Systematic Literature Review on Policy Evaluation on Inclusive Policy Education among Basic Education Schools in the Philippines

Abstract

This systematic literature review aimed to evaluate the implementation of inclusive education policies in basic education schools in the Philippines, specifically examining the current state of implementation, the challenges encountered, and consolidating recommendations to enhance further policy implementation. The study employed the PRISMA 2020 framework to conduct a systematic literature review of relevant studies retrieved from Google and Google Scholar. Using predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, 36 publications from the initial pool of 120 studies published between 2020 and 2026 were included and subjected to thematic analysis. Results have revealed an increasing problem of commitment, including practices, difficulties in policy implementation, such as monitoring and evaluation, and the need for active participation from other members of the community and for strong, stable leadership from school administrators. Barriers were also identified, including a lack of teacher preparedness, limited access to resources and funding for initiatives, and weak community engagement. Suggestions were given to address issues, such as capacitating teachers through training, allocating more resources for educational materials, increasing support services from professionals, and improving collaboration and mechanisms for implementing the policy. Overall, although Philippine basic education schools have made significant strides through the promotion of inclusive education and the expansion of access for students with special educational needs, challenges and problems continue to hamper the realization of their goals and objectives. Thus, there is a need to strengthen commitment, provide support for resources, foster stakeholder involvement, and ensure constant revisitation, monitoring, and evaluation of the policy to enhance and achieve a more equitable, accessible, and responsive inclusive education system in the Philippines.