The purpose of this study was to determine what language and behavior changes occur when parents are included in a curriculum that provides intervention for children with language delays and behavior and social delays. This project was a collaborative effort between the Early Intervention Special Education Program for three-five year old children in the school distrtict, and the County of Riverside, Department of Mental Health Services.

Exploring the resilience construct is highly relevant for the field of learning disabilities. Resilience is a dynamic process of adaptation that involves interactions between a range of risk and protective factors. This research presents recent learning disability and resilience literature, focussing on the risk and protective factors in the lives of those with learning difficulties. Children with a learning disability often have associated emotional, behavioural and social difficulties that may become major obstacles to positive future outcomes. Historically little attention has been paid to the experiences of mothers of children with a learning disability and how the mother-child relationship may or may not foster the development of resilience in the learning disabled child. This research explores the issue within a qualitative framework / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

The policy of Inclusive Education (IE) in White Paper 6 (2001) acknowledges that all children can learn with support. The aim of this study is to explore the experiences of Learning Support Teachers (LSTs) in supporting Foundation Phase teachers in implementing Inclusive Education (IE) in Gauteng Province, South Africa. A lack of support for teachers and learners in IE has dominated current discussions on education. According to the Department of Education (DoE, 2000:28), the establishment of an IE system in schools would require appropriate district as well as institution level support services, and 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 Learning Support Teachers (LSTs) have been employed in the Foundation Phase to fill that gap and assist classroom teachers, the learners are not receiving the assistance hoped for. Based on an assumption that the failings may largely be systemic, this study therefore uses Bronfenbrenner’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 analysed. Seven principals and seven classroom teachers were also interviewed. The analysis employed Creswell’s method and the findings highlighted factors affecting the implementation of IE. The factors 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. / Teacher Education / D. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

