7. Canadian Indicators for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) - article 24: education

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• 7.1 Attendance at educational institutions
• 7.2 Educational attainment
• 7.3 Discontinuing education
• 7.4 School accommodations
• 7.5 Requirements and educational needs met
• 7.6 Experiences of students with disabilities at school

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A PDF version of the Canadian Indicators for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is available on the index page.

7.1 Attendance at educational institutions

Figure 7.1 - Text description

Gender	Persons with disabilities	Persons without disabilities
Men	52%	53%
Women	52%	56%

• Notes: The statistics above are for persons who attended any accredited educational institution between September 2015 and May 2016.
• Educational institutions include school, college, CEGEP or university.
• Differences between persons with disabilities and persons without disabilities are statistically significant only for women (p<0.05).
• Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2017 (Social Research Division calculations).

Among persons aged 15 to 29 years, women with disabilities were less likely to be attending educational institutions than women without disabilities (52% versus 56%).

In contrast, for men, the proportion attending educational institutions was similar for those with disabilities (52%) and for those without disabilities (53%).

7.2 Educational attainment

Figure 7.2 - Text description

Highest educational attainment	Persons with disabilities	Persons without disabilities
Less than high school	18%	10%
High school	26%	23%
College, trade, or certificate	36%	36%
Bachelor or above	20%	31%

• Note: Differences between persons with disabilities and persons without disabilities are statistically significant for "Less than high school", "High school" and "Bachelor or above" (p<0.05).
• Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2017 (Social Research Division calculations).

Persons with disabilities had lower levels of educational attainment than persons without disabilities.

Among persons aged 25 to 64 years, a smaller proportion of those with disabilities than those without disabilities reported "bachelor or above" as their highest level of education (20% versus 31%).

The proportion with "less than high school" education was close to 2 times higher for persons with disabilities than those without disabilities (18% versus 10%).

7.3 Discontinuing education

Figure 7.3 - Text description

Reason	Milder disabilities	More severe disabilities
Due to condition	21%	40%
Due to lack of assistive devices or support services	6%	18%

• Notes: Respondents with disabilities were asked whether they ever discontinued their formal education or training "because of their condition" or "due to lack of assistive devices or support services".
• The statistics above are for persons with disabilities either currently enrolled in school, college, CEGEP or university or last enrolled in school between 2016 and 2017 and who had a disability at the time.
• "Milder" disability is composed of those with "Mild" or "Moderate" disabilities, while "More Severe" disability combines those with "Severe" and "Very Severe" disabilities.
• Differences between persons with milder disabilities and persons with more severe disabilities are statistically significant for all the above categories (p<0.05).
• Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2017 (Social Research Division calculations).

Students with more severe disabilities were 3 times more likely to have ever discontinued their education due to a lack of assistive devices or support services than those with milder disabilities (18% versus 6%). They were also nearly 2 times more likely to have ever discontinued their education due to their condition (40% versus 21%).

7.4 School accommodations

Figure 7.4 - Text description

Required school accommodation	Milder disabilities	More severe disabilities
Assistive devices/support services	39%	69%
Specialized transportation	2%*	14%
Adapted/modified building features	5%*	16%

• * = Use with caution.

• Notes: The statistics above are for persons with disabilities either currently enrolled in school, college, CEGEP or university, or last enrolled in school between 2016 and 2017 and who had a disability at the time.
• Assistive devices refer to devices or tools designed or adapted to help a person with disability to perform a particular task or activity. Support services include modification to curricula or additional time for testing or courses.
• "Milder" disability is composed of those with "Mild" or "Moderate" disabilities. "More Severe" disability combines those with "Severe" and "Very Severe" disabilities.
• Differences between persons with milder disabilities and more severe disabilities are statistically significant for all the above categories (p<0.05).
• E = Use with caution
• Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2017 (Social Research Division calculations).

Students with more severe disabilities were more likely to require school accommodations than those with milder disabilities. For example, 69% of students with more severe disabilities required assistive devices and support services. This compares with 39% of those with milder disabilities.

7.5 Requirements and educational needs met

Table 7.1: Requirements and educational needs met for the 5 most frequent school accommodations, students with disabilities aged 15 to 29 years, 2017

Type of school accommodation	Required	Needs met
Extended time to take tests and exams	84%	89%
Individualized Education Plan (IEP)	51%	84%
Computer, laptop or tablet with specialized software/adaptations	45%	70%
Teacher's aide or tutor	42%	68%
Modified or adapted course curriculum	41%	80%

• Notes: The statistics above are for persons with disabilities either currently enrolled in school, college, CEGEP or university or last enrolled in school between 2016 and 2017 and who had a disability at the time.
• Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2017 (Social Research Division calculations).

Among students with disabilities aged 15 to 29 years, the most frequently required school accommodation was extended time to take tests and exams (84%). The need for this accommodation was met for 89% of those who required it.

The second most frequently required school accommodation among persons with disabilities was an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) (51%). The need for this accommodation was met for 84% of those who required it.

7.6 Experiences of students with disabilities at school

Figure 7.5 - Text description

Negative school experience	Milder disabilities	More severe disabilities
Experienced bullying	33%	58%
Feel left out of things	40%	69%
Being avoided at school	23%	56%

• Notes: The statistics above are for persons with disabilities either currently enrolled in school, college, CEGEP or university or last enrolled in school between 2016 and 2017 and who had a disability at the time.
• "Milder" disability is composed of those with "Mild" or "Moderate" disabilities. "More Severe" disability combines those with "Severe" and "Very Severe" disabilities.
• Differences between persons with milder disabilities and persons with more severe disabilities are statistically significant for all the above categories (p<0.05).
• Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2017 (Social Research Division calculations).

Students with more severe disabilities were more likely to report negative school experiences than those with milder disabilities. For example, 69% of students with more severe disabilities reported feeling left out of things and 58% experienced bullying. For students with milder disabilities, 40% felt left out of things and 33% of them experienced bullying.