Institutional and Systemic Barriers

Beyond professional development, UDL implementation faces a range of institutional and systemic barriers. Ireland's high-stakes Leaving Certificate examination system creates powerful incentives for teaching to the test, leaving little space for the flexible, student-centred approaches that UDL advocates. Resource constraints mean UDL can be perceived as an additional burden rather than a systemic solution. Large class sizes make the individualisation of learning more challenging. The psycho-medical model of disability — which locates the problem in the individual student — remains influential in Irish educational culture and is fundamentally at odds with UDL's environmental approach.