 and under per year, compared with 44 percent of adults without disability with post-school qualifications.
Household income
Figure 4.36 compares the annual household incomes of adults with and without disability who had no educational qualifications. Adults with disability had lower household incomes than adults without disability, even when they were similarly qualified.
Figure 4.36: Percentage with no educational qualifications, adults with and without disability living in households, by annual household income, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Note: Data in Appendix Table 4.29.
In 2001, adults with disability and no educational qualifications were more likely to have household incomes of $30,000 and under per year than adults without disability and with no educational qualifications. In fact, 45 percent of adults with disability and no educational qualifications had household incomes of $30,000 and under per year compared with just 31 percent of adults without disability and no educational qualifications.
Similarly, adults with disability and no educational qualifications were less likely to live in the higher income households than adults without disability and with no educational qualifications. Eight percent of adults with disability without school qualifications had household incomes of $70,001 and over per year, but 17 percent of adults without disability and without school qualifications lived in these high income households.
Rural and urban residence
In 2001, adults with disability living in rural households were more likely than adults with disability living in urban households to have no school qualifications (36 percent compared with 30 percent). This was similar to the pattern for adults without disability (27 percent of adults living in rural areas had no qualifications, compared with 20 percent of adults living in urban areas).
Geographic regions
Compared with the Midland and Southern regions, the Northern and Central regions contained a higher percentage of adults with disability who had school and post-school educational qualifications and a lower percentage of adults with disability who had no school qualifications (Figure 4.37).
Figure 4.37: Percentage of adults with disability living in households, by region, by highest educational qualification gained, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Note: Data in Appendix Table 4.29.
Disability type
In 2001, adults with psychiatric/psychological disability were the most likely to have school qualifications as their highest educational qualification, while adults with hearing disability were the most likely to have post-school qualifications (Figure 4.38). [Educational qualifications may have been gained before people became disabled. Also disability type is related to current age and earlier age cohorts generally have lower-level qualifications than later cohorts.]
Figure 4.38: Percentage of adults with disability living in households, by highest educational qualification gained and disability type, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Notes:
- Data in Appendix Table 4.30.
- If individuals reported more than one disability type, they were counted in each applicable disability group.
- Physical disability comprises agility and mobility disabilities.
Adults with intellectual disability were the most likely to have no educational qualifications. Fifty-one percent of adults with intellectual disability had no educational qualifications, compared with 35 percent of adults with hearing disability and 30 percent of adults with seeing disability.
Main disability
Similar differences in educational attainment between disability categories were evident when the analysis was restricted to people's main disability, that is, the disability that most limits a person's everyday activities.
Adults whose main disability was a hearing disability, seeing disability or psychiatric/ psychological disability were generally more likely than adults with other types of main disability to have school or post-school qualifications. As well, the psychiatric/psychological main disability group contained a comparatively low proportion of people with no educational qualifications (21 percent) (Figure 4.39). [Educational qualifications may have been gained before people became disabled. Also main disability is related to current age and earlier age cohorts generally have lower-level qualifications than later cohorts.]
Figure 4.39: Percentage of adults with disability living in households, by highest educational qualification gained and main disability, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
- Percentages too small to report (estimated frequencies outside the 70 percent relative sampling error cut-off point).
Notes:
- Data in Appendix Table 4.30.
- Physical disability comprises agility and mobility disabilities.
Adults whose main disability was an intellectual disability were most likely to have no educational qualifications (61 percent) and adults with psychiatric/psychological were least likely to have no qualifications (21 percent).
Disability cause
Adults with disability caused by motor vehicle crash injuries, work injuries and, in particular, sports injuries had comparatively high levels of educational attainment. A third (35 percent) of adults whose main disability was caused by a sports accident/injury had post-secondary school qualifications. By contrast, adults whose main disability was caused by disease/illness (19 percent), conditions existing at birth (18 percent), ageing (17 percent) or accidents or injuries at home (15 percent) were much less likely to have post-school qualifications (Figure 4.40). [Educational qualifications may have been gained before people became disabled. Also disability cause is related to age and earlier age cohorts generally have lower-level qualifications than later cohorts.]
