Submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree DOCTOR OF EDUCATION in the Department of Educational Psychology of the Faculty of Education at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2002. / The aim of this study was to pursue an investigation if mainstream educators are adequately equipped to deal with learners with special educational needs in ordinary classrooms. From the literature study it became evident that inclusive education is not simply a reform of special education but it accommodates all learners within mainstream classrooms. Changing over to inclusive education will have to be done with great responsibility, otherwise inclusive education in South Africa will be doomed from the beginning. The actual implementation of inclusive education could be highlighted as being inter alia the following: > Legislation pertaining to inclusive education. »- The community as a whole. > No learners should be excluded from mainstream schools. ► In-service training and professional development. * Children should be grouped according to chronological ages. > Class size. ► Curriculum must be readapted. ► Assessment and evaluation should be changed. *■ Programmes and facilities must be constantly monitored and assessed. »- Financial issues need to be addressed. ► Facilities will have to be suitably adapted. Successful implementation of inclusive education will depend upon an effective and responsive educators to cater for the needs of all learners. The following needs of the educator influence his perceptions of inclusive education. * Emotional needs. *- The need for knowledge and skills. > The need for support. Inclusive education would require educators to: > Have a positive attitude. * Be flexible in their thinking. > Be critical, creative and innovative in their approach to teaching and learning. To measure the educators' perceptions of inclusive education it was necessary to design a set of values, attitudes, beliefs and responsibilities against which the perceptions of the educators could be measured. The values, attitudes, beliefs and responsibilities were grouped into the following key performance areas. > Successful implementation of inclusive education. ► Educators' perceptions of an inclusive classroom. The questionnaires were completed by the school principals, deputy principals, heads of department and educators. It was analyzed and the data processed. The study confirmed that the successful implementation of inclusive education will depend on the availability of the following: > A school and district based support team. *- In-service training and ongoing retraining. > Adequate funds. » Collaboration and consultation between special and mainstream educators. *■ Guidance and counselling facilities for parents. > Parental involvement. * Accessible transport. > Physical barriers to the built-in environment. > New teaching strategies. *■ Curriculum adaptation. In conclusion a summary was presented and based on the findings of this study. The following are some of the recommendations that were made: The implementation of inclusive education in South African classrooms need changes to be made to the curriculum, institution and methods of assessment. ► Successful implementation of inclusive education depends upon South Africa's utilization and development of its human resources. > Successful implementation of inclusive education relies largely on governance and funding.

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--School of Education. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2005. / "A dissertation in urban leadership and policy studies in education and education." Advisor: Richard Palm. Typescript. Vita. Title from "catalog record" of the print edition Description based on contents viewed March 12, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 404-419). Online version of the print edition.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Commonwealth University, 2007. / Prepared for: School of Education. Bibliography: leaves 155-184. Available online via the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1968. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1993. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Franceska B. Smith. Dissertation Committee: Matthias Finger. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 251-263).

Thesis (M.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1946.

Thesis (M.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1946.

Thesis (MTech (Education))--Peninsula Technikon, 2005. / Word processed copy. Summary in English. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-72). Also available online.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Education in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education of the Faculty of Education at the University of Zululand, 2008. / The aim of this investigation was to establish educators' preparedness for inclusive education: Educators seem to embrace the human rights philosophy underpinning the introduction of inclusive education. However the implementation of inclusive education is not easy as it signals a dramatic paradigm shift for mainstream educators. It involves a new way of thinking and behaving. Many experienced educators have found that they are no longer experts in their field and are concerned that they are novices regarding inclusive education. The success of inclusive education hinges on the effective preparedness of educators. The level of preparedness of educators will determine their degree of acceptance and their efficiency in the implementation of inclusive education. The first phase of this study comprised a comprehensive overview of the literature on educators' preparedness for inclusive education. The second phase involved research by means of a questionnaire. The questionnaire was administered to a stratified random sample of 120 primary and secondary school educators in the Umdoni Ward of the Scottburgh circuit, KwaZulu Natal. The results of this questionnaire provided evidence that educators are not adequately prepared for inclusive education. The literature review indicated that educators in mainstream schools are generally not prepared to include LSEN in the mainstream class for the following reasons: ■ Large class sizes. ■ Lack of support. ■ Lack of knowledge. ■ Lack of skills and competencies. ■ Lack of resources ■ High stress level. ■ Time constraints. For the purpose of the empirical investigation a self- structured questionnaire was utilized. The data from the questionnaires completed by educators from primary and secondary schools was processed and analysed by means of descriptive statistics. From the findings of the research, the following recommendations were made: ■ The Department of Education must provide adequate support to educators concerning all aspects of inclusive education. ■ In-service training regarding inclusive education must be available to mainstream educators.