BETWEEN POLICY AND PRACTICE: INTERPRETATIVE ANALYSIS OF SYSTEMIC BARRIERS TO INCLUSION IN PUNJAB’S URBAN SCHOOLS

In Punjab’s urban schools, more attention is being paid to inclusive education, even though teachers’ habits are behind the rules of inclusive education. For this study, we used IPA from a small sample of fieldnotes to understand why inclusive education is not being implemented effectively in urban Punjab. The analysis found that measures promoting integration are hampered by limited resources, strong resistance, and inflexible systems. Often, teachers and school leaders are not fully trained or supported, and the policy rules can be unclear, while different teams do not interact sufficiently. Students with disabilities are excluded from education because of society’s and their parents’ negative attitudes, as well as a lack of proper tools and teaching resources. Scholars have revealed the importance of changing laws, improving teacher training, and increasing community involvement in addressing the issues between policy plans and what happens in schools. Guidance is to be presented to those in charge of policymaking and those working in Punjab’s urban schools. Keywords: Inclusive education, Punjab, systemic barriers, urban schools, policy implementation, interpretative phenomenological analysis, fieldnotes