Stakeholder collaboration and inclusive education: Examining the role of head teachers in public primary schools in Cameroon

Motivated by the inadequate implementation of inclusive education, this study examined the nature and extent of head teachers’ collaboration with stakeholders and its influence on the implementation of inclusive education in public primary schools in Mfoundi Division, Cameroon. Data were collected from 344 teachers, of whom 70.6% were female, 41.5% aged 31–40 years, and 55.1% held a CAPIEMP certificate. Only 17.2% had pre-service training in special education. Descriptive results revealed moderate collaboration in basic parental involvement, such as acquiring learning materials (M = 4.01) and homework support (M = 3.95), while more advanced practices, including co-teaching with special needs teachers (M = 1.99) and partnerships with therapists (M = 1.92), were very weak. Implementation of inclusive education remained low, with modest progress in supportive school culture (M = 3.60) and non-discriminatory admissions (M = 3.32), but poor development of IEPs (M = 2.05) and school-level inclusive policies (M = 2.15). Spearman’s correlation analysis revealed a moderately strong, statistically significant relationship between collaboration and inclusive education implementation (ρ = 0.505, p < .001). Group difference tests indicated that female teachers and those with special education training reported higher levels of implementation, while age and longevity shaped perceptions, with younger and mid-career teachers showing stronger engagement. Observations confirmed that collaboration was largely informal, with only 7.1% of practices fully implemented. These findings suggest that while basic home–school partnerships exist, systematic and professionalized collaboration with specialists, NGOs, and health professionals is critically lacking, limiting the effective implementation of inclusive education.