Abstract
Policies of inclusive education are expected to deliver equal learning opportunities, but the realization of these policies differs in rural and urban schools. This research was an attempt to compare major challenges affecting rural and urban mainstream schools in terms of converting inclusive education policy to classroom practice. There was a mixed-method comparative design and involved 160 teachers, 40 school observations, and 28 interviews. The teacher preparedness, availability of resources, administrative and specialist support, community acceptance, and implementation readiness were measured in quantitative data. The articulation of how barriers manifested in day-to-day school routines was done through qualitative interviews. Urban schools demonstrated higher implementation readiness compared to rural schools in all domains. The biggest discrepancy was in the availability of resources, then in the specialist support, and in teacher preparedness. Problems of rural schools included poor training and infrastructure, lack of assistive materials, lack of referral channels, transportation issues, and a more potent stigma of the community. Schools in the cities were lucky to get better access to services yet were faced with overcrowded classrooms, pressures of work, demands of exams, bureaucratic delays, and parental selectiveness. Results of regression revealed significant predictors of implementation readiness, including resources, administrative support, teacher preparedness, and community acceptance. Policy statements are not the way to achieve inclusive education. Rural schools require specific materials and enhance the accessibility of the schools, mobile specialists, and community consciousness. Urban schools require workload-sensitive training, flexibility of the assessment, and enhanced coordination. Inclusion practice is meaningful only when supported in a location-specific manner.