Measuring the Level of Subjective Well-Being of Students with Special Needs on Indonesia’s Largest Island

¹ Graduate School of Education, Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang, Malang 65144, Indonesia
² Department of Special Education, Faculty of Edication and Vocational Studies Universitas Lancang Kuning, Pekanbaru 28261, Indonesia
³ Graduate School of Pedagogy, Universitas Lancang Kuning, Pekanbaru 28261, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: sriwahyuni91@unilak.ac.id

Abstract

This research aims to measure the level of subjective well-being of students with special needs on Indonesia’s largest island. Identifying factors that influence the subjective well-being of students with special needs and providing recommendations for increasing the SWB of students with special needs. The research method used was quantitative descriptive analysis with respondents from all students with disabilities at one of the inclusive universities on the island of Kalimantan. Data collection used a closed questionnaire adopted from Kinderman’s subjective well-being scale and open questions as data triangulation. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The research results show that the subjective wellbeing of students with disabilities is in the high category, more than 65.6% of respondents have high subjective well-being, 34.4% of students with disabilities who are respondents have subjective well-being at a medium level. In the aspect of psychological well-being, a small number of students with disabilities are in the low category. It is hoped that this research can provide useful information for policy makers, academics, and practitioners in an effort to improve the subjective well-being of students with special needs in Indonesia. The in-depth overview of how the geographical and cultural conditions of Kalimantan can influence the subjective well-being of students with special needs makes this paper an excellent reference for the local educational policies and programs.