Towards an inclusive pedagogy in South Africa (original) (raw)
Related papers
the state of inclusive pedagogy in South Africa
2012
The states of inclusive pedagogy in South African schools remain bleak and teachers are in the dark about what constitutes an inclusive pedagogy in the South African context. This is despite policy changes since the advent of the new educational dispensation in 1994. In this review article the researcher presents the background in terms of inclusive education developments, both within historical and policy contexts. While articulating the conceptualization of inclusive education, the paper also discusses the model of inclusive education with reference to the role of all levels of ecosystemic system support such as school, district, provincial and national level of education. Further, the way barriers to learning and the notion of inclusive pedagogy are conceptualized within the South African context are discussed. The paper concludes by reviewing the current state of inclusive pedagogic practice in the South African classrooms. Among the findings of this paper is that the way inclusion is conceptualized still bears the hallmarks of the special needs education of the past education dispensation. The paper concludes that a shift from the special need approach to the conceptualization of inclusion is required.
The State of Inclusive Pedagogy in South Africa: A Literature Review
JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY AND SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY
The states of inclusive pedagogy in South African schools remain bleak and teachers are in the dark about what constitutes an inclusive pedagogy in the South African context. This is despite policy changes since the advent of the new educational dispensation in 1994. In this review article the researcher presents the background in terms of inclusive education developments, both within historical and policy contexts. While articulating the conceptualization of inclusive education, the paper also discusses the model of inclusive education with reference to the role of all levels of ecosystemic system support such as school, district, provincial and national level of education. Further, the way barriers to learning and the notion of inclusive pedagogy are conceptualized within the South African context are discussed. The paper concludes by reviewing the current state of inclusive pedagogic practice in the South African classrooms. Among the findings of this paper is that the way inclusion is conceptualized still bears the hallmarks of the special needs education of the past education dispensation. The paper concludes that a shift from the special need approach to the conceptualization of inclusion is required.
The_challenges_of_realising_inclusive_education_in_South_Africa
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.
Promoting the implementation of inclusive education in primary schools in South Africa
British journal of special …, 2006
The British Index for Inclusion was selected to be used in three primary schools in the Western Cape Province in South Africa in order to develop a South African model to assist in the development of inclusive schools. The Index for Inclusion process entails progression through a series of five developmental phases and this paper, written by Petra Engelbrecht, professor in educational psychology and special education and senior research director at Stellenbosch University, Marietjie Oswald, lecturer in special education at Stellenbosch University, and Chris Forlin, associate professor in special education at the Hong Kong Institute of Special Education, is a reflection of the first two phases. Qualitative data were generated from the consultative process followed in the schools during the first phase and both qualitative and quantitative data from questionnaires regarding the perceptions of all school community members on the inclusive practices or lack thereof in their schools during the second phase. The authors drew out the following five themes from the three sets of data: an inclusive school philosophy; democratic leadership, structures, processes and values; collaboration; addressing learner diversity; and resources. Petra Engelbrecht, Marietjie Oswald and Chris Forlin, all of whom were working on a UNESCO-funded project to trial the use of the Index for Inclusion in South Africa, suggest that these themes provided invaluable insights into both the common and unique complexities, the problems and the assets of the different school communities. The themes are discussed in detail in this article, raising fascinating issues for the development of inclusion in different contexts around the world, and will be used to inform the three remaining phases of the Index for Inclusion process.
Multi-Grade Teaching and Inclusion: Selected Cases in the Free State Province of South Africa
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES
Multi-grade teaching is a commonly used pedagogic strategy in rural schools. However, this form of teaching continues to present challenges to both the teacher and the learner in particular since the advent of inclusive education in South Africa. The policy on inclusive education is silent on how it could be enhanced in a multi-grade class. This paper therefore attempts to analyse and deconstruct the tensions, contradictions and anomalies within the practice of inclusion as a pedagogic discourse in a multi-grade teaching system. The qualitative study on which this article is based employed a critical emancipatory lens and critical realist analysis as instruments with which to analyse narratives from selected cases at multi-grade schools in the Free State province of South Africa. The findings of the study indicated that, while the knowledge and skills teachers need to enhance inclusion within a multi-graded system were limited, well-designed teaching practices in a multi-grade class may enhance an inclusive pedagogy and promote inclusive learning.
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.
“Let’s not leave this problem”: exploring inclusive education in rural South Africa
PROSPECTS, 2008
Inclusive education represents a new agenda for educational reform that spans a wide range of socio-political, cultural, ethical, personal and interpersonal dimensions. Working towards educational inclusion demands commitments, responsibilities and initiatives on the part of all parties to take into consideration the meanings and purpose of education and social justice, to engage and take collective actions in their struggle to combat the diverse forms of educational and social exclusion. This paper presents an educational initiative to implement inclusive education in rural KwaZulu-Natal, an area of South Africa that is most seriously affected by the pandemic of HIV and AIDS. Through the implementation of participatory video-making projects in two schools, the authors seek to empower the voices and actions of teachers in an effort to cope with the problems of poverty and marginalization facing many children. The outcomes of this type of participatory work with teachers have implications for the policy-making process, which in turn, could change the ways educational policy research is structured and implemented.
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.