This dissertation investigates how disability has been defined, and focuses on the shift in the conception of disability as an individual and medical problem to disabi1ity as a form of social oppression. Starting from an historical perspective the position of disabled persons in society is traced. The advance of disabled persons, from a condition of enforced social invisibility, to one in which they make themselves seen and heard through social movements fighting for their rights, is outlined as an introduction to a record of practical engagement through pedagogy in a concrete South African context. . After examining the way myths and stereotypes continue to perpetuate discriminatory practices against disabled persons, attention is drawn to the representation of disability through negative and positive images reflected in media as discourse. Thereafter, the material conditions that help, construct the confined, isolated position of disabled persons within society are considered. Attention is drawn to the theoretical positions of Foucault, Fanon and Bulhan to understand how disabled persons have been excluded and/ or exclude themselves from active participation in society. In the light of the foregoing, the dissertation argues for the position of drama as a means of developing a positive self-concept and a positive self-image within disabled persons. The utility of drama in fulfilling this need is demonstrated by way of a qualitative analysis of the experience of drama teaching over a period of several years. The use of drama within special education is urged as a learning medium, with drama as performance and drama as a means of consciousness-raising to advocate for the acceptance and recognition of disabled persons within society. In conclusion, the placement, value and organisation of drama within the Special School Curriculum is considered. The dissertation emphasizes the value of drama as part of culture in which children develop, understand and reflect on their social values, and concentrates on their part in the dialectics of change. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1994.

In the modern classroom, computer software systems are commonly being used by students to practice and learn academic skills. School systems are increasingly being encouraged to provide technology resources to their students. Physically providing computer software systems for student use does not guarantee that these programs will have an impact on student learning or they will be properly implemented. Two separate studies were conducted to determine how an integrated learning system (ILS) impacted the mathematics achievement of students receiving special education services in math. The first study compared the growth of students' standardized testing scores from Spring 2005 to Spring 2006 between the ILS group (n = 56) and the comparison group (n = 43). Students were receiving special education services for either a primary disability area of a Specific Learning Disability or an Other Health Disability in a Midwestern elementary school setting (grades 3-6). Results indicated no significant difference between the ILS and comparison groups' growth scores. The second part of the study investigated 10 students' math achievement in relation to the math skills practiced, either solely on the ILS or through the ILS and teacher instruction. Students in the second part of the study were receiving special education services in the primary disability area of a Specific Learning Disability or an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Descriptive data gathered suggested that students gained math skills when the ILS was combined with teacher instruction. The discussion focuses on ILS features that were barriers for students with special education needs and how an ILS can be differentiated to become accessible for all learners. / Department of Educational Psychology

Research paper (M.A.)--Cardinal Stritch College--Milwaukee, 1979. / A research paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Education (Education of Learning Disabled Children). Includes bibliographical references (p. 59-68).

No abstract available / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Didactics)

The problem of this study was to ascertain the status of Texas secondary school industrial arts programs in regard to serving physically handicapped students and to analyze the attitudes of industrial arts teachers toward the physically handicapped students in industrial arts classes. The purposes of this study were, (1) to describe the nature and extent of participation by industrial arts programs in Texas secondary schools in complying with federal and state laws concerning the education of handicapped children, and (2) to acquire and interpret information which may be included in college courses for preparing industrial arts teachers and/or in-service programs for industrial arts teachers. Among the major findings revealed by an analysis of the data are the following. 1. Of the 366 industrial arts teachers surveyed, 86 per cent had no pre-service courses and 79 per cent had no in-service instruction concerning handicapped students; however, 67 per cent had experience teaching physically handicapped students. 2. Of the 37,659 students who were served by 355 industrial arts teachers during the 1977-78 school year, 727, or 2 per cent, were physically handicapped; 171 students were in separate special classes and 566 were integrated into regular classes. 3. Of the 727 physically handicapped students, 47 per cent attended senior high schools; 87 per cent attended schools with an enrollment of over 550 students; 83 per cent were in an urban or suburban educational setting; and the four predominate industrial arts areas in which they were enrolled are, in order: Drafting, Woodworking, General Shop, and Metalworking. 4. The attitudes of industrial arts teachers toward physically handicapped students and the attitudes of industrial arts teachers toward the integration of physically handicapped students were slightly positive. The industrial arts teachers' attitude toward the potential success of physically handicapped students in the world of work was positive. The industrial arts teachers' assessment of their own competencies to teach physically handicapped students was neither positive nor negative. 5. The attitudes of the industrial arts teachers were not significantly influenced by their age, education, teaching experience, type of school organization, type of educational setting or total enrollment of the schools in which they taught. Female teachers and teachers with experience in teaching physically handicapped students were significantly more positive in their attitudes toward the physically handicapped.

The implementation of inclusion policy for learners with special education needs as stipulated in the Education White Paper 2001has been an issue of concern for South African schools. This study sheds light on the implementation of inclusion policy for learners with special education needs in the selected primary schools in the Fort Beaufort District in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. The aim of the study is to examine the implementation of inclusion policy for learners with special education needs. The study was placed within the post-positivism paradigm and used a mixed method research approach that integrated concurrent procedures in the collection, analysis and interpretation of the data. Questionnaires were used to collect quantitative data while qualitative data were collected through interviews, and document analysis. A total number of 30 teachers completed the questionnaires. The researcher conducted interviews with ten principals and eight teachers. She also held interviews with four education district officials and one provincial official. Data were analysed by statistical and non-statistical procedures. The study revealed that the inclusion policy is being implemented in the selected schools. However, there are challenges that are being encountered. Firstly, some teachers have not received adequate training with regards to inclusive education policy. Staff development workshops put in place to address this challenge are minimal, and there is not enough joint effort being established by the different stakeholders with regards to support and monitoring the implementation process. Despite the challenges that accompany implementation of inclusion of learners with special education needs, as well as the difficult working conditions, this study reveals that there are pockets of good practice of inclusion policy in some of the selected schools in the Fort Beaufort District. For instance, it was found that teachers implement inclusion of learners with special education needs, even though the majority of them do not have qualifications in special education. It was also revealed that teachers used learner-centred teaching methods to accommodate all learners, which include group and individual teaching, group demonstration, discussions, question-and-answer sessions, and practical activities.