The study investigated challenges in School Guidance and Counselling (SGC) services provisions for children with disabilities in Zimbabwean inclusive primary schools as a context for strategizing on overcoming them and proposing a model of School Guidance and Counselling services provisions for children with disabilities. The survey design, which was mainly quantitative in nature, was used. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data. Three hundred inclusive primary school administrators and three hundred school counsellors participated in the study. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 11.0 was used to analyze data. Frequency tables, ratios and Chi-square tests were computed. The study revealed that Zimbabwean inclusive primary school counsellors lacked training in School Guidance and Counselling and Special Needs Education. The school counsellors also lacked experience in teaching children with disabilities and the stakeholders had negative attitudes towards School Guidance and Counselling services provisions for children with disabilities. It was further revealed that inclusive primary schools lacked materials and supplies, time, finance, physical and curricular resources. The study revealed that there was no mandatory School Guidance and Counselling policy and legislation, clear mission statement, School Guidance and Counselling Framework, school counsellor certification requirements nor a School Guidance and Counselling national model. These facilities, together with Special Needs Education, experience in teaching children with disabilities and staff development, were found to positively impact on SGC services provisions for children with disabilities. School counsellors’ training in School Guidance and Counselling, advocacy on disabilities, stakeholders’ collaboration, passing mandatory School Guidance and Counselling policy and legislation, adequate budgetary and time allocation were seen as strategies to overcome challenges in SGC services provisions for children with disabilities in Zimbabwean inclusive primary schools. It was recommended that School Guidance and Counselling services provisions for children with disabilities in Zimbabwean inclusive primary schools would improve if there would be promulgation of mandatory School Guidance and Counselling policy and legislation, school counsellors’ training in School Guidance and Counselling, requisition of adequate resources and development of positive attitudes among stakeholders. Recommendations for further research were made. / Inclusive Education / D. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The introduction of inclusive education in the South African educational system may be seen as one of the first steps to promote equality and human rights in post-apartheid South Africa. With the implementation of inclusive education, education became less segregated and fragmented, with the aim of ensuring equal learning opportunities for all children, including those with disabilities. The main driving force of inclusive education in South Africa is the Education White Paper 6 on Special Needs Education: Building an inclusive education and training system published in 2001. The aim of this study was to understand inclusive education from the perspectives of those who are charged with the implementation thereof. Classroom educators (teachers) together with district-based support teams are seen as the primary resource for achieving the goal of an inclusive education and training system. This study focused on the perspectives of teachers from one primary and one secondary school in one education district (Education District A) and District-based support team members from another education district (Education District B) in the Western Cape. The study takes on a social constructionist paradigm and illustrates how our understanding and conceptualisation of disability have changed overtime. A social constructionist paradigm highlights the way in which disability is a socially constructed and how it changes according to our understanding thereof. The different models of disability and the role of education was also a main focus of this study. A qualitative research design was used, with purposive and opportunity sampling being applied. Data was gathered using focus groups and in-depth semi-structured interviews and was analysed using thematic analysis. The key findings of this study showed that the teachers and district-based support team members believe that inclusive education can be successful in South Africa provided that changes are made in how it is currently conceptualised and implemented. The teachers have a very different perspective on inclusive education from the support team members. The teachers believe that the success of inclusive education can only be ensured if barriers to teaching are prevented or eradicated, while the support team members believe the success of inclusive education depends on the identification and prevention of barriers to learning. Both groups do however believe that inclusive education is a very good ideal to strive towards but that it has not yet been achieved and that the inclusion and education of all learners are of great importance. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die bekendstelling van inklusiewe onderwys in die Suid-Afrikaanse onderwysstelsel kan gesien word as een van die eerste stappe om gelykheid en menseregte in post-apartheid Suid-Afrika te bevorder. Met die implementering van inklusiewe onderwys het die onderwysstelsel meer toeganklik en minder gefragmenteerd geword. Die doel van inklusiewe onderwys is om te verseker dat alle kinders, ook dié met gestremdhede, gelyke leergeleenthede kry. Die belangrikste dryfkrag agter inklusiewe onderwys in Suid-Afrika is die Onderwys Witskrif 6 oor Spesiale Onderwys: Die bou van 'n inklusiewe onderwys-en opleidingstelsel wat in 2001 gepubliseer is. Die doel van hierdie studie was om inklusiewe onderwys vanuit die perspektiewe van diegene wat dit moet implementeer te verstaan. Klaskamer opvoeders (onderwysers) asook distrikgebaseerde kringondersteuningspanne word gesien as die primêre bronne vir die bereiking van 'n inklusiewe onderwys-en opleidingstelsel. Hierdie studie het op die perspektiewe van onderwysers, van een primêre en een sekondêre skool in een onderwysdistrik (Onderwysdistrik A), en kringondersteuningspanlede, van ʼn tweede onderwysdistrik (Onderwysdistrik B), in die Wes-Kaap gefokus. Die studie neem 'n sosiale konstruktivistiese paradigma aan en illustreer hoe ons begrip en definiëring van gestremdheid oor tyd verander het. 'n Sosiale konstruktivistiese paradigma beklemtoon die manier waarop gestremdheid sosiaal gekonstrueer is en hoe dit verander volgens hoe ons begrip daarvan verander. Die verskillende modelle van gestremdheid en die rol van onderwys was ook 'n hooffokus van hierdie studie. 'n Kwalitatiewe navorsingsontwerp is gebruik, doelgerigte steekproefneming en geleentheid-steekproefneming was toegepas om die deelnemers te kies. Data is ingesamel deur middel van fokusgroepe en in-diepte semigestruktureerde onderhoude en is ontleed deur gebruik te maak van tematiese analise. Die belangrikste bevindings van hierdie studie was dat die onderwysers en distrikgebaseerde kringondersteuningspanlede van mening is dat inklusiewe onderwys slegs in Suid-Afrika suksesvol kan wees mits daar veranderinge gemaak word in hoe ons dit tans konseptualiseer en implementeer. Die onderwysers se perspektief van inklusiewe onderwys verskil heelwat van die perspektiewe van die kringondersteuningspanlede. Die onderwysers is van mening dat van inklusiewe onderwys slegs verseker sal wees indien hindernisse wat onderrig verhoed, voorkom of uitgewis word. Kringondersteuningspanlede is weer van mening die sukses van inklusiewe onderwys afhang van die identifisering en voorkoming van hindernisse van leer. Beide groepe is egter van mening dat inklusiewe onderwys 'n baie goeie ideaal is om na te streef, maar dat dit nog nie bereik is nie, ook dat die insluiting en opvoeding van alle leerders van groot belang is.

Thesis (PhD (Educational Psychology))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / Research indicates that the success of inclusive education lies within the provision of adequate support for learners who experience barriers to learning in mainstream schools as well as in the changing roles of teachers and support services staff. In South Africa, the provincial Western Cape Education Department (WCED) responded to the implementation of inclusive education by introducing a learning support model that was designed to systemically deal with barriers to learning in some primary schools in the province. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the learning support model that was introduced in some primary schools in the Western Cape with specific reference to schools within the West Coast/Winelands district. The evaluation was located in a comprehensive mixed methods research design, which focused on the evaluation of both process and outcomes of the learning support model. The evaluation was done sequentially in three phases: Phase one consisted of a comprehensive literature review. Phase two focused on both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis (through questionnaires containing both closed- and open-ended questions). The focus in Phase three was on follow up semi-structured focus group interviews. The participants were drawn from all primary schools situated within the boundaries of the West Coast/Winelands district and where the services of a learning support teacher (full-time or itinerant) were available. While learning support teachers were selected through purposive sampling, mainstream teachers were systematically selected. The four primary schools and learning support teachers that participated in the focus group interviews were systematically selected. Findings indicate that the current learning support model used in the West Coast/Winelands area does not provide effective learning support to all learners experiencing barriers to learning in mainstream primary schools. Constraints that contribute to this situation can be identified on all levels of the education system including the macro and micro systems. By mapping the findings from the data against the literature review, the researcher recommends that the provision of learning support should be addressed systemically from within a whole-school approach, taking into account local contextual factors impacting on the school. In conclusion a model for the improvement of learning support service delivery within a wholeschool approach is provided.

