Dikeledi Mahlo - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Dikeledi Mahlo
Advances in Religious and Cultural Studies
The chapter explores the African extended family system which is an integral part of the Ubuntu p... more The chapter explores the African extended family system which is an integral part of the Ubuntu philosophy. The authors explain the concept of inclusive education for persons with disabilities and lastly examine how the extended family system can be used within the framework of the African Ubuntu philosophy to promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities in society. They argue that the failure by the current African school curriculum to contextualize, acculturate, and localize the concept of inclusive education emanates from the lost values of the African Ubuntu philosophy.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES
Inevitably, life in the twenty-first century globalised world brings people into contact with "ot... more Inevitably, life in the twenty-first century globalised world brings people into contact with "others". Through these contacts, the need for interactions demands that these people find different ways of understanding one another to generate knowledge. In order for them to achieve this objective, they need a strong and coherent medium. First additional language education has been developed in South Africa to unravel as well as address challenges posed to competence in intercultural communication, with the emphasis placed on how to communicate with a different "other" since the world now has become a small village. The study made use of a qualitative research methodology, revolving around an ethnographic design. The research population constituted lecturers, tutors and students from the University of Western Cape. The four principal tools used for data collection included: Interviews, Questionnaires, Naturally Occurring data and Participant Observation.
Inclusive Education in African Contexts, 2017
SAGE Open, 2017
This qualitative study draws from Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory, which emphasizes interactio... more This qualitative study draws from Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory, which emphasizes interaction between the systems of education. The study argues that if teachers are able to cater for diversity in their classes, the vision of inclusive education will be realized. Inclusive education requires all learners with the diverse needs to be able to access education and succeed in their schooling careers. Ten teachers who are teaching in the Foundation Phase were purposively selected to form part of the study; data were collected through interviews, observations, and document analysis. Teachers indicated that large classes, lack of parental support, training for teachers, and social problems of the learners were making the teaching of learners with diverse needs challenging. This article focussed on the factors that are considered by teachers in the study as barriers to catering of learners with diverse needs, concluding that if teachers are provided with support, more learners will be able to sail through the system of education.
EDULEARN16 Proceedings, 2016
Journal of the Social Sciences
The policy of Inclusive Education (IE) in White Paper 6 (2001) acknowledges that all children can... more The policy of Inclusive Education (IE) in White Paper 6 (2001) acknowledges that all children can learn with support, and this paper emanates from research into the experiences of learning support teachers (LSTs) in supporting Foundation Phase teachers in implementing IE in Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is envisaged that the implementation of IE in South African schools would require well-planned district as well as school level support services, more than just accepting learners with different learning needs in mainstream classrooms. Many teachers have not had the benefit of being trained to teach learners who experience barriers to learning, hence most find it difficult. Although specialist teachers in the form of LSTs have been employed in the Foundation Phase to fill that gap and assist classroom teachers, the learners may not be receiving the assistance that they are hoping for. Based on an assumption that the failings may largely be systemic, the authors used Bronferbrenner's ecological systems theory and a qualitative research design to examine the implementation of IE in selected schools, with seven LSTs being interviewed and observed, while documents pertaining to the support rendered were analyzed. Analysis employed Creswell's method. Findings highlighted factors affecting implementation of IE, which include inadequate district support, socio-cultural issues, classroom and management factors, lack of resources and inadequate collaboration between the stakeholders. The study makes recommendations and suggests further areas of research.
Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2014
Why do parents send their children to boarding schools? Is it for their children's best education... more Why do parents send their children to boarding schools? Is it for their children's best education? If this is the reason, is it true that learners at boarding schools receive better education than those in non-boarding schools? This study investigates the differences in parental involvement between the two, the relationship between parental involvement and academic achievement and the difference in academic achievement between boarding and non-boarding schools of Grade 12 learners of the Capricorn District in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. A simple random sample was drawn from the population of three hundred and thirty-nine (339) schools and comprising 51 principals, 158 teachers and 290 learners from 51 schools in the Province. Ten of the 51 schools selected had boarding houses, whereas the remaining 41 had none. The School Environmental Questionnaire (SEQ) consisted of closed questions to determine if the school was boarding or non-boarding and the level of parental involvement. The Capricorn District Academic Summary Report of the Grade 12 results was used to determine academic achievement. The data analysis technique used was the t-test. The results revealed a significant difference between parental involvement in learners from boarding and non-boarding schools but that there was no significant difference in the parental involvement of children in low and high achieving schools. Results also indicated a significant difference in academic performance between boarding and non-boarding schools, with boarding schools performing better than non-boarding schools.
Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2013
Globally, Inclusive Education is on the agenda of many educational institutions. However, the imp... more Globally, Inclusive Education is on the agenda of many educational institutions. However, the implementation of Inclusive Education in schools will require not only accepting learners with different learning needs in mainstream classrooms, but also determining whether those learners are being provided with appropriate support. In this article, I shall argue that a social justice discourse in Inclusive Education policy and practice necessitates changing systems that perpetuate power, and exclusion. The focus of this article is on those educational environmental factors that maintain and perpetuate social and educational injustice. Drawing on Paulo Freire's critical pedagogy and the work of Bronfenbrenner, this article, among others, explores Inclusive Education in a South African context; investigates the trends and challenges in the implementation of Inclusive Education policy and argues that Inclusive Education be a policy imperative.
