From Policy to Practice: Assessing Governance Effectiveness in Childcare Centres for Children with Disabilities

Rozita Arshad; Ummu Atiyah Ahmad Zakuan; Harlida Abdul Wahab; Zarina Mohd Noor

doi:10.2991/978-94-6239-785-9_57

<Previous Article In Volume

Next Article In Volume>

From Policy to Practice: Assessing Governance Effectiveness in Childcare Centres for Children with Disabilities

Authors

Rozita Arshad¹^{, *}, Ummu Atiyah Ahmad Zakuan², Harlida Abdul Wahab³, Zarina Mohd Noor⁴

¹School of Government, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia

²School of International Studies, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia

³School of Law, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia

⁴Rumah Amal Kulim, Kulim, Kedah Darul Aman, Malaysia

^*Corresponding author. Email: roz@uum.edu.my

Corresponding Author

Rozita Arshad

Available Online 7 October 2026.

DOI: 10.2991/978-94-6239-785-9_57 How to use a DOI?
Keywords: Governance effectiveness; Childcare; Disabilities; Inclusive Education; Malaysia MADANI; Caregivers; Policy Implementation
Abstract: The governance of childcare for children with disabilities is a critical determinant of inclusivity, social justice, and national resilience. Despite Malaysia’s progressive policies under the Malaysia MADANI and Persons with Disabilities Act 2008, implementation gaps persist between policy design and actual practice at childcare centres. This paper assesses governance effectiveness in Malaysian childcare institutions for children with disabilities by examining institutional structures, caregiver challenges, accountability mechanisms, and inter-agency coordination. Drawing comparative insights from Singapore, Sweden, and Japan, the study finds that while Malaysia’s policy framework reflects strong normative commitments, governance effectiveness is constrained by fragmented implementation, insufficient caregiver training, and weak regulatory monitoring. The paper concludes by proposing an integrated governance model emphasizing collaboration, capacity-building, and outcome-based evaluation aligned with SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).
Open Access: Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Download article (PDF)

<Previous Article In Volume

Next Article In Volume>

Volume Title: Proceedings of the UUM 13th International Legal Conference 2025 (UUMILC 2025)
Series: Atlantis Highlights in Social Sciences, Education and Humanities
Publication Date: 7 October 2026
ISBN: 978-94-6239-785-9
ISSN: 2667-128X
DOI: 10.2991/978-94-6239-785-9_57 How to use a DOI?
Open Access: Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

ris enw bib

TY  - CONF
AU  - Rozita Arshad
AU  - Ummu Atiyah Ahmad Zakuan
AU  - Harlida Abdul Wahab
AU  - Zarina Mohd Noor
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/07
TI  - From Policy to Practice: Assessing Governance Effectiveness in Childcare Centres for Children with Disabilities
BT  - Proceedings of the UUM 13th International Legal Conference 2025 (UUMILC 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 810
EP  - 822
SN  - 2667-128X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-785-9_57
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-785-9_57
ID  - Arshad2026
ER  -

download .riscopy to clipboard