Implementing inclusive education in South Africa: teachers’ attitudes and experiences (original) (raw)
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In South Africa, up to 70% of children of school-going age with disabilities are out of school. Of those who do attend, most are still in separate, "special" schools for learners with disabilities. This situation prevails despite the push for the educational inclusion of learners with disabilities over twelve years ago by the South African policy document, the Education White Paper 6. In this article, we take a primarily top-down theoretical approach to policy implementation and focus on two main factors that hinder the implementation of inclusive education. Firstly, we focus on what we regard as the most significant constraint, namely, the apparent lack of clarity in the policy, i.e. ambiguity about the goals for inclusion and the means through which they can be achieved and, secondly, various issues around the poor implementation of the policy. We argue further that the primary means by which the divide between inclusive policy and practice will ultimately be closed is through the implementation and enforcement of education policy by the South African Department of Education.
Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2014
Africa. This paper is a reflection on whether the policy is achieving its set goals by answering to the question: Are regular class teachers in South African public schools giving adequate attention to children with learning disabilities in their mainstream classes? As the cold face of the system, teachers always bear the brunt for the failure or success of any policy in education. Fore-grounded on a quantitative research paradigm, the paper adopted social learning theory as a lens through which both the theoretical and empirical parts of the study were conducted. The sample of the study consisted of one hundred and ten teachers all affected by the policy. Data analysis from the questionnaires indicated among other things that implementing the policy was not smooth sailing. With inadequate training on inclusivity, teachers were left by themselves and were grappling with a variety of challenges in implementing inclusivity in the mainstream classes. Recommendations are suggested to counteract the possible failure of this policy in South African public schools and elsewhere.
An analysis of metaphors used for inclusive education in South Africa
Metaphors may delay the implementation of inclusive education. They describe ideas, construct thinking, and have implications for practice. By drawing on various theories of metaphor, the article analyses metaphors that occur in White Paper Six: special needs education and in subsequent inclusive education discourse. It focuses on inclusion as a goal, a building, a process and hospitality, and describes what these metaphors offer in order to develop an understanding of inclusive education. These metaphors have conceptual limitations which may affect the way in which inclusion is practised in South Africa. Metaphors that convey inclusion are required as an urgent imperative to ensure that all South African children access quality education.
2017
Stellenbosch University Special thanks go to my parents Eveline Hausiku and Titus Hausiku for supporting me throughout my studies and for giving me courage whenever I wanted to give up. To my Golden girl (my eldest daughter) who never understood why I was not spending time with her whenever I was away for contact classes in Cape Town. I hope she will understand one day when she grows up. I would like to thank the University for granting me the opportunity to acquire more knowledge at the institution and for making life easier through the University resources which helped me. I also want to thank my brothers Hieronimus Hausiku and Mathews Hausiku for checking up on my progress during my studies. I also want to thank my aunt Martha Karumbu who kept on checking on me and my progressyou are the best aunt. Lastly, I want to extend my gratitude to my supervisor Mrs Lange for rendering her services to me by guiding me throughout my studies. May you continue the good work for which God will reward you.
Towards an inclusive pedagogy in South Africa
The Journal of Quality in Education, 2018
Very little has been done concerning mass education since it was introduced for working class children in developing and poor countries. Bowles and Gintis (1976) warned us that schools reproduce the status quo. When developed nations plan they plan for the middle class because the middle class are in the majority. Developing countries, following this model also plan for the middle class but the majority of children in developing countries are working class. This action further marginalises the working class. Whilst this paper is contradictory in suggesting a first world inclusive education model I am of the view that you cannot throw the baby out with the bathwater. There is enormous merit in following the inclusion model since it holds promise for working class children and vulnerable children who constitute the majority population in developing countries schooling systems. Developing countries should plan on the basis of the specificities of their contexts and continue to refine t...
Inclusive education is embedded in South African policy with the expectation that teacher education will equip pre-service teachers to teach inclusively. As a result, courses in inclusive education are offered in most Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes and research interest in teacher education for inclusion has grown. This paper contributes to this body of knowledge by using Legitimation Code Theory to engage critically with concepts and assessment tasks from three inclusive education courses. This meant identifying where theoretical, context independent knowledge is privileged (semantic density), and where the knowledge is derived from practice or experience and designed to be implemented within specific contexts (semantic gravity). Using examples as reference points, I discuss how inclusive education comes to emphasise practical knowledge, to be enacted in particular contexts, or with particular groups of learners. An alternative is to position inclusive education as professional knowledge where theoretically informed judgments are made in response to the complexity of learner diversity. This will require strengthening the disciplinary foundation of concepts presented in ITE courses in inclusive education.
Perspectives in Education, 2021
Inclusive education is the term used to describe an education system in which all learners are accepted and fully included, educationally and socially. The process of inclusion proves to have challenges in developing countries such as South Africa which adopted it a bit later than the developed countries. Research has mentioned that amongst other challenges is the lack of resources and overcrowding. Hence, this paper debates and discusses the challenges in the implementation of inclusive education in South African schools. The study was designed as a multiple case study research in which a qualitative research approach was employed. Three schools in the Buffalo City Metro and three participants per school participated in the study. Qualitative data analysis was grounded on an interpretive philosophy. The findings revealed that overcrowding, insufficient training, lack of knowledge and skills of educators were the overarching themes that resulted in educators feeling a sense of inadequacy to teach in an inclusive education classroom. The study will cover the challenges faced in the implementation of inclusive education. Therefore, the study recommends that inclusive education should cater to all learners irrespective of the type of disability.
Teachers’ Perceptions of Inclusive Education in the Johannesburg East District, Gauteng Province
Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies
Little is known about the perceptions of teachers towards inclusive education in South Africa. The main objective of this study was to explore teachers’ perceptions of inclusive education in the Johannesburg East District, Gauteng Province. Face to face individual interviews. This study was carried out in South Africa, whereby 15 teachers were interviewed individually. hThis study used a phenomenology design underpinned within interpretive paradigm to get insight on the benefits and challenges teachers encounter regarding the implementation of inclusive education. The data was inductively analysed using the thematic analytic methods that search for themes. The study use convenient and purposive sampling as initial plan to select the teachers that a researcher can easily access. This study revealed that teachers had different perceptions of the implementation of inclusive education.