Inclusive Education in African Contexts, 2017
International Journal of Inclusive Education, 2016
Advances in Religious and Cultural Studies
The chapter explores the African extended family system which is an integral part of the Ubuntu p... more The chapter explores the African extended family system which is an integral part of the Ubuntu philosophy. The authors explain the concept of inclusive education for persons with disabilities and lastly examine how the extended family system can be used within the framework of the African Ubuntu philosophy to promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities in society. They argue that the failure by the current African school curriculum to contextualize, acculturate, and localize the concept of inclusive education emanates from the lost values of the African Ubuntu philosophy.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES
Inevitably, life in the twenty-first century globalised world brings people into contact with "ot... more Inevitably, life in the twenty-first century globalised world brings people into contact with "others". Through these contacts, the need for interactions demands that these people find different ways of understanding one another to generate knowledge. In order for them to achieve this objective, they need a strong and coherent medium. First additional language education has been developed in South Africa to unravel as well as address challenges posed to competence in intercultural communication, with the emphasis placed on how to communicate with a different "other" since the world now has become a small village. The study made use of a qualitative research methodology, revolving around an ethnographic design. The research population constituted lecturers, tutors and students from the University of Western Cape. The four principal tools used for data collection included: Interviews, Questionnaires, Naturally Occurring data and Participant Observation.
Inclusive Education in African Contexts, 2017
SAGE Open, 2017
This qualitative study draws from Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory, which emphasizes interactio... more This qualitative study draws from Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory, which emphasizes interaction between the systems of education. The study argues that if teachers are able to cater for diversity in their classes, the vision of inclusive education will be realized. Inclusive education requires all learners with the diverse needs to be able to access education and succeed in their schooling careers. Ten teachers who are teaching in the Foundation Phase were purposively selected to form part of the study; data were collected through interviews, observations, and document analysis. Teachers indicated that large classes, lack of parental support, training for teachers, and social problems of the learners were making the teaching of learners with diverse needs challenging. This article focussed on the factors that are considered by teachers in the study as barriers to catering of learners with diverse needs, concluding that if teachers are provided with support, more learners will be able to sail through the system of education.
EDULEARN16 Proceedings, 2016
Journal of the Social Sciences
The policy of Inclusive Education (IE) in White Paper 6 (2001) acknowledges that all children can... more The policy of Inclusive Education (IE) in White Paper 6 (2001) acknowledges that all children can learn with support, and this paper emanates from research into the experiences of learning support teachers (LSTs) in supporting Foundation Phase teachers in implementing IE in Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is envisaged that the implementation of IE in South African schools would require well-planned district as well as school level support services, more than just accepting learners with different learning needs in mainstream classrooms. Many teachers have not had the benefit of being trained to teach learners who experience barriers to learning, hence most find it difficult. Although specialist teachers in the form of LSTs have been employed in the Foundation Phase to fill that gap and assist classroom teachers, the learners may not be receiving the assistance that they are hoping for. Based on an assumption that the failings may largely be systemic, the authors used Bronferbrenner's ecological systems theory and a qualitative research design to examine the implementation of IE in selected schools, with seven LSTs being interviewed and observed, while documents pertaining to the support rendered were analyzed. Analysis employed Creswell's method. Findings highlighted factors affecting implementation of IE, which include inadequate district support, socio-cultural issues, classroom and management factors, lack of resources and inadequate collaboration between the stakeholders. The study makes recommendations and suggests further areas of research.
Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2014
Why do parents send their children to boarding schools? Is it for their children's best education... more Why do parents send their children to boarding schools? Is it for their children's best education? If this is the reason, is it true that learners at boarding schools receive better education than those in non-boarding schools? This study investigates the differences in parental involvement between the two, the relationship between parental involvement and academic achievement and the difference in academic achievement between boarding and non-boarding schools of Grade 12 learners of the Capricorn District in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. A simple random sample was drawn from the population of three hundred and thirty-nine (339) schools and comprising 51 principals, 158 teachers and 290 learners from 51 schools in the Province. Ten of the 51 schools selected had boarding houses, whereas the remaining 41 had none. The School Environmental Questionnaire (SEQ) consisted of closed questions to determine if the school was boarding or non-boarding and the level of parental involvement. The Capricorn District Academic Summary Report of the Grade 12 results was used to determine academic achievement. The data analysis technique used was the t-test. The results revealed a significant difference between parental involvement in learners from boarding and non-boarding schools but that there was no significant difference in the parental involvement of children in low and high achieving schools. Results also indicated a significant difference in academic performance between boarding and non-boarding schools, with boarding schools performing better than non-boarding schools.
Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2013
Globally, Inclusive Education is on the agenda of many educational institutions. However, the imp... more Globally, Inclusive Education is on the agenda of many educational institutions. However, the implementation of Inclusive Education in schools will require not only accepting learners with different learning needs in mainstream classrooms, but also determining whether those learners are being provided with appropriate support. In this article, I shall argue that a social justice discourse in Inclusive Education policy and practice necessitates changing systems that perpetuate power, and exclusion. The focus of this article is on those educational environmental factors that maintain and perpetuate social and educational injustice. Drawing on Paulo Freire's critical pedagogy and the work of Bronfenbrenner, this article, among others, explores Inclusive Education in a South African context; investigates the trends and challenges in the implementation of Inclusive Education policy and argues that Inclusive Education be a policy imperative.
Inclusive Education in African Contexts, 2017
International Journal of Inclusive Education, 2016