Asymmetric Inclusion in Rural Ghana: Participation and Belonging among Students with Physical Disabilities

Abstract

This study examined how teacher preparation and instructional practice, school environmental features and material resources, and peer and co-curricular experiences shape the educational participation of students with physical disabilities in one rural Ghanaian basic school. A qualitative single embedded case study was conducted within an interpretivist paradigm. Participants comprised the complete population of students with physical disabilities enrolled at the school during fieldwork and two staff members occupying classroom and institutional leadership roles (N = 4). Data were generated through individual semi-structured interviews and analysed using Braun and Clarke's reflexive thematic analysis. Three themes were developed. First, staff described inclusive education primarily through admission, mixed grouping, classroom questioning, encouragement, and participation in academic competitions, while the interviews provided limited evidence of curriculum, pacing, assessment, or task adaptation. Second, the school environment supported general movement but did not consistently support physical autonomy. All four participants identified the school toilet as the clearest environmental difficulty, particularly because of its distance and squatting-type design. Third, students described positive peer relationships and academic participation alongside non-participation in sport, which they attributed to their physical conditions. Staff also described recurring teasing and efforts to manage such behaviour. The findings suggest an uneven pattern of inclusion in which relational and administrative dimensions were more visible than pedagogical, environmental, and activity-specific adaptations. This case-derived pattern is conceptualised as asymmetric inclusion, referring to the uneven development of different dimensions of inclusion within the same school because they require different forms of organisational, pedagogical, material, and environmental support. The study argues for monitoring systems that assess participation and adaptation rather than presence alone, teacher development focused on practical instructional adaptation, accessible sanitation, and meaningful pathways into physical activity and sport.