Education is perhaps one of the most complementary fields to target for inclusivity. Due to the nature of learning, the various ways that individuals of all backgrounds learn best, and the importance of education in sustainable development, inclusive education is essential to achieving the SDGs and their commitments to persons with disabilities. Education is, by most societal standards, positively correlated with economic involvement. With that in mind, it is to the benefit of all countries to adopt measures that led to larger areas of their population obtaining education.

We know that there are number of ways that individuals retain information including visual, auditory, and interactive learning. A Universal Design for Learning approach would not only allow educational spaces to be accessible for PWDs but also cater to the variety of ways that all people learn. Universal design is a theme that has come up again and again and it can’t be emphasized enough how measures that empower PWDs can be empowering to all individuals. Fortunately, since we already know about the different types of learning, there are already frameworks and cases that exist that can be used to model or build from to create inclusive learning spaces. Persons with disability have historically been either excluded entirely from education opportunities or segregated into “disabled” classes. Inclusive education would break down these barriers by integrating classrooms and allowed for collaborative learning using varying, universal design for learning.

Education is linked to sustainable development because of the linkages between education, knowledge, and innovation. An educated population can provide highly skilled labor and help a state further develop. Currently, 15% of the population’s potential is being underutilized or excluded completely from economic activities, for reasons including their inability to obtain an education. Inclusive education can allow for more economic participation and by extent, allow for more innovative minds to word on a nations developmental issues.