The practice of inclusive education in Central Ethiopia Regional State: a case study of primary schools

The topic of inclusive education has received a lot of attention since the 1980s following the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989 and the UNESCO Salamanca Statement of 1994. However, insights into its implementation, in the context of developing countries, have been less available in the literature. Thus, the purpose of the current study is to explore the implementation of inclusive education in the context of primary schools. The study employed a qualitative case study design, and data was collected through semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions (FGD) and observation. The findings indicated that lack of ongoing teacher professional development opportunities, absence of teaching resources, inaccessible school infrastructure and cultural prejudice were found as the major barriers to the implementation of inclusive education. Overall, the realisation of inclusive education, which is related to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, is still far away in Ethiopia.