Comparative Analysis of Educational Outcomes in Segregated Versus Inclusive Settings for Students with Intellectual Disabilities in Ogun State

This study conducts a comparative analysis of educational outcomes for students with intellectual disabilities placed in segregated special schools versus inclusive mainstream classrooms in Ogun State, South West Nigeria. The debate between segregated and inclusive placement continues to generate significant scholarly and policy controversy, with advocates on both sides drawing on international evidence that does not always transfer to Nigerian contexts. This study adopts an ex-post facto comparative design, selecting one hundred and eighty students with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities, equally distributed across segregated and inclusive settings in Abeokuta and Sagamu. Educational outcomes are measured across academic achievement, social skills, adaptive behaviour, and peer relationships using validated, researcher-administered assessment tools. Data are analysed using multivariate analysis of variance to simultaneously compare group differences across all outcome dimensions. The study controls for disability severity, age, and socioeconomic status as potential confounders. Findings are anticipated to reveal setting-specific advantages and disadvantages, with inclusive settings performing better on social outcome measures and segregated settings potentially offering advantages in structured academic instruction for specific disability profiles. The study contributes original comparative evidence to placement policy debates in Ogun State and beyond. Recommendations include developing a placement decision-making framework that considers individual student profiles alongside setting quality indicators. Keywords: segregated settings, inclusive schools, intellectual disability, educational outcomes, Ogun State.