Reframing the common barriers: An exploratory study of inclusive education in Uganda and England, during COVID-19
Claire BrundleIntroduction:
COVID-19 highlighted existent inequities in access to education for disabled children around the globe. This article explores the common barriers to inclusion through the experience of the adults in the classroom.
Method:
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 teachers and occupational therapists from Uganda and England. A phenomenological approach was adopted. Data was collected over two rounds of interviews, coded and themes extracted to arrive at a new understanding of the phenomenon under inquiry.
Findings:
The pandemic provides participants a new lens for critical reflection, reframing the common barriers to inclusion, and revealing their own positioning in the inclusive space. Participants reconceptualise ‘a lack of time’ to ‘time as a commodity’ bartered against results, ‘a lack of specialist knowledge’ as ‘knowledge misaligned’ with the requirements of inclusion and the invisibility of the disabled child, despite proclaimed inclusive practice. The participants foreground their responsibility to create an inclusive school community, in relationship and through collaborative practice.
Conclusion:
The pandemic exposed the taken-for-granted exclusion of the disabled child, justified by the common barriers described. No longer seen as the reason for failed inclusion, the common barriers are reframed, and participants recognise the need to recentre the disabled child within their professional gaze.