Following the inception of the White Paper 6 in 2001 (Department of Basic Education, 2001), selected schools in South Africa have been transformed into inclusive schools, with the aim of enrolling all learners despite their (dis)abilities. Teachers however still seem hesitant to take care of this responsibility due to a variety of reasons. Against this background, the Department of Higher Education and Training, in collaboration with the European Union has undertaken an initiative focusing on the promotion of inclusive education policy implementation and teacher training in South Africa. As part of this initiative, the University of Pretoria was tasked to develop a postgraduate qualification in visual impairment studies. My study forms part of the