Figure 4.40: Percentage of adults with disability living in households, by highest educational qualification gained and cause of main disability, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Note: Data in Appendix Table 4.30.
Severity of disability
In 2001, adults who experienced severe disability were more likely than adults with mild or moderate disability to have no educational qualifications and less likely to have post-school qualifications. Eleven percent of adults with severe disability had post-school qualifications, compared with 23 percent of adults with mild disability and 23 percent of adults with moderate disability (Figure 4.41). [Note that educational qualifications may have been gained before people became disabled. Also severity of disability is related to age and earlier age cohorts generally have lower-level qualifications than later cohorts.]
Figure 4.41: Percentage of adults with disability living in households, by highest educational qualifications gained and severity of disability, 2001
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Household Disability Survey
Note: Data in Appendix Table 4.30.
Comparing 2001 and 1996
Children
In general, when the 2001 Household Disability Survey results are compared with the 1996 Household Disability Survey results, the trends and patterns relating to education and children are similar (Table 4.3).
Table 4.3: Summary comparison of 1996 and 2001 Household Disability Surveys - children
| |
Estimated number of children
|
Percentage of children with disability living in households (%)
|
|
1996 survey
|
2001 survey
|
1996 survey
|
2001 survey
|
|
Early childhood education (aged 0-4)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kindergarten
|
5,700
|
5,200
|
30
|
33
|
|
Childcare centre/crèche
|
2,900
|
2,000
|
15
|
13
|
|
Playcentre
|
2,600
|
1,700
|
14
|
11
|
|
Kohanga reo
|
-
|
1,600
|
-
|
10
|
|
Playgroup
|
-
|
800
|
-
|
5
|
|
At least one type of early education
|
13,500
|
12,300
|
71
|
77
|
|
Primary and secondary education (aged 5-14)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Primary/intermediate
|
54,500
|
56,100
|
75
|
76
|
|
Secondary
|
11,900
|
9,900
|
16
|
13
|
|
Area/composite
|
2,300
|
2,500
|
3
|
3
|
|
Special school
|
2,300
|
1,400
|
3
|
2
|
|
Home schooling
|
-
|
1,300
|
-
|
2
|
|
Kura Kaupapa Mäori
|
-
|
600
|
-
|
1
|
|
Receiving special education
(aged 5-14)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Attends special school, special unit, special class
|
9,100
|
12,400
|
10
|
17
|
|
Types of classes attending
(aged 5-14)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Only mainstream classes
|
55,000
|
53,300
|
74
|
74
|
|
Mixture mainstream and special
|
9,000
|
11,400
|
12
|
16
|
|
Only a special unit
|
2,400
|
2,400
|
3
|
3
|
|
Educational assessments (aged 0-14)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Has had an assessment
|
26,800
|
33,894
|
29
|
38
|
|
Learning disability (aged 0-14)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Had a learning disability (that is, dyslexia, ADD or ADHD)
|
24,600
|
25,000
|
26
|
28
|
|
Ability to choose school (aged 5-14)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Not always been able to choose
|
3,800
|
5,000
|
5
|
7
|
|
School activities affected (aged 5-14)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Participating in sports/games
|
21,300
|
21,500
|
28
|
30
|
|
Playing
|
15,000
|
17,800
|
20
|
25
|
|
Making friends
|
14,500
|
15,600
|
19
|
22
|
|
Going on school outings/ camps
|
11,100
|
10,600
|
15
|
15
|
|
At least one activity affected
|
39,000
|
37,000
|
52
|
51
|
|
Education affected by disability
(aged 5-14)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Changed schools
|
12,900
|
15,100
|
17
|
20
|
|
Education interrupted for long periods
|
14,700
|
12,700
|
20
|
17
|
|
Took fewer subjects or courses
|
5,200
|
5,700
|
7
|
8
|
|
Took courses by correspondence/home school
|
4,200
|
5,200
|
6
|
7
|
|
Began school later than others
|
3,500
|
4,700
|
5
|
6
|
|
Changed subjects or courses
|
3,300
|
4,100
|
4
|
5
|
|
Lived away from home to go to school
|
2,500
|
1,400
|
3
|
2
|
|
At least one aspect of education affected
|
31,800
|
33,400
|
43
|
45
|
- Percentages too small to report (estimated frequencies outside the 70 percent relative sampling error cut-off point).
