Implementing inclusive education policy in selected mainstream primary schools of Chris Hani West Education District
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Date
2024-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Fort Hare
Faculty of Education
Faculty of Education
Abstract
Inclusive Education as a vehicle for quality education is gaining global momentum. Central to Inclusive Education is equitable access to education, which accommodates learner diversity, including those learners who experience learning difficulties and who experience exclusion when having to attend the same schools with their peers. In response to this gap, most African countries, such as South Africa introduced Inclusive Education policies. The policy was spearheaded by the Department of Education to support learners who experience learning barriers and for them to be accommodated in the mainstream provision. This transformation affected teaching and learning, as teachers had to adopt pedagogies and diverse assessment strategies that accommodate all learners in their classes. However, despite the effort made to accommodate all learners in the mainstream, there seem to be challenges as some children remain out of the school system. Hence, this study aimed to examine the implementation of the Inclusive Education Policy in selected mainstream primary schools. The theory of implementation by Rogan and Grayson was adopted for this study as it builds on the strengths of different educational stakeholders, such as teachers, parents, learners and district officials. The theory looks at what constitutes good practice, monitoring systems, resources and support, provided by outside agencies to facilitate innovation in schools. The study adopted an interpretive paradigm and qualitative approach. The data from the 12 purposively selected research participants was collected through semi-structured interviews. The results revealed that teachers do not understand Education White Paper 6 and are not clear about what it entails. The inadequate visitation of schools and an absence of school-based training workshops by the DBST raised another concern among participants. In addition, limited classroom-based monitoring and follow-up support challenge the effective implementation of inclusive education. Inadequate training of teachers, non-involvement of parents, and scarcity of resources, which includes human and physical resources, worsen the situation. This study recommends that teachers receive adequate training on implementing Inclusive Education at the school and district levels. Provision of adequate physical and human resources for DBSTs and the teachers to perform their various tasks needs to be prioritized. The study further recommends strengthened collaboration of all stakeholders to support each other in implementing Inclusive Education in mainstream classrooms.
Description
Masters Dissertation
Keywords
Inclusive education--South Africa, Mainstreaming in education--South Africa, Education, Primary--South Africa, Teachers--South Africa, School management and organization--South Africa, Educational change--South Africa