Text in Afrikaans / The young learner is in the developmental phase where he wants to master tasks successfully. When the learner experiences problems at school it influences his motivation and how he views himself. Learning disabled learners are exposed to academic failures and form negative views about their abilities and functioning. The effect of Gestalt play therapy on the self-esteem of the learning disabled learner was explored. The study was done through a baseline consisting of an adjusted Rosenberg's Self-esteem Questionnaire that was completed by educators and learners before and after the therapeutic program. Because of the learners' learning disability, they used an aid namely "Talking-Mats". Although learning disabilities influenced the learners' self-evaluations substantively, the learners' circumstances at home further substantively influenced their self-esteem. It seems that Gestalt play therapy did have a positive effect on the self-esteem of learning disabled learners. / Social work / M. Diac.

Much research on the educators' perceptions of and attitudes towards inclusive education has been conducted both in South Africa and abroad. What is absent in this literature is an acknowledgement of the socially constructed nature of teachers' responses to inclusive education and its recipients. In this study, the talk of educators involved in piloting inclusive education is compared to that of educators who are not involved, in order to determine the discourses from which educators draw in their construction of inclusive education. It is a comparative study premised on the social constructionist perspective in which discourse analysis was employed. The sample was drawn from schools piloting inclusive education in the East London District of the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa and was compared with schools not involved in the pilot, but in the same area. Semi- structured interviews were conducted with eight educators spread across two piloting and two non piloting schools. The analysis revealed significant similarities and quite minimal differences in the manner in which educators across the two settings construct their experiences of inclusive education. Even though the educators draw on the rights driven anti-discriminatory discourse, they still embrace the special needs/medical/expertise and charity discourses. These discourses construct disability around notions of disputed degrees of impairment, feared status and perceptions of disability as a personal issue rather than a public responsibility, and they undermine the status of people with a disability while supporting notions of dependency. In this article, I will argue that the historical legacy within which these discourses were originally constructed, will essentially continue unless there is a change in how diversity is viewed.

The main aim of this study was to explore and describe the development and cognitive ability of a sample of children aged six to eight enrolled in specialised education, in the category of specific learning disability (SLD). This was achieved through the utilization of the Griffiths-Mental Development Scales – Extended Revised, the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children – Fourth Edition and input from the trans-disciplinary team. A non-probability, purposive sampling method was employed and the sample consisted of eight participants. The multiple case study method was used in order to achieve the aim of the study. Both qualitative and quantitative data were incorporated to provide a holistic description of the participants. Quantitative data was obtained from the Griffiths-Mental Development Scales – Extended Revised, the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children – Fourth Edition while qualitative data was obtained from the Biographical Questionnaire, input from members of the trans-disciplinary team, data from the participants‟ archives as well as clinical observations made during the assessment process. The data was analysed according to the domains of childhood development.The results obtained revealed that the general development of the sample as measured by the Griffiths-Mental Development Scales – Extended Revised was average. The Eye and Hand Co-ordination Subscale was the most problematic for the participants. The majority of the sample obtained below average scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children – Fourth Edition‟s full scale IQ (FSIQ). The Verbal Reasoning Index and the Working Memory Index yielded the lowest scores amongst the sample. The results indicated that the majority of the participants are stronger with non-verbal as opposed to verbal reasoning. The study revealed that the two measures, the Griffiths-Mental Development Scales – Extended Revised, the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children – Fourth Edition complement one another. The developmental and intellectual nature of the measures allow for gaps left by the one measure to be filled by the other. The study highlighted the importance of gaining information from the trans-disciplinary team and not relying purely on psychometric measures. It was made clear through the study that deficits often exist that are not picked up by assessment measures alone. In order to gain a comprehensive, holistic picture of a child, one needs to consult a variety of sources. Questions regarding the classification system of high needs learners as well as the current system of specialised education were raised.

M.Ed. / According to the investigations conducted by the National Commission of Special Needs Education and Training (NCSNET) and the National Committee on Education Support Services (NCESS) in South African schools, the findings were that: Firstly, only the minority group benefited in both physical and human resources. The specialised education and support were predominantly provided on racial basis for whites only. Secondly, the government can no more fund these schools. Thirdly, learners with disability want to be out of the cocoon. The purpose of this research was to find out how people in the education system, namely parents, educators and learners in "special" and "mainstream/developed" schools in Soweto perceive inclusion. Since is qualitative research, the researcher interviewed, observed and recorded educators (heads, deputies or HODs) and 4 parents from three different types of special schools, namely Sizwile School for deaf and dumb children, Adelaide Tambo School for the physically disabled and Philip Khushlik School for Cerebral Palsied children. She then interviewed 2 learners, one from J.C. Merkin School for quadriplegic learners and one from Dominican Convent High School. The findings of this research effort suggest that disabled learners do not want to be kept in bedrooms because they feel isolated, excluded and discriminated against. They need to be part of the community. They need a step ahead, a brighter future so that they can plough back something into the community.