Institutional, Pedagogical, and Social Barriers to Inclusive Education: Perspectives of School Principals and Teachers
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special educational needs##common.commaListSeparator## SEND##common.commaListSeparator## inclusive education##common.commaListSeparator## Pakistan##common.commaListSeparator## special education teachers##article.abstract##
The education of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) has been one of the most complicated parts of present-day education systems. Although, inclusive education has been gaining momentum in the world, but there is little empirical knowledge regarding the challenges faced by the school principals and teachers in the field of special education in practice especially in under-resourced countries like Pakistan. The current study aims to explore the professional, instructional, administrative and emotional difficulties faced by teachers serving students with SEND in various educational contexts in Pakistan. The research design used was qualitative exploratory research with a paradigm of interpretivism. The research subjects were purposively selected as four informants, which comprised of three special education teachers and one school principal, from both government and private institutional settings. Braun and Clarke's (2006) thematic analysis framework was used to analyze the data, which resulted in six broad themes: training and professional preparation, classroom and instructional challenges, institutional support and resource availability, policy and system-level barriers, collaboration and stakeholder involvement, and emotional and psychological impact. Results highlight a recurring theme of a theory–practice divide in teacher preparation, the unequal distribution of resources across institutional types, inflexibility in policy frameworks and the emotional burden of all participants. One of the significant results is the resource–equity paradox: centres funded by the government may have material resources but lack adequate human resources, a situation that shows that the provision of material resources is not enough to make education effective. The study provides contextually relevant and empirical knowledge on the education of students with disabilities in Pakistan and suggests reform in the system in teacher training, allocation of resources, policy development and support for educators' wellbeing.
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