Frontline Tagging: The Roles and Struggles of Teachers in Identifying Undiagnosed Learners

Abstract

Inclusive education policies fail to translate into effective classroom support due to persistent systemic gaps and resource shortages. We explored how educators navigate their role as frontline identifiers of learners with suspected disabilities amidst these structural limitations. This research employed a qualitative narrative design, utilizing semi-structured interviews with four participants from various public schools to capture their shared experiences. Using Lipsky’s Street-Level Bureaucracy, we found that teachers exercise significant discretionary power to bridge institutional voids through informal and improvised identification practices. We also discovered that this lack of formal support forces a pragmatic shift toward manageable tasks, leading to goal displacement and an increased emotional burden. We realized that the current top-down mandates ignore the lived realities and professional boundaries of those tasked with implementing them. After this realization, we analyzed the coping mechanisms and adaptive resilience that sustain practitioners within these constrained environments. We believe this study underscores the urgent need for policy reforms that align systemic expectations with the actual resources and capacity available to frontline educators.