Across the globe, schools and universities are rethinking what it means to provide quality education by embracing inclusive teaching practices that ensure every learner has the opportunity to succeed.

Some countries face obstacles as they move towards inclusive education policies, including lack of funding and resources, insufficient training or services, large class sizes, and cultural challenges. Despite these challenges, many countries continue to make strides, understanding inclusive pedagogy and curriculum as vital to promoting educational quality, social justice, and lifelong learning.

Scroll down to learn more about movements to implement inclusive education in systems around the world

• Children worldwide spend a significant portion of their lives and education online. Read insights from digital education and social justice expert Sue Cranmer about the importance of social inclusion in the lives of disabled children, through the lens of digital learning.

• Although it can be difficult for some education systems to incorporate inclusive approaches in their policies, embracing some fundamental strategies can do much to activate change. Read Christopher J. Johnstone’s discussion of the debates around participation as a strategy for inclusive development, including efforts to shape curriculum and classroom practice to meet the needs of marginalized students.

• Education philosophers like Rabindranath Tagore believe that education should take a holistic approach that nurtures intellectual, creative, physical, and spiritual development. Explore the concept of using such inclusive practices in Asia to decolonize pedagogy and embrace more humanistic frameworks in this chapter from international education scholar Mousumi Mukherjee.

• In Central and Eastern Europe, queer discourse in education is subjected to different challenges, societal conditions, and gender norms than in Western Europe and the U.S. As a result, accompanying intersectional pedagogy can be difficult to implement. Learn about teaching queer post-Soviet perspectives in this excerpt from researcher Masha Beketova.

• Ever since the initial signing of the Convention of the United Nations on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2006, more countries have added to the growing number of nations committed to making their education systems more inclusive. Read professor Judith’t Gilde’s observations of how European teachers are both bringing an inclusive perspective to education theory and incorporating it into their practice.

• While a growing number of education leaders around the world agree on the benefits of inclusive education, challenges arise when it comes to developing programs and models that institutions can use to build global and inclusive campuses. Read this chapter to gain insight into how systems can implement interdisciplinary pedagogy to help students become global citizens as well as aware, responsible adults.

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Country in Focus: Egypt



Since 2018 Egypt’s education system has been undergoing significant reform, addressing longstanding challenges including overcrowded classrooms, standards favoring rote memorization rather than critical thinking, and unequal access to quality education. Educational inequality remains a significant challenge, as students from low-income and rural communities often have less access to quality schools, qualified teachers, and educational resources than their wealthier urban peers.

Reform initiatives have included wider access via more open educational practices including Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), and additional digital opportunities that include more technology built into infrastructure.

At the same time, challenges remain, including regional inequalities, persistent poverty affecting educational access and achievement, and the need to further improve literacy, critical thinking, and inclusion.