The Process of Implementing the Inclusive Education Policy for the Promotion of Student Friendly Environments in Teacher Education Colleges in Zimbabwe

This study investigated how teacher education colleges in Zimbabwe implemented the inclusive education policy to promote student friendly environments, whether there was a significant difference between state-run and church-run colleges in the way they implemented the policy, whether there were challenges related to the implementation of the policy, and if there were ways to enhance the policy implementation process. The study adopted the multi-case design in which state-run and church-run teacher education colleges were involved. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interview questions with the 2 Principals as well as through focus group discussions with 15 College Academic Board (CAB) members and 15 Student Representative Council (SRC) members purposely selected. Survey questionnaires were used to gather quantitative data from a random sample of 543 student teachers. The major findings were that the implementation of the inclusive education policy promoted physically, socially and academically friendly student environments; that lack of involvement of the students and the centralised process constrained the implementation. T-test results showed that there were no significant differences between state-run and church-run teacher education colleges in the manner in which the inclusive education policy was implemented. The study concluded that involvement of students and decentralisation of the implementation process would enhance the promotion of student friendly environments.