Thesis (MEd) -- University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Learning and the development of numeracy in the foundation phase are regarded as highly important. In this critical period learners attain the fundamental knowledge that is needed for future learning and development. A serious problem within South African schools is that a great number of foundation phase learners show difficulties in numeracy. Various reasons can be provided for these difficulties, for example, learners do not receive good teaching, they hold negative attitudes towards numeracy, they encounter language barriers, and so forth. It is important that the learners’ difficulties in numeracy are attended to immediately and effectively, to be able to minimise the gaps between the learners’ functioning level and the level the learner is suppose to be on. The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) laid bare their concern with the current problem in numeracy when they launched the WCED Literacy and Numeracy Strategy 2006-2016. As part of this the Metropole North Education and Management Development Centre (EMDC) requested and implemented an intervention programme for grade 2 and grade 3 learners. Part of this problem is that many foundation phase educators lack the necessary knowledge to identify the learners with difficulties and especially to attend to these difficulties. The goal of this research study was to investigate the realization of an early intervention programme implemented over a limited period of time of ten weeks in grade 2 and grade 3 classrooms. The current study aimed at providing educators with resources to offer learning support to their disadvantaged learners within the Numeracy classroom. This study has implications for the way in which educators approach and teach numeracy, as well as for the type of learning support the educators provide their disadvantaged learners with. The intervention programme is based on a problem centered approach with constructivism as underlying epistemology. This approach views the educator as a facilitator who provides the learners with opportunities to be actively involved in the learning environment to construct knowledge. The importance of word problems and discussion within the Numeracy classroom are emphasized and it is necessary that the educator create the appropriate classroom atmosphere so that this approach can be implemented effectively. Learning is an active process and it is the responsibility of the educator to provide the learners with appropriate learning activities for learning and development to take place. The study made use of programme evaluation as research methodology. Programme evaluation refers to a research goal instead of specific research methods, because various methods can be used which may be quantitative or qualitative in nature. The gathering of data was done through classroom observations by the researcher, informal interviews with participating educators, questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews with the educators at the four schools the researcher monitored intensively during the implementation process of the intervention programme. The gathering of data was an ongoing process and the researcher analysed and interpreted the learners’ work at the end of the implementation process. The researcher checked this analysis by means of the literature review, transcripts and field notes. This formed the basis on which conclusions and recommendations could be made. The conclusions confirmed the importance of early intervention and the efficacy of the problem centered approach within the numeracy classroom. It also confirmed the disadvantages of the training model that was used, that is the Cascade model. With this study it was possible to determine that a ten week intervention programme was too short a period to observe meaningful improvements in learners. Therefore further research should be done on addressing learners’ difficulties and to train and support educators to provide learning support to their learners.

This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between the subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) and the Illinois Test of Psycholinuistic Abilities (ITPA) and to investigate whether High Verbal-Low Performance (HV-LP) scorers on the WISC score significantly higher on certain ITPA subtests than High Performance-Low Verbal (HP-LV) scorers, and whether HP-LV scorers on the WISC score significantly higher on certain other subtests of the ITPA. Two main hypotheses were investigated in an effort to accomplish these purposes.

Inclusion is a federal education policy in the United States that challenges educational leaders. Despite U.S. federal laws requiring an inclusive education for students with disabilities (SWD), educators continue to struggle to implement inclusion. Some scholars argue that leadership is the key to inclusion, with most studies focused on principal leadership. Successful inclusive districts are rare, as are studies of these districts. The purpose of this in-depth case study was to describe and understand the leadership practices of SSSD (pseudonym), an inclusive (based on LRE ≥75% for three consecutive years) and effective district (based on district grades of As and Bs, state measures of student achievement) in Southeast Florida. Within SSSD, a purposeful sample of 31 participants was selected that included eight district leaders, three principals, 15 teachers, and five parents located at four sites and observed across three events over the span of one semester with multiple supporting documents analyzed. Four findings describing district leadership practices emerged from the data analysis; 1) a shared inclusive mission, 2) collaborative efforts, 3) formal and informal professional development (PD), and 4) acknowledging and addressing challenges. The practices of district leaders found in this study resonate with other findings in the literature and contribute two of the new findings in this study: 1) the superintendent’s attitudes, beliefs, and experiences as a special educator were described as key to her district’s inclusive focus and success and extends previous research connecting principal leadership to school site inclusion; and 2) informal versus formal PD was more beneficial to teachers in building collective capacity for inclusive service delivery—marking a new distinction within related PD literature. Recommendations to district leaders, policy makers, and scholars are included. The study concludes by encouraging educational leaders to cultivate a shared inclusive mission implemented through collaborative efforts. There is hope for inclusion, not only in theory, but in practice, mirroring the call of other district leadership studies of successful, systemic inclusion. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

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