Admission Pathways and Policies for Learners with Special Educational Needs towards Program Enhancement

With the advent of inclusive education—now a global priority highlighted by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4)—the importance of rethinking school admission practices has intensified. Inclusive education asserts that every child, regardless of physical, cognitive, or socio-emotional differences, has a right to quality education within the same learning environment. This study focuses on selected elementary schools in Taguig City, which had thirty (30) respondents in total, to explore the significance of how current admission pathways address the needs of Learners with Special Educational Needs (LSEN). The goal is to identify gaps and offer program enhancement strategies that ensure inclusive, welcoming, and effective admissions for all learners. The study employed a descriptive-correlational research design to examine the admission process of learners with special needs (LSEN) in selected elementary schools in Taguig City. A stratified sampling technique was used to ensure representation across different roles in the school community. The data were organised and processed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Weighted mean and standard deviation were computed to analyse responses regarding policies, practices, and culture. The results revealed that Dagat-Dagatan Elementary School had the highest number of respondents with a total of 8 (26.70%), followed by Silangan Elementary School with 7 respondents (23.30%). Research suggests that teachers, particularly SPED teachers, are instrumental in providing accommodations and individualised support to learners during and after admission. This aligns with practices in inclusive education where collaboration among administrators, teachers, and support staff is essential in developing and implementing inclusive policies, and ensures that LSEN receive appropriate educational accommodations. Moreover, the findings indicate “Very Great Extent” in the presence of inclusive values and attitudes (WM = 4.30), professional collaboration (WM = 4.33), accessibility and inclusion (WM = 4.27), and leadership support (WM = 4.27), with a composite mean of 4.29. The study underscores that inclusion is a dynamic process requiring continuous collaboration, capacity-building, and resource investment to ensure that every child, regardless of ability, is granted the right to quality education.