Social Policy and Its Effectiveness in Supporting Inclusive Education

Abstract

This paper attempts to deal with the issue of inclusive education policy by examining the issues facing the integration of students with special education needs into the general education system. This paper provides a discussion about social policy support for inclusive education based on data from various sources. The analysis shows that social policy is a prerequisite for inclusion, in that it promotes equity, rights and institutional responsibility. But policy effectiveness is constrained by poor implementation due to lack of resources, teacher training, access to school, monitoring, support services, and social stigma. The article states that the existence of a policy is not enough in order to achieve inclusive education. Inclusion needs to be implemented through: policy commitments translated into classroom level support; institutional accountability; accessible learning environments and meaningful participation and equity for all learners.