2.3. Barriers to inclusion

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Inclusive education is process of ensuring that everyone is present (attending), participating and achieving in education. But some learners do not attend school. Others attend but do not participate or achieve while in school. To understand why, we need to analyse the barriers (obstacles or challenges) getting in their way, and then find ways to overcome these barriers.

There are 5 main types of barriers to inclusion:

• Attitude barriers: e.g. stigma, fear, embarrassment, shame, or low expectations of families; negative attitudes of school staff and other parents; negative attitudes in the community.
• Environmental barriers: e.g. inaccessible school buildings; toilets and pathways are inadequate or inaccessible; the journey to school is difficult or hazardous.
• Practice barriers: e.g., lack of interactive and co-operative teaching, lack of participatory teaching and learning, lack of understanding of different learning styles and intelligences.
• Resource barriers: e.g., shortage of teachers, large class sizes, few teaching and learning resources.
• Policy barriers: e.g. inflexible curriculum and/or school timetables; lack of language or learning support; out-dated education laws and policies.