Children’s Rights and Inclusive Education in Bangladesh: Analyzing Policy Gaps, Practical Challenges, and Strategic Pathways
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48047/k52jf433Keywords:
Inclusive education, Socio-economic inequality, Rural–urban disparities, Teacher capacity, BangladeshAbstract
This study examines how socio-economic status, geography, gender, and institutional capacity shape children’s access to rights and learning. Using a mixed-methods design, data were gathered from 32 schools across 16 upazilas (1,920 students in Grades 3–5 and 7–9; 128 teachers; and 160 School Management Committee members via 16 focus groups). Quantitative questionnaires and qualitative interviews/FGDs were thematically analyzed. Findings show that poverty and low parental education are strongly associated with limited access to learning materials, nutrition, psychosocial support, and voice at home and school. Rural children, especially girls face constraints related to mobility, early marriage, and reduced participation, while urban peers report greater opportunity and recognition. Despite a robust legal framework (CRC, CRPD, national policies), implementation is hindered by uneven teacher knowledge of IE policies, limited training and resources, and attitudinal barriers among adults. The study argues that inclusive education cannot be realized through isolated initiatives; instead, long-term, integrated strategies are required combining poverty reduction with rights-based pedagogy, teacher professional development, gender-responsive measures, rural resource allocation, and structures that elevate children’s participation (e.g., student councils/ “mini parliaments”). Translating Bangladesh’s policy commitments into lived realities will require coordinated action by schools, families, communities, and government to ensure equality, dignity, and participation for every child.
Downloads
References
Acharja, D. C., Chowdhury, K. Q., Akter, N., Das, R., Hossain, M. I., & Islam, M. T. Inclusive Education for Children from Marginal Groups in Bangladesh: Problems and Possibilities. International Journal of Advance Research and Innovative Ideas in Education, 7(2), 752-767.
Ahsan, M. T., Sharma, U., & Deppeler, J. M. (2012). Exploring Pre-Service Teachers' Perceived Teaching-Efficacy, Attitudes and Concerns about Inclusive Education in Bangladesh. International Journal of whole schooling, 8(2), 1-20.
Ainscow, M. (2003). Desarrollo de sistemas educativos inclusivos. Las respuestas a las necesidades educativas especiales en una escuela vasca inclusiva, 19-36.
Ainscow, M. (2005). Developing inclusive education systems: what are the levers for change?. Journal of educational change, 6(2), 109-124.
Ainscow, M., & Miles, S. (2009). Developing inclusive education systems: How can we move policies forward. La educación inclusiva: de la exclusión a la plena participación de todo el alumnado, 167-170.
.
Akbarovna, A. S. (2022). Inclusive education and its essence. International Journal Of Social Science & Interdisciplinary Research ISSN: 2277-3630 Impact factor: 8.036, 11(01), 248-254.
F. Antonak, R., & Livneh, H. (2000). Measurement of attitudes towards persons with disabilities. Disability and rehabilitation, 22(5), 211-224.
Begum, H. A., Perveen, R., Chakma, E., Dewan, L., Afroze, R. S., & Tangen, D. (2019). The challenges of geographical inclusive education in rural Bangladesh. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 23(1), 7-22.
Booth, T., & Ainscow, M. (1998). From them to us (pp. 148-123). London: Routledge.
Bourke, B. (2010). Experiences of black students in multiple cultural spaces at a predominantly white institution. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 3(2), 126.
Creswell, J. W. (2015). Revisiting mixed methods and advancing scientific practices.
Dawson, C. (2019). Introduction to research methods 5th edition: A practical guide for anyone undertaking a research project. Hachette UK.
Felekidou, K., Howard, J., & Lenakakis, A. (2018). Play and inclusive education: Greek teachers’ attitudes. European Journal of Special Education Research, 3(3), 129.
Fu, Y., Peng, H., Ou, L., Sabharwal, A., & Khot, T. (2023, July). Specializing smaller language models towards multi-step reasoning. In International Conference on Machine Learning (pp. 10421-10430). PMLR.
Hassanein, E. E., Alshaboul, Y. M., & Ibrahim, S. (2021). The impact of teacher preparation on preservice teachers' attitudes toward inclusive education in Qatar. Heliyon, 7(9).
Khan, A. H. M. N., Anisuzzaman, M., Rahman, N., & Choudhury, R. K. (2011). Children with disability in Bangladesh. Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE), 1-41.
Kılıçgün, M. Y., & Oktay, A. (2013). Effect of Socio-Economic Situation on Attitudes of Parents for Children's Rights1. Middle Eastern & African Journal of Educational Research MAJER Issue, 4.
Krischler, M., Powell, J. J., & Pit-Ten Cate, I. M. (2019). What is meant by inclusion? On the effects of different definitions on attitudes toward inclusive education. European journal of special needs education, 34(5), 632-648.
Lansdown, G. (2001). Promoting children's participation in democratic decision-making (No. innins01/9).
Malak, M. S., & Khanam, D. (2011). Challenges to regular schooling of female students with disabilities in Bangladesh: A case study. Journal of Advanced Social Research, 1(2), 147-156.
