Local Classroom Inclusivity Practices and Teacher Adaptive Competence in Public Elementary Schools

Abstract

Growing classroom diversity has made inclusive and adaptive teaching an increasingly important concern in public elementary education. This inquiry investigated local classroom inclusivity practices and teacher adaptive competence among public elementary school teachers in the City of Ilagan, Isabela. Employing an explanatory sequential classroom responsiveness design, it assessed teachers’ practices in learner participation support, differentiated learning access, and respectful classroom interaction, along with their competence in instructional adjustment, learner-responsive decision-making, and flexible assessment support. Data were collected through a validated researcher-made questionnaire with excellent internal consistency. The findings indicated that both local classroom inclusivity practices and teacher adaptive competence were generally high. Respectful classroom interaction emerged as the strongest dimension of inclusivity, while differentiated learning access registered the lowest mean. In teacher adaptive competence, instructional adjustment ranked highest, whereas flexible assessment support appeared as the least developed area. Robust correlation analysis revealed a significant positive association between local classroom inclusivity practices and teacher adaptive competence. Dominance-based regression further showed that differentiated learning access served as the strongest predictor of teacher adaptive competence, followed by learner participation support and respectful classroom interaction. The results suggested that while inclusive and responsive teaching was already evident in classroom routines, teachers still encountered difficulty in sustaining differentiated tasks, alternative learning outputs, and adjusted assessment approaches. These findings underscored the need for targeted professional development focused on differentiated instruction, inclusive assessment, and learner-responsive pedagogy in public elementary schools.