However, there was evidence of an increase in the delivery of special education services. This comprised:
- an increase in the percentage of children with disability receiving some form of special education (from 10 percent in 1996 to 17 percent in 2001)
- an increase in the percentage of children with disability experiencing educational assessments (from 29 percent in 1996 to 38 percent in 2001).
There was also an increase in the percentage of children aged 0-4 participating in early childhood education (from 71 percent in 1996 to 77 percent in 2001).
Adults
In 1996, an estimated 42,932 adults with disability, 7 percent of all adults with disability living in households, were enrolled in formal education. This was a slightly lower participation rate than in 2001 (9 percent) (Table 4.4).
Table 4.4: Summary comparison of 1996 and 2001 Household Disability Surveys - adults
| |
Estimated number of adults
|
Percentage of adults living in households (%)
|
|
1996 survey
|
2001 survey
|
1996 survey
|
2001 survey
|
|
Enrolment in formal education
|
|
|
|
|
|
Adults with disability
|
|
|
|
|
|
15-24
|
16,500
|
16,600
|
43
|
37
|
|
25-44
|
21,100
|
21,800
|
14
|
14
|
|
45-64
|
-
|
15,400
|
-
|
7
|
|
65+
|
-
|
2,000
|
-
|
1
|
|
Total
|
42,900
|
55,800
|
7
|
9
|
|
Types of formal education enrolled in
|
|
|
|
|
|
Adults with disability
|
|
|
|
|
|
Polytechnic
|
12,200
|
13,900
|
29
|
25
|
|
University
|
10,600
|
12,400
|
25
|
22
|
|
Secondary school
|
9,000
|
11,200
|
21
|
20
|
|
Highest educational qualification
|
|
|
|
|
|
Adults with disability
|
|
|
|
|
|
No qualification
|
248,000
|
194,700
|
43
|
31
|
|
School qualification
|
146,600
|
170,000
|
25
|
27
|
|
Post-school qualification
|
160,000
|
134,400
|
28
|
21
|
|
Adults without disability
|
|
|
|
|
|
No qualification
|
555,500
|
456,600
|
26
|
21
|
|
School qualification
|
719,100
|
809,200
|
34
|
37
|
|
Post-school qualification
|
743,100
|
648,600
|
35
|
29
|
- Percentages too small to report (estimated frequencies outside the 70 percent relative sampling error cut-off point).
In 1996, 21 percent of adults with disability enrolled in formal education were at secondary schools, 29 percent were at polytechnics and 25 percent were at universities. The 1996 secondary school enrolment rates were similar to 2001, but the university and polytechnic enrolment rates were slightly higher in 1996. In 2001, 22 percent of adults with disability enrolled in formal education were at university compared with 25 percent in 1996.
In 1996, as in 2001, for adults who had a disability that developed before they finished their formal education, the most commonly reported detrimental effect of the disability on their education was that it interrupted their education for long periods. Next were effects on the choice of courses or subjects, taking fewer courses or subjects, and changing courses or subjects.
Compared with 1996, in 2001 adults with and without disability were less likely to have no qualifications or post-school qualifications. Most notably, 31 percent of adults with disability had no educational qualifications in 2001, compared with 43 percent in 1996.