Malak, M. S., Begum, H. A., Habib, M. A., Shaila, M., & Roshid, M. M. (2013). Inclusive Education in Bangladesh: Policy and Practice. Australian Association for Research in Education.
Matubbar, S., & Arifuzzaman, M. (2022). Child Rights Violation Under the Human Rights of Bangladesh. Available at SSRN 4146868.
Menter, I. J., Hulme, M., & Elliot, D. (2011). A guide to practitioner research in education.
Mohajan, H.K. (2012a). Lack Of Consciousness of Child Rights in Bangladesh, Lambert Academic Publishing, Germany
Mohajan, Haradhan (2014): Child Rights in Bangladesh. Journal of Social Welfare and Human Rights, 2 (1), 207-238.
Mridha, M. A. A. (2018). Children’s Rights and Our Responsibilities. Bangladesh Journal of Child Health, 42(2), 52-53.
Newby, P. (2014). Research methods for education. Routledge.
Nilholm, C., & Göransson, K. (2017). What is meant by inclusion? An analysis of European and North American journal articles with high impact. European journal of special needs education, 32(3), 437-451.
Nunez, R., & Rosales, S. (2021). Inclusive Education: Perceptions and attitudes among Filipino high school teachers. The Asian ESP, 17(6.1), 151-172.
Peverill, M., Dirks, M. A., Narvaja, T., Herts, K. L., Comer, J. S., & McLaughlin, K. A. (2021). Socioeconomic status and child psychopathology in the United States: A meta-analysis of population-based studies. Clinical psychology review, 83, 101933.
Pope, C., Ziebland, S., & Mays, N. (2000). Analysing qualitative data. Bmj, 320(7227), 114-116.
Powell, J. J., Edelstein, B., & Blanck, J. M. (2019). Awareness-raising, legitimation or backlash? Effects of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on education systems in Germany. In The Power of Numbers and Networks (pp. 77-100). Routledge.
Ruiz-Casares, M., Collins, T. M., Tisdall, E. K. M., & Grover, S. (2017). Children’s rights to participation and protection in international development and humanitarian interventions: Nurturing a dialogue. The International Journal of Human Rights, 21(1), 1-13.
Sen, B. (2003). Drivers Of Escape and Descent: Changing Household Fortunes in Rural Bangladesh. World Development, 31(3), 513-534.
Sinclair, M. F., Christenson, S. L., Lehr, C. A., & Anderson, A. R. (2003). Facilitating Student Engagement: Lessons Learned from Check & Connect Longitudinal Studies. The California School Psychologist, 8(1), 29-41.
Sinclair, R. (2004). Participation In Practice: Making It Meaningful, Effective and Sustainable. Children & Society, 18(2), 106-118.
Sinclair, R., & Franklin, A. (2000). A Quality Protects Research Briefing: Young People’s Participation. Department Of Health, Research in Practice and Making Research Count: London.
Slee, R. (2006). Limits To and Possibilities for Educational Reform. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 10(02-03), 109-119.
Suchana, A. A. (2020). Investigating gender equity in a primary level English language textbook in Bangladesh. In The Routledge handbook of English language education in Bangladesh (pp. 298-311). Routledge.
Ulug, M., Ozden, M. S., & Eryilmaz, A. (2011). The Effects of Teachers’ Attitudes on Students’ Personality and Performance. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 30, 738-742.
UNESCO (2020). Global Education Monitoring Report: All Means All
Unesco. (1994). The Salamanca Statement and Framework for action on special needs education: adopted by the World Conference on Special Needs Education; Access and Quality. Salamanca, Spain, 7-10 June 1994. Unesco.
UNICEF (2020). Https://Www.Unicef.Org/Education/Inclusive-Education
United Nations (2021). Gender Equality Brief. Https://Bangladesh.Un.Org/Sites/Default/Files/2024-05/Bd-C836-Gender-Equality-Brief_Bangladesh_2024_0.Pdf
Nations, U. (1989). Convention on the Rights of the Child. Geneva: Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights.
Veerman, A. (1992). Diapause in phytoseiid mites: a review. Experimental & applied acarology, 14(1), 1-60.
Vilamor J, Bulat-Ag J. (2017) Negative Attitude of a Teacher. Retrieved From: Https://Www.Researchgate.Net/Publication/321110811_Negative_Attitude_Of_A_Teacher.
Vilaseca, R., Rivero, M., Ferrer, F., & Bersabé, R. M. (2020). Parenting behaviors of mothers and fathers of young children with intellectual disability evaluated in a natural context. Plos one, 15(10), e0240320.
Warren, K. (2019). Administrative Law in the Political System: Law, Politics, and Regulatory Policy. Routledge.
WHO/UNICEF Joint Water Supply, & Sanitation Monitoring Programme. (2014). Progress on drinking water and sanitation: 2014 update. World Health Organization.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Dijendra Chandra Acharja, Bikram Biswas (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially.
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
- The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit , provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made . You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Notices:
You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation .
No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.
