The hurdles of implementing inclusive education in regular schools: insights from Tanzanian literature

Abstract

Tanzania is among the countries committed to implementing inclusive education (IE), ensuring that children with disabilities can learn in regular schools without discrimination and with equal opportunities. However, translating IE policy into practice remains a persistent challenge. While individual studies have examined IE implementation in Tanzania, none has synthesised the evidence broadly across the national context in regular schools. This study addressed the gap through a narrative literature review of peer-reviewed studies and dissertations from Tanzania, guided by one objective: to identify and examine the hurdles of implementing IE in Tanzanian basic education regular schools as documented in the existing literature. Thematic analysis of the selected sources revealed four persistent and interrelated hurdles, including human resource constraints covering shortage and inadequate training of teachers, whereas physical infrastructure constraints encompass inaccessible buildings and sanitation facilities. Moreover, teaching and learning material constraints include inadequate assistive devices and specialist resources, and finally the financial constraints. The study concludes IE implementation within basic schools in Tanzania is largely aspirational rather than fully operational. It recommends investing in teacher training, learning devices, adequate budget and partnerships with NGOs to strengthen evidence – based reforms.