In the last thirty years, inclusive education (IE) strategies have been put forth and approved for use in the instruction of students with special needs across the globe (Hassanein, Alshaboul, & Ibrahim, 2021). The overarching principles of The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education (Ainscow, Slee, & Best, 2019) serve as a foundation for the endorsement of this action. International, regional, and national bodies are actively creating laws and regulations to encourage and promote the education of every child in general education classrooms. Creating an inclusive, equitable, and high-quality education system is the foundation of “SDG 4” of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that the United Nations (UN) developed for the 2030 Agenda. This goal calls for regular schools to have the resources needed to provide the best possible education to learners with disabilities (Rasooli & Karamani, 2020). Thus, inclusive education may be understood as the ideal approach for teaching children with special needs as well as a high-quality education for all (Hassanein, Alshaboul, & Ibrahim, 2021), In Africa, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) passed in 1994 and allowed children with disabilities to attend regular schools, helped to further the inclusion movement (Meijer & Watkins, 2019).
This was accompanied by greater research, assistance, and regulations to guarantee that no child is excluded from full participation in school. Pather (2019), examining the development of inclusive education in Africa after The Salamanca Statement (1994), notes certain advancements in several nations. He observed a notable shift in attitudes toward disability as well as an increase in enrollment as a result of universal primary education. Since teachers’ needs in regular classroom are not as well-recognized, IE is still not being implemented effectively, Despite the fact that numerous African governments have released a framework of IE laws, their implementation in classroom settings is exceedingly difficult for a variety of reasons, including the dearth of resources and skill sets among teachers. Thus, it might be argued that the challenge with IE in many African nations is in the implementation of IE rather than the formulation of policy (World Bank, 2018). In order for teachers to successfully integrate an IE model in regular classrooms, researchers must fully acknowledge the viewpoints of teachers on IE implementation (Meijer & Watkins, 2019): (Kinuthia, 2022). Uganda has been required to adopt inclusive educatio n approaches ever since it signed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (1994) and the Salamanca Declaration (1994). As part of the National Vision 2040, Uganda’s reform plan for disability development now centers on inclusion. Thus far, the reform strategy has placed a strong emphasis on reducing inequality by, among other things, enforcing the Uganda Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) Act of 2007 to guarantee that equality compliance is applied in all areas of the economy. In order to give guidance for the planning, budgeting, and oversight of harmonized disability interventions for individuals with disabilities in Uganda, the National Planning Authority (NPA) created the National Disability Inclusive Planning Guidelines (National Planning authority, 2017).
Therefore, among other things, these development plans serve as a roadmap for education sector planners as they develop and execute integrated education practices for Ugandan students with disabilities and other special needs. Teachers take this action because it allows these students to gain the most from their school experiences by learning alongside other students and receiving the help they need (Banda & Oketch, 2009). In Uganda, there are three types of schools where children with special needs can receive an education: special schools, schools that are affiliated to mainstream schools, and all-inclusive schools where students with or without disabilities can attend (World Bank, 2020). In Uganda, parents, special needs education teachers, and other key stakeholders have been engaged in a contentious debate over the viability of the inclusive education aim (Grace & Oketcho, 2022). The dispute centers on how inclusion is interpreted, which perplexes some parties, particularly teachers, because it mandates that students with special needs and disabilities attend mainstream classes regardless of their age, ability, or impairment (Chibaya, Chicaya, Govender, & Naidoo, 2022). Teachers can be crucial to the progressive and successful implementation of inclusion if they have access to the right laws, resources, and assistance (Matundura, Bota, & Kodero, 2022). Given that today’s classrooms are comprised of diverse groups of students with a range of needs and skills, educational institutions—and teachers in particular—must be able to provide for these pupils in a way that meets their needs (Miller, Wilt, Allock, Morningstar, & Ruppar, 2022).
