Financial Literacy and Inclusive Education: Enhancing Economic Decision-Making Skills Among Students with Special Needs

Abstract

Inclusive education is focused not only on equal access to education but also on the acquisition of the necessary life skills to ensure independent life and social-economic involvement. In this research, the authors explore the variation in learning engagement and academic achievement between students with and without special needs through the Open University Learning Analytics Dataset (OULAD). The research design used was a quantitative one, which included descriptive statistics, t-tests, correlation, and regression analysis to analyze trends in participation and outcomes in an online environment. The results show that students with special needs exhibit a slightly lower engagement and performance rates, as well as more withdrawal rates, but the difference between the two is rather small. Engagement and academic performance were found to have a positive but weak relationship indicating that although engagement has an impact on learning results, other variables affect student performance. Regression findings also affirm that engagement has a strong predictive power of performance whereas the disability status is still linked with the disparities in outcomes. On the basis of these results, the research provides an understanding of the significance of incorporating the financial literacy concept into the framework of inclusive education as a tool of developing economic decision-making abilities and fostering independence in students with special needs. The research is valuable in terms of promoting inclusive educational practices by connecting the learning analytics with the overall development of life skills.