Challenges to Nigeria's Inclusive Education: Issues and Solutions

Asia and Africa today. 2026. No. 4. P. 70–76.

Lawal M. O.

Inclusive education refers to a setting where neurotypical and neurodiverse pupils attend the same school and where barriers are eliminated to promote equitable academic and social involvement. Although inclusive education has drawn attention from throughout the world, it is still relatively new in Nigeria and faces several challenges, including a teacher shortage, a lack of facilities and resources, and a lack of understanding and awareness. The study examined experts' viewpoints on the challenges facing inclusive education in Nigeria along with possible solutions.

Four interrelated themes emerged from the findings: a gap between policy and practice, societal stigmas, resource constraints, and structural obstacles. The study comes to the conclusion that a multi-level, comprehensive strategy that tackles issues at the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem levels is necessary for the advancement of inclusive education in Nigeria. Semi-structured interviews with experts were carried out under the guidance of Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory. Data were subjected to thematic analysis in order to identify problems and suggested remedies.

Keywords: Nigeria, inclusive education, Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory, expert perspectives, barriers to inclusion

Publication based on the results of: The diversity of forms, effects and barriers to integration of modern Russian society in synchronic and diachronic dimensions (2025)