Saudi Index for the Employment, Empowerment, and Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities

نوع المستند : المقالة الأصلية

المؤلفون

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Teaching and Learning, College of Education and Human Development, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, KSA

2 Associate Professor, Department of Mathematical Sciences, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, KSA

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Teaching and Learning College of Education and Human Development, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, KSA

المستخلص

For persons with disabilities, accessing work opportunities is a human right. However, accurate and sustainable data on their participation and inclusion within the workforce in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is almost non-existent. This study proposes the Saudi Index for the Employment, Empowerment, and Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (SIEEIPD) to assess the implementation of employment rights for PWDs, with specific indicators addressing the inclusion of women with disabilities. The index offers the governmental and the organizational sectors an evaluation tool to measure workforce accessibility and integration efforts. The development of the SIEEIPD followed a structured, multi-step framework for constructing composite indices. The initial phase involved data collection and an analysis of existing employment practices for persons with disabilities (PWDs). This was followed by a comprehensive literature review, which included an examination of best practices and global indicators, guiding the selection of the main and sub-domains for the index. Expert reviews were then conducted to ensure both conceptual and methodological soundness of the index domains. Subsequently, face validity assessments and an exploratory evaluation were employed to determine the index's comprehensiveness and relevance. To assess the index’s validity and reliability, a pilot study was carried out with 12 entities, utilizing a four-category classification framework. The findings confirmed the reliability of the index in the pilot phase, with its validity and reliability expected to improve with a higher response rate. The study recommends that the SIEEIPD be adopted and managed by an independent government body to ensure its sustainability and long-term impact.

الكلمات الرئيسية

الموضوعات الرئيسية


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