Влияние подушевого финансирования школ на обучение детей с особыми образовательными потребностями в Казахстане

  This article examines the impact of per-capita school funding in Kazakhstan on the improvement ofinstruction of students with SEN. It offers an extensive literature review on inclusive education fundingmodels internationally and interprets Kazakhstan’s experience in this context. Data in this article comesfrom a survey of almost 500 urban general day school directors in Kazakhstan’s regions.The article answers three research questions. First, how do urban day schools differ in terms of presenceof students with SEN? Second, how do urban day schools that teach students with SEN differ in theirpolicies and practices towards this group of students, and whether they differ by the type of funding thatthey receive? Third, how do schools that receive PCF assess the impact of this funding on the improvementof instruction of students with SEN?This research finds that factors that determine whether students with SEN are enrolled at the schoolare the selectiveness of admission to school, the language of instruction, the presence of school-levelpolicy towards students with SEN, and additional staff hired for students with SEN. It shows that schools,which receive PCF, controlled for the size of the urban location, are two times more likely to have studentswith SEN in general education classrooms compared to schools that do not receive PCF. Schools that have home-schooled students with SEN are less likely to include these students in general educationclasses. Further research should examine what is the role of schools in maintaining students with SEN inhomeschooling. Findings in this research indicate that teacher professional capacity, the quality of schoolinfrastructure, and the decision-making freedom of school principals form important bases for the effectivenessof per-capita school funding to enable the development of inclusive education in Kazakhstan.Key words: Per-capita funding, throughput funding, outcomes-based funding, school finance, studentswith special needs, inclusive education, policy analysis.