Mapping Variations in Inclusive Teaching Practices: A Phenomenographic Study Toward a Contextualized Inclusive Instructional Framework in Zamboanga City Public Schools

Abstract

Inclusive education remains a central priority in educational reform, yet teachers may understand and enact inclusion in qualitatively different ways. This study explored variations in public-school teachers’ conceptions and practices of inclusive teaching for learners with special educational needs in Zamboanga City. Guided by a qualitative paradigm, the study employed phenomenography to examine differences in how teachers understood inclusion, teacher competence, instructional adaptation, learner readiness and engagement, and contextual support. Ten purposively selected public-school teachers with direct experience in inclusive, SNED, SPED, mainstreaming, transition, non-graded, or related special-education-supported settings participated. Data consisted of in-depth, semi-structured interview transcripts and were analyzed through familiarization with the interview corpus, identification and comparison of meaning units, iterative coding, and development of categories of description organized into an outcome space. The analysis was informed by Inclusive Pedagogy, Universal Design for Learning, and Variation Theory. Findings showed interconnected conceptions of inclusion as access, belonging, participation, dignity, and community involvement; competence as a responsive and continuing professional capacity; adaptation as contextualized modification of instruction, materials, tasks, grouping, assessment, and support; readiness and engagement as developing relational conditions; and inclusion as a shared practice requiring collaboration and organizational support. The study generated a Contextualized Inclusive Instructional Framework that positions inclusive teaching as a continuing process of understanding learner needs, designing accessible instruction, monitoring participation, adapting practice, and mobilizing collaborative and institutional support. The framework may inform teacher development, instructional planning, school leadership, and local inclusive-education implementation.