Paper Details

Inclusive education reforming the key role of global education, reflecting a sustained commitment to equity, participation, and social justice. Despite expanding access to schooling, gender disparities continue to shape how learners experience and benefit from inclusive educational environments. This article offers a critical synthesis of scholarship to examine how gendered structures influence the theory and practice of inclusive education across diverse contexts. Drawing upon a qualitative meta-synthesis of peer-reviewed literature, foundational theoretical works, and international policy reports published between 2010 and 2024, the study integrates existing knowledge to identify recurring patterns and structural constraints. The analysis indicates that gender-based inequities persist not only in enrolment and retention but also within classroom interactions, institutional cultures, and policy implementation processes. Girls with disabilities emerge as one of the most marginalised groups, frequently encountering layered exclusion shaped by stigma, socio-economic vulnerability, and restrictive gender norms. Simultaneously, the disproportionate identification of boys within certain special education categories invites reflection on behavioural expectations and gendered interpretations of ability. The synthesis further reveals a continuing gap between inclusive education policies and their enactment, often associated with limited professional preparation, fragmented governance structures, and insufficient attention to gender-responsive pedagogy. By positioning gender as a structural dimension rather than a peripheral concern, this article contributes to ongoing efforts to reconceptualise inclusion as a transformative educational project. Moving beyond a narrow emphasis on physical access, the paper underscores the importance of safe learning environments, reflective teaching practices, coordinated policy frameworks, and sustained institutional commitment. Advancing inclusive education, therefore, requires deliberate engagement with the structural conditions that continue to shape unequal educational possibilities.

Inclusive education, Gender disparities, Gender-responsive pedagogy, Reflective Teaching practice, Sustained institutional commitment