Inclusive Education Research in the Global South: A Critical Analysis

Inclusive education is a vital topic in today's world. It aims to provide equal opportunities for all students, regardless of their backgrounds or abilities. In the Global South, this concept takes on unique challenges and opportunities.

For me, this is not just research; it is personal. My path into inclusive education has been shaped by hands-on experiences in schools and communities, moments that revealed how inclusion is not just a principle written in policies but a practice that must be built step by step. From Mozambique to my current doctoral research, I have learned that inclusive education must be adapted to context and grounded in everyday realities.

🌱 The Importance of Inclusive Education

Inclusive education is not just about placing students with disabilities in regular classrooms. It is about creating environments where all students feel valued and supported (Artiles, 2011; UNESCO, 2009; UNICEF, 2017).

One story that profoundly marked my journey was when I received Jay, a student with cerebral palsy, into our school. Jay could not walk or speak, and in many places, he might have been excluded. But when we welcomed him, something remarkable happened: his presence transformed the whole school community. At lunchtime, students began competing for the privilege of taking Jay to the canteen, pushing his wheelchair, carrying him, making sure he was included in everything.

The school had existed since 1981, but it was only after I joined as principal in 2015 that ramps were finally built. I was able to influence this change, showing in practice what it means to make a school accessible. But here is the critical question: was this really because of me? Because I was somehow better than the principals who came before me? I do not believe so. The difference is that I had been exposed to human rights education, and that shaped my awareness. I understood that persons with disabilities have rights, and that meant Jay also had the right to learn in an environment that welcomed him. Many of my colleagues had not had that exposure, and so their decisions were shaped by different perspectives.

This experience taught me that we cannot assume inclusion will happen by itself—it requires awareness, training, and ongoing advocacy. It requires us to wake up society to the reality that disability is not a deficit, but a matter of rights. One of the ways I continue to do this is through my educational podcast, where I bring school principals, parents, and community leaders into open discussions about inclusion. These conversations highlight not only successes but also the challenges schools face, creating a space to share realities and seek collective solutions. Inclusion is not just about being an expert; it is about being proactive, empathetic, and willing to find alternatives to make participation possible.

I have come to understand that true inclusion means ensuring accessibility and equipping teachers with the necessary support and training. At that same school, I realized that many educators lacked confidence and knowledge about inclusive education. To address this, I organized two training sessions for my 23 educators. The first was with AMA, the Mozambican Association of Autism, which shared practical strategies for supporting autistic learners. The second session featured a parent advocate who had founded an organization to defend the rights of children with disabilities. She spoke directly to our teachers about how, even with limited resources, they could adapt classrooms and activities to make them more inclusive. These sessions demonstrated that inclusion begins with awareness and evolves through collaboration.

Yet, in Mozambique and across much of the Global South, schools face significant inequalities in resources and infrastructure. This means inclusion cannot be a “one-size-fits-all” model. Each context requires its own adjustments, creativity, and commitment to make inclusion a living reality for children and their communities.

📊 Current Trends in Inclusive Education Research

Research on inclusive education in the Global South has grown in recent years, reflecting a wider recognition of equity in global agendas. I see three major trends emerging.

Policy Development: Many countries are drafting inclusive education policies. In Mozambique, policies exist on paper, but I often see a gap between policy and practice. My own doctoral research focuses on this tension of how policies inspired by international frameworks, such as the CRPD, can be effectively translated into classrooms that are still overcrowded, under-resourced, and shaped by local realities.

Community Involvement: Research highlights that schools cannot act alone. My UNICEF-sponsored project, which involved creating life-skills clubs across provinces, confirmed that communities, comprising parents, elders, and local organizations, play a crucial role. Children themselves proposed solutions for their communities’ problems, showing that inclusion is also about participation and voice.

Technology Integration: Assistive technologies are becoming central to inclusive education globally. In Mozambique, the challenge is not just the availability of devices but also reliable electricity and internet. Yet I see hope: when I integrate technology into my podcast, with sign language interpretation and captioning, I see how small steps can break down barriers for persons with disabilities.

