INCLUSIVE EDUCATION: INTERNATIONAL PRINCIPLES AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INCLUSIVE SCHOOL SYSTEM IN UZBEKISTAN
Keywords:
inclusive education; equal access to education; special educational needs; UNESCO; educational policy; Uzbekistan; teacher training; Sustainable Development Goal 4.Abstract
This article examines inclusive education as a global educational paradigm that seeks to guarantee equal access to quality learning for every child, regardless of physical, intellectual, social, emotional, linguistic, or other individual characteristics. Drawing on international documents — the Salamanca Statement (1994), the Incheon Declaration (2015), and UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report (2020) — the article traces the conceptual shift from integration to genuine inclusion in contemporary pedagogy. Particular attention is given to the legal and institutional framework of inclusive education in the Republic of Uzbekistan, including the Law “On the Rights of Persons with Disabilities” (2020), the Concept for the Development of Inclusive Education (2020–2025), and Uzbekistan’s ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2021). The article concludes by identifying the principal pedagogical, methodological, and infrastructural challenges that determine the pace and quality of inclusive reform in national schools and universities.
