Influence of Cultural Beliefs on Special Education Service Utilisation in Ebonyi State

This study examines the influence of cultural beliefs on the utilisation of formal special education services by families of children with disabilities in Ebonyi State, South East Nigeria. Cultural beliefs, including traditional explanatory models of disability causation, spiritual interpretations of developmental conditions, and community norms around help-seeking, profoundly shape the decisions families make about whether to enrol children with disabilities in school, seek therapeutic services, or pursue traditional healing instead. In Ebonyi State, where traditional Igbo cultural practices and religious frameworks both influence family decision-making, understanding this dynamic is essential for designing culturally responsive outreach and service delivery strategies. Using a phenomenological qualitative design, the study conducts twenty-five in-depth interviews with parents and caregivers of children with disabilities selected through purposive and snowball sampling from five local government areas. Interviews are supplemented by three focus group discussions with community leaders and religious figures. Data undergo interpretive phenomenological analysis, with themes organised around belief systems, service utilisation patterns, and mediating factors. Findings are expected to reveal complex interactions between traditional beliefs, Christian religiosity, and emerging biomedical understandings of disability, with direct implications for service uptake. Recommendations include cultural competence training for special education service providers and community engagement strategies that work through existing cultural and religious networks in Ebonyi State. Keywords: cultural beliefs, special education, service utilisation, Ebonyi State, disability perception.