Authors : Maria Da Guia Dos Santos Andrade; Antonio Timóteo Printes Da Silva; Eliane Aires De Oliveira; Emanuelle Caroline Alves Serudo; Evanilde Mariano Dos Santos; Fábio André De Farias Vilhena; Graziella Alves Costa; Adriana Dias Penha; Paula Juliana Ipuchima Buendia; Raine Kelma Almeida Dos Santos

Volume/Issue : Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 2 - February

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/2rtvebw7

Scribd : https://tinyurl.com/73zd2vdr

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26feb1428

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Abstract : The spread of inclusive education has intensified globally, driven by the expansion of educational policies, normative pressures, and institutional reforms aimed at promoting equity and access to education. Educational systems have been incorporating inclusive pedagogical models, support structures, and teacher training programs, reflecting institutional expectations related to organizational legitimacy and compliance with normative guidelines. However, despite the widespread formal adoption of inclusion, its implementation remains heterogeneous, showing variations associated with organizational capacity, professional qualifications, and the availability of institutional resources. This scenario highlights the need to understand how and why inclusive practices spread and consolidate in different organizational contexts. In this sense, Institutional Theory offers a relevant explanatory lens by highlighting the role of coercive, normative, and mimetic pressures in organizational convergence. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the diffusion and institutionalization of inclusive education practices through the lens of Institutional Theory, with an emphasis on mimetic isomorphism, through an integrative literature review. Data collection was carried out in the Web of Science database, using the descriptors ("inclusive education") AND ("diffusion" OR "adoption" OR "implementation"), initially resulting in 62 studies, of which 14 met the inclusion criteria and were fully analyzed. The results revealed four central mechanisms associated with the institutionalization of inclusive education: teacher training as a vector of professional standardization, the diffusion of institutional policies and models, the organizational transformation processes necessary for implementation, and the institutional barriers that condition the adoption of inclusive practices. These findings indicate that inclusive education spreads through structured institutional processes, guided by the pursuit of legitimacy and organizational conformity. It is concluded that inclusive education constitutes an institutional phenomenon in consolidation, whose dissemination results from the interaction between public policies, professional standards, and organizational dynamics, contributing to the convergence and stabilization of inclusive practices in the educational field.

Keywords : Inclusive Education; Institutional Theory; Mimetic Isomorphism; Institutional Diffusion; Organizational Institutionalization; Inclusive Education Policy.

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