This paper will begin by providing a brief overview of the teacher education system and the education system in Cyprus. It will then report on recent policy developments that indicate misinterpretations of inclusive education. Examples of recent policy developments indicating a persistence to segregate children rather than include them are: (a) the ministerial planning to strengthen special education and segregation of children with disabilities through the establishment of a national centre for the assessment of children with disabilities, the denial of the Ministry of Education to follow court decisions suggesting inclusion of children with disabilities in the mainstream class; and (b) the ministerial circular that legitimizes the segregation of children with migrant biography. In this context, significant research findings will be presented to suggest that teachers often find the ways to teach in inclusive ways, despite the systemic and attitudinal obstacles. We will report on seven female early childhood education teachers who work in public schools in Cyprus, in relation to inclusive education. These teachers were purposively selected, as they are committed to inclusive early childhood education. Data analysis entailed a thematic and narrative approach, and the findings were presented in the form of a portrait narrative, that of an imaginary teacher. The discussion highlights how children with disabilities informed teachers develop inclusive practices in a system that cannot be characterized as inclusive. The tensions and disagreements with the non-inclusive features of the system and segregating attitudes of school staff are also addressed in the discussion. In our conclusion, we draw upon some of the elements that will facilitate teachers’ and pre-service teachers’ understanding and implementation of inclusive education. First, the point is made that inclusive teachers should be knowledgeable of pedagogy – an integral part of their initial teacher education (ITE) studies (Florian and Camedda, 2020), be committed to the assumptions of inclusive pedagogies – during their ITE studies and through teacher professional learning opportunities (Ware, 2020), and work individually and collectively to educate all children. The connections are made with research from Cyprus and other countries which show that good knowledge of pedagogy and ethical commitment to inclusive education can lead to inclusive teaching (Symeonidou et al., 2022). At the same time, the concerns about the future of inclusive education are not undermined; rather they are recognized and discussed (Slee, 2018; Tomlinson, 2017).

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