Estrategias de inclusión para estudiantes con discapacidad en el sistema educativo ecuatoriano: Evidencia mixta sobre adaptaciones curriculares, apoyos institucionales y efectividad percibida

This study analyzed the inclusion strategies implemented by Basic General Education teachers in Ecuadorian public schools for students with disabilities, focusing on their frequency of use, perceived effectiveness, and relationship with available institutional supports. A mixed - methods explanatory sequential, non - experimental, cross - sectional, descriptive - correlational design was used. Forty teachers from an educational district in Tungurahua participated through purposive sampling because they had direct experience with students with diagnosed disabilities. Data were collected through the Questionnaire on Inclusion Strategies and Curricular Adaptations, a classroom observation checklist applied to 12 teachers, and semi-structured interviews with the same subgroup. Data analysis integrated descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, and thematic analysis. Methodological adaptations (M = 3.81; SD = 0.57) and access adaptations (M = 3.68; SD = 0.62) were the most frequently used strategies, whereas significant curricular adaptations showed the lowest frequency of use (M = 2.45; SD = 0.69). Overall, 62.5% of teachers rated the strategies as moderately effective. Availability of resources and institutional support was positively associated with perceived effectiveness (r = 0.51; p = 0.001), and specialized training also showed a significant association (r = 0.38; p = 0.015). Interviews confirmed that pedagogical decisions are often built through trial, experience, and teachers’ own resources. Inclusion of students with disabilities in Ecuadorian schools depends on a complex interaction between teachers’ practical knowledge, material accessibility, specialized support, and institutional capacity to sustain technically grounded adaptations.