DOI RECORD
Building Disaster Resilience in Early Childhood with Special Needs: A Systematic Review of Psychological Preparedness in Inclusive Early Childhood Education and Special Schools in Indonesia
Abstract
Abstract Background: A disproportionate number of Indonesian children with special education needs and disabilities (SEND) face psychological risks during disasters as the country is geophysically open and there are gaps in inclusive disaster education. Objective: Our work presents the synthesis of empirical findings on psychological preparedness and resilience for young children with SEND in inclusive early childhood education and special schools in Indonesia. Methods: We conducted a search of five databases and an advanced search of Google Scholar (2016, 2026) under PRISMA and pre-registered PICOS criteria to screen out non-peer-reviewed articles and those irrelevant. These were followed by quality appraisal using MMAT with qualitative synthesis. Results: Twenty-eight studies were found. Five themes: institutional readiness, teacher competence, inclusive curriculum, family/community support, and local wisdom were identified as common factors across the included studies. Interventions led to preparedness gains of up to 39%. The majority of evidence is coming from Java and Sumatra. Conclusion: Psychological preparedness is part of a system design that needs to be brought to life through trauma-informed methods, which are based on and respectful of the local culture. This is how we imagine, in our framework Psychological Disaster Readiness for Children with SEND.