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Inclusive education (IE) is at an early stage of development in Bangladesh. In response to international policies and declarations over the past two decades (UNESCO, 1990; UNSCO, 1994, UNESCO, 2000) IE reform in Bangladesh has enacted a number of national policies and developed several professional development initiatives. This paper reports on the challenges identified by school leaders in attempting to implement IE policies in ten regular primary schools in Bangladesh. Interview data were collected from teachers, head teachers, members of school management committees and sub-district education officers. Data were analyzed using a general inductive thematic analysis procedure. The challenges identified by the participants included lack of authority, students' lack of acceptance, non-supportive views of parents and community, teachers' resistance, limited professional development, limited resources, and physical environment. School leaders also suggested strategies to address the identified challenges that included making local authority active, increasing resources and valuing diversity.

Continued discrimination towards, and exclusion of, children with special needs, combined with the high dropout rate of students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, creates considerable pressure on the inclusive education (IE) reform initiatives of developing countries. To minimise the challenges to implementing IE reform policies into classroom level practices, education systems need to apply strategies which are contextually useful. Bangladesh has introduced a number of policies and acts to support IE reform in regular schools. In the past, there were few and limited empirical studies in the context of primary education, which focus on IE. Recently, a number of studies conducted in Bangladesh have identified some contextual issues underpinning IE implementation. This paper reports on three such doctoral studies that investigated issues related to the implementation of IE policy in primary schools in Bangladesh. This paper focuses on the implications of the major findings of those studies. It is expected that the contextual evidence and implications of the findings will help primary education development programmes implement IE policy more successfully.

Several international declarations, signed over the last few decades, are helping to promote Education for All, by eliminating inequalities in both society and education systems. This article, a descriptive review of policy documents and reform initiatives, reports on ways the Government of Bangladesh has responded to these international declarations. The review focuses on issues that promote the inclusion of diverse learners in mainstream primary and secondary schools. The most recent policy in Bangladesh, the National Education Policy 2010, also attempted to address inclusive education. Two major reform initiatives endorsed inclusion: the Second Primary Education Development Program and the Teaching Quality Improvement project. To some extent, these projects brought the philosophy and implementation strategies of inclusion into the country's existing education system. Other initiatives are promoting collaborations between state and private agencies. Lessons from these policies and initiatives should help other developing countries achieve the goals of Education for All through inclusive education.

Inclusive education (IE) is at an early stage of development in Bangladesh. In response to international policies and declarations over the past two decades (UNESCO, 1990; UNSCO, 1994, UNESCO, 2000) IE reform in Bangladesh has enacted a number of national policies and developed several professional development initiatives. This paper reports on the challenges identified by school leaders in attempting to implement IE policies in ten regular primary schools in Bangladesh. Interview data were collected from teachers, head teachers, members of school management committees and sub-district education officers. Data were analyzed using a general inductive thematic analysis procedure. The challenges identified by the participants included lack of authority, students' lack of acceptance, non-supportive views of parents and community, teachers' resistance, limited professional development, limited resources, and physical environment. School leaders also suggested strategies to address the identified challenges that included making local authority active, increasing resources and valuing diversity. Keywords: leadership challenge, representation, collaboration, distributed leadership, inclusive education (IE), Introduction The intent of Inclusive education (IE) policy is to address and to respond equitably and appropriately to the diverse needs of all children irrespective of disability, gender, ethnicity or [...]