Constructing a Theoretical Framework for Disability-Inclusive Education in Post-Colonial Nigerian Contexts

This study develops a culturally grounded theoretical framework for disability-inclusive education in post-colonial Nigerian contexts, addressing a fundamental gap in the literature whereby dominant theoretical frameworks for inclusion are derived from Western philosophical and institutional traditions that inadequately account for African epistemological, social, and governance realities. The study employs a critical qualitative methodology, combining theoretical analysis with empirical grounding through in-depth interviews with forty-eight scholars, policymakers, disability activists, and community elders across all six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. Drawing on post-colonial theory, Ubuntu philosophy, African disability studies, and critical inclusive education scholarship, the analysis develops an original framework that foregrounds communal responsibility, spiritual-cultural dimensions of disability interpretation, and indigenous knowledge as legitimate epistemological sources alongside biomedical and rights-based perspectives. The theoretical synthesis is validated through a five-day expert dialogue forum with invited international and Nigerian scholars, and through member checking with research participants. The resulting framework generates original propositions about inclusion in Nigerian schools that challenge individualist, deficit-oriented, and Eurocentric assumptions embedded in current policy discourse. The study makes an original theoretical contribution to global inclusive education scholarship by expanding the conceptual vocabulary of the field to incorporate African philosophical traditions. It provides a new foundation for empirical research, policy development, and professional preparation in Nigerian special education that is epistemologically honest about its cultural context. Keywords: theoretical framework, post-colonial theory, inclusive education, Nigeria, Ubuntu philosophy.