Negotiating Inclusion in Islamic Schools Teachers’ Practices Institutional Culture and Barriers to Equitable Education

Abstract

Inclusive education in Islamic schools requires more than the placement of diverse learners in the same classroom because equitable participation is shaped by teachers’ practices, institutional culture, ethical commitments, and available resources. This study examines how inclusive education is practiced and negotiated in an Islamic school context, focusing on teachers’ pedagogical responses, institutional influences, and barriers and enabling factors. A qualitative case study design was employed using semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and document analysis involving teachers, school leaders, students, and parents. Data were analyzed thematically through iterative coding, comparison across data sources, and triangulation. The findings show that teachers promoted inclusion through differentiated instruction, individualized support, classroom adaptation, peer learning, and flexible assessment. However, the consistency of these practices depended on teacher competence, leadership support, collaboration, institutional policies, parental involvement, and the availability of learning resources and appropriate infrastructure. Islamic values, particularly justice, equality, compassion, dignity, and mutual assistance, provided an ethical foundation for inclusive practice, but their influence depended on institutional translation into concrete policies and routines. The study proposes an Inclusive Islamic Education Framework that conceptualizes inclusion as a negotiated process connecting teacher agency, institutional culture, Islamic ethical values, and institutional conditions. The framework contributes a context-sensitive explanation of how equitable educational participation can be developed in Islamic schools despite persistent structural constraints and diverse classroom learning environments.