March 16, 2026

Survey of Disability Researchers in Southeast AsiaIdentifying graduate-level professors and lecturers to train specialist human resources

The Nippon Foundation has commissioned the Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability (APCD) to conduct a survey of university professors and lecturers who are engaged in research to resolve issues in the disability field and teaching in master’s degree programs in seven Southeast Asian countries (Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Laos).

The survey was intended to promote the training of specialist human resources to resolve issues by organizing and publicizing information on professors and lecturers who are able to teach in master’s programs in the disability field to make it easier to identify appropriate instructors in students’ fields of interest. This will strengthen The Nippon Foundation’s activities to provide scholarships to students with disabilities in master’s programs.

The organization and publication of information on university professors and lecturers engaged in research in the disability field in Southeast Asia across universities has been limited to date.

Survey Overview

The survey was carried out online from July to September 2025, covering professors and lecturers involved in research into resolving issues in the disability field and teaching graduate students at institutions of higher education in the seven Southeast Asian countries.

Survey Method

In addition to an online survey of related papers on Google Scholar (2015-25) to identify candidate faculty, snowball sampling was used to invite respondents to introduce additional candidates, and the information on qualified professors and lecturers was organized.

Key Findings

Responses: Surveys were sent to 624 candidates. Responses were received from 33 qualified candidates, and showed that information on researchers is scattered within regions and by country.
Trends in research fields: A common trend was that inclusive education, health and rehabilitation, accessibility, employment, legal frameworks, human rights, and social sciences are popular research subjects.
Country distribution: There were differences by country, with some countries having few researchers or insufficient access to researcher information. Responses by country broke down as : Malaysia – 13; Indonesia – 9; Thailand – 7; the Philippines – 2; Vietnam – 2; Loas – 0; Cambodia – 0.
Framework for admission to university: Differences were seen across universities in areas including accessibility of campus facilities and support equipment provided, scholarships and tuition exemptions, and the establishment of offices to support students with disabilities and training for academic advisors.

The report is based on voluntary, self-reported responses to an online survey, with responses related to university admissions and support structures reflecting respondents’ personal opinions. In addition, the survey was conducted in English only and within a limited period of time, and the results may therefore be skewed by country or field, and information may be incomplete.

Going Forward

The report recommends the following for the identification of university professors and lecturers working to resolve issues in the field of disability.

Creation of a centralized database
Standardization and regular updates (roughly semiannually) of information input by universities
Strengthening of reporting structure within universities (clarification of contact points and responsible staff)
Multilingual and accessible capabilities (in the main languages of each country and English, formats that are easily accessible for anyone)

Going Forward

The Nippon Foundation will use the information obtained from this report to strengthen its scholarship programs for students with disabilities in master’s degree programs, and to work to resolve issues in the disability field by training human resources.

A summary of the report and a list of qualified university professors and lecturers are available (in English) via the links below.