Inclusive education recognizes the diverse needs of students and ensures that each student has equal opportunities to learn and succeed. The Dubai government has implemented an inclusive education policy aimed at promoting equity and inclusivity in schools. This study aimed to investigate school leaders’ understanding, implementation, and perspectives of the Dubai Inclusive Education Policy Framework (DIEPF). To gather data, a qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with ten school leaders from private schools located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The findings show that school leaders have a strong understanding of the policy and deem it significant. This study also found evidence of effective strategies implemented by school leaders to promote inclusive education. However, challenges in the UAE resonate with those worldwide, such as inadequate funding, high student–teacher ratios, a shortage of specialized staff, and limited training opportunities for teachers. These findings emphasize the significance of ongoing professional development and training of educators involved in inclusive education. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are provided.

This study aims to evaluate the costs of informal care for children with neuromuscular disease and evaluate how physical and psychological health is associated with socio-demographic variables. A cross sectional design was used with a convenience sample of 110 carers that participated in this study. Participants were recruited from Spanish hospitals and rare diseases organizations. Economic costs and sociodemographic aspects were assessed using the economic costs questionnaire and the sociodemographic questionnaire. Physical and psychological health was evaluated using the CarerQol-7D, PHQ-15, Barthel Index, Zarit Overload Scale and Satisfaction with Life Scale. Carers of children with neuromuscular disease spent a large percentage of their annual income in physical therapy, psychological care and speech therapy. Informal costs differed according to the degree of dependency of the child. These were higher in those caregivers whose child under their care presented low functional independence. The loss of work productivity was related to marital status, use of professional services and the child’s dependency. Finally, carers who were female, single or separated and without a job showed worse physical and psychological health. The results highlighted that carers have to face a number of high costs because of the non-existence of social protection and due to the child’s diagnosis.

As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes global education systems, understanding educators’ readiness to integrate AI into classroom practices is essential. This study examines the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of general and special education teachers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) regarding AI in education. Drawing on the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL), we used structural equation modeling (SEM) to assess the relationships among KAP domains, including the moderating effects of demographic factors such as teaching experience, academic role, and prior exposure to AI tools. Data were collected from 161 educators in selected public and private schools across four UAE emirates, with the majority representing private and urban school settings. The findings revealed that teachers’ attitudes significantly predicted AI-related classroom practices, whereas knowledge had a weaker, but positive association. Mediation analysis further showed that knowledge had a significant indirect effect on practice through attitudes, confirming the hypothesized KAP pathway. Moderation analyses highlighted the variability in AI engagement based on gender and academic position, suggesting differentiated readiness across the subgroups. This study contributes to global conversations on teacher preparedness by offering a model for assessing institutional and pedagogical readiness for AI integration in urban school contexts. Implications for professional development, inclusive curriculum design, and educational technology policy are discussed, with relevance to digitally transforming educational systems in comparable settings.