From Policy to Practice: A CIPP Evaluation of Inclusive Vocational Education for Students with Disabilities in Indonesia

Abstract

Inclusive vocational education for students with disabilities remains systematically underexamined in program evaluation scholarship, particularly within low- and middle-income country (LMIC) contexts where institutional capacity and regulatory frameworks are still evolving. This study evaluates the implementation of an inclusive education program at SMKN 2 Malang, Indonesia's longest-established inclusive vocational secondary school, using the Context, Input, Process, and Product (CIPP) evaluation model. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was employed, combining validated Likert-scale questionnaires administered to all pedagogical stakeholders (n = 26) with in-depth interviews, focus group discussion, online interviews, classroom observation, and document analysis. All four CIPP components were rated as "good," yet cross-component analysis revealed a pattern termed functional inclusion with structural fragility: meaningful social and vocational gains were produced through individual commitment rather than institutionalised systems. Critical gaps include the absence of formalised school-level operational guidelines, unstructured special needs teacher-teacher collaboration, non-standardised adaptive assessment instruments, and unsystematic school-to-work transition support. Recommendations are staged across three implementation horizons. The adapted CIPP framework and the proposed typology offer replicable tools for inclusive TVET evaluation in comparable LMIC settings.