🚧 Challenges to Inclusive Education

Despite the progress, challenges remain deeply embedded.

Lack of Resources: Many schools in Mozambique lack ramps, books in accessible formats, and trained teachers. I have seen schools where classrooms have over 70 children and only one teacher, making individual attention nearly impossible.

Cultural Attitudes: In rural districts where I traveled with UNICEF, I witnessed communities where disability was still stigmatized. Parents sometimes kept children with disabilities at home, believing school was not for them. If the child were a girl, the situation could be even worse, as gender barriers combined with disability created a double exclusion. Changing attitudes requires more than policies, it requires long-term dialogue and advocacy.

Training Gaps:  In my experience from the pre -school I was working as a principal, teachers want to help, but many have never received professional development in inclusive pedagogy. That is why the training I organized with AMA and the parent advocate was so transformative. When educators realize they can take small, practical steps, it builds both their confidence and their commitment.

🌟 Successful Case Studies

Across the Global South, there are inspiring examples of inclusion.

Brazil: National policies have promoted mainstream enrollment, increasing the participation of students with disabilities.

India: NGOs are leading the way by training teachers in inclusive pedagogy, which has boosted enrollment and retention rates for children with disabilities.

South Africa: Since the end of apartheid, policies have emphasized inclusivity, with many schools establishing support structures.

For me, these case studies are both inspiring and a reminder of the uneven landscape. Mozambique is still at an earlier stage, where policy commitments exist but practice lags. That is why I share local examples in my podcast—to show that while Brazil, India, and South Africa can inspire, we also need to build our own Mozambican stories of success.

🏛 The Role of Policy in Inclusive Education

Policies create frameworks, but they must be lived. In Mozambique, we have signed the CRPD, and our Constitution guarantees rights, yet many schools remain inaccessible. My own preschool became accessible not because of a new law, but because of a moment of awareness sparked by feedback from a disability leader.

When I studied law in Ireland, I gained a deep understanding of the CRPD and observed how inclusive practices were integrated into everyday routines at Mercy Primary School. That experience reinforced my belief that policies only work when translated into culture, when educators, families, and communities see them not as obligations, but as commitments to every child’s dignity.

🔮 The Future of Inclusive Education in the Global South

The future is promising, but fragile. To move forward, I see four urgent steps.

Invest in Teacher Training: Professional development must be a top priority. In Mozambique, this could mean training not only teachers but also school leaders, as principals have a significant influence on school culture.

Enhance Community Engagement: Schools must work closely with families to foster a sense of community. My podcast is one small attempt to create dialogue between parents, principals, and communities.

Utilize Technology Wisely: Assistive tech can break barriers, but it must be contextual, adapted to local realities of electricity, internet, and language.

Monitor and Evaluate: Policies must be tracked to ensure they are more than documents on shelves. Communities should be involved in evaluating whether true inclusion is occurring.

I also see the future in building bridges between contexts. For example, learning from PPEP Integrated Care in Arizona, where adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities receive holistic community-based services, makes me imagine how Mozambique might one day create systems that support inclusion across the lifespan, not just in schools.

📣 Conclusion: Rethinking Inclusion Through Disability Studies

Inclusive education in the Global South cannot only be about fitting children with disabilities into existing systems. It must be about transforming those systems. Too often, disability is still approached from a medical or deficit perspective, where the focus is on what a child “cannot do.” A Disability Studies approach shifts the lens: the problem is not the child, but the barriers that society has built.

This means we need to look critically at schools without ramps, curricula without flexibility, teacher training without diversity, and policies without enforcement. These are the real barriers to inclusion. Removing them requires action at every level: government, schools, communities, and families.

I see this blog as one small contribution to that collective effort. It is not only a space for my reflections but a platform to amplify voices from Mozambique and the wider Global South. My call to all of us is this: let us commit to changing the structures, not the children. Let us build schools and societies where accessibility, equity, and dignity are non-negotiable.

Inclusion is not charity; it is justice.

I believe!

A picture at AERA CONFERENCE 2025 after signing my name and message