Abstract In many countries and regions, it is not uncommon that teachers express feelings of confusion and helplessness about enacting educational inclusion. It is criticised that current literature on inclusive pedagogies lacks meaningful engagement with tensions and dilemmas in both theory and practice. This paper illuminates this gap by reflecting on adopting critical realism as an analytic lens for a study researching the interplay between teachers' inclusive pedagogical practices and teacher‐student relationships in Hong Kong primary classrooms. This research comprised case studies of four teachers and their relationships with two focus students each. It used teacher interviews and lesson observations as main sources of evidence. It applied critical realism as a theoretical lens to account for and make sense of the complexity of teachers' inclusive pedagogical practices amidst the dilemmas and contradictions in their working environments. Analysis revealed that utilising critical realism in researching inclusive pedagogical practice yielded a thorough understanding of various dynamic forces in the societal and systematic context that influenced classroom relationships and teachers' practices. The study concludes with the insight that it is essential to value what teachers can do in their intricate working contexts and strategically build on it, instead of grappling with what they lack.
Zitian Zeng (Wed,) studied this question.