Parenting children with disabilities has been reported consistently as challenging (Heward et al., 2022; Lamba et al., 2022; Opoku et al., 2024). Specifically, research has found that parents and carers raising children with disabilities struggle in their effort to support the development of their children as well as identifying appropriate services in the community for their children. While research on parental struggles is growing (Lamba et al., 2022; Opoku et al., 2024), the limited participation of children with disabilities in inclusive education has also received scholarly insights (Jigyel et al., 2020; Magumise & Sefotho, 2020). Unfortunately, the synergy between best parenting practices and effective participation of children with disabilities in inclusive schools is yet to be explored. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has adopted a strengthening-based approach towards supporting the development of children with disabilities (Gaad, 2019). This includes providing parents and carers, and children with requisite support to enable them to explore services such as education in the communities. In the implementation of inclusive education, parents and carers are expected to be actively involved in the educational processes and advocate for better support services in schools for their children (Heward et al., 2022). However, there is more room for improvement as disability intersects with the local culture - onset of disability linked to individuals possessing an ‘evil eye’ (AlQahtani & Efstratopoulou, 2023). This has the potential to impact on parental confidence and their active involvement in the education of their children with disabilities. Nevertheless, there is scarcity of information on the relationship between parenting and inclusive practices. The purpose of this study was to understand the confidence of parents and carers in their parenting skills and their relationship with inclusive practices. Two-hundred and fifty-two (N = 252) parents and carers raising children with disabilities completed the “Parental Perception of Inclusion Climate Scale” (Sharma et al., 2022) and the “Me as a parent Scale” (Matthews et al., 2022). Hierarchical multiple regression and moderation analysis will be computed to explore the relationship between parental confidence and inclusive practices in the UAE. This study has potential to generate useful information which could be considered by policymakers in the UAE in future inclusive education policies and reforms.

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