PARENTAL PERSPECTIVES ON INCLUSIVE EDUCATION AND CHILDREN’S WELL-BEING: PARADOXES IN KOSOVO

Abstract

Inclusive education is widely recognized as a key principle for promoting equal participation and well-being among children with disabilities; however, its implementation remains challenging, particularly in developing and transitional contexts. This study explores parental perspectives on school inclusion and the well-being of children with physical and sensory disabilities in Kosovo, using an ecological and bidirectional framework. A qualitative research design was employed, involving semi-structured interviews with 15 parents of children aged 8 to 15 attending mainstream schools, and data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings reveal that inclusion is experienced through interconnected tensions across structural, relational, and experiential dimensions, including gaps between policy and practice, tensions between care and reduced expectations in teacher practices, and contradictions between formal inclusion and experiences of difference in peer relationships. The study also identifies bidirectional dynamics, whereby children’s well-being shapes their social interactions, while relational experiences simultaneously influence well-being, creating both positive and negative cycles. Overall, inclusion emerges as a dynamic and context-dependent process, highlighting the need to move beyond access‑oriented approaches toward practices that support meaningful participation, relational belonging, and psychological well‑being.

Keywords: Inclusive education, well-being, children with disabilities, parental perspectives, paradoxes.

Ethics and Conflict of Interest

This study was conducted in accordance with established ethical principles for research involving human participants, including the Declaration of Helsinki. In the context of the authors’ institutions, formal ethical approval is not required for interview-based research of this nature. Participation in the study was voluntary, and all participants were informed about the purpose of the research, the nature of their involvement, and their right to withdraw at any time without any consequences. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to data collection. Confidentiality and anonymity were strictly maintained throughout the research process. Personal identifiers were removed from the data, and codes (P1 to P15) were used in reporting the findings to protect participants’ identities. Audio recordings and transcripts were securely stored and accessed only by the researcher. The author declares that they acted in accordance with ethical rules in all processes of the research. The author declares that there is no potential conflict of interest in the work.

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