The current significantly high prevalence rates of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) coupled with the paradigm shift from exclusive to inclusive education warrants research on inclusion of children with ASD in mainstream classrooms in Zimbabwe. A qualitative methodology was used to interview 21 regular primary school teachers regarding social barriers and enablers of inclusion of 6-12 year old children with ASD in mainstream classrooms in Harare educational province of Zimbabwe. Data analysis comprised pattern coding and cross-case analysis. Social rejection, communication impairments and behavioural challenges of children with ASD interfered with inclusion in mainstream classrooms. Regular teachers' training, stakeholder collaboration and institutionalization of social support services and programmes would facilitate the inclusion of children with ASD in mainstream classrooms.

This study explored parents' strategies for home educating their children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) during the COVID-19 period in Harare Urban District in Zimbabwe. Embedded within international research findings on the subject, this qualitative study drew on a purposive sample of eight parents. Telephonic individual interviews, information sheets, and field notes were used to collect data. A constant comparative approach of data organization with continuous adjustment was used throughout the analysis in order to guarantee that codes captured the range of ideas of the parents. Parents committedly home educated children with ASD in collaboration and discourse with their family members and peer parents. Complementary and supplementary roles of parents and family members in the home education of their children with ASD facilitated the transition of these children from school to home routine activities. Parents of children with ASD fostered in these children an awareness of the new social reality of the COVID-19 period and the safety precautions. This study offers insights regarding parents' strategies for home educating their children with ASD during the COVID-19 period.

This implies an expectation that children with disabilities should be able to access educational opportunities similar to those available to their typically developing peers. Such a vision is entrenched in the framework of outcomes-based education (Chireshe, 2013; Deluca, Tramonta, & Kett, 2013; Munjanganja & Machawira, 2015). Thus, teachers are required to provide appropriate teaching and learning to these children in regular classrooms, within the community of their counterparts without developmental delays (

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As Zimbabwe's education system shifted from exclusion to inclusion in 1994, in alignment with the global world, the population of learners with disabilities educated in general education preschool settings has remarkably increased. Teachers experience diverse challenges in including learners with disabilities into general education preschool settings. Embedded in the core expertise of inclusive pedagogical philosophy, the current interpretive qualitative research gleaned from 24 purposively sampled Zimbabwean general education preschool teachers. A constant comparative approach, which entailed organization of data from individual interviews, nonparticipant observations and document analysis with continuous adjustment, was utilized all through the analysis. Despite teachers being ill-prepared for inclusion, coupled with individual and institutional needs in its practice, they had positive attitudes toward it. The study recommends that training of general education preschool teachers in the practice and theory of inclusion, collaborative pooling of resources of stakeholders, and the incorporation of sociocultural aspects in preschool curricula could optimize inclusivity. This study is a springboard for future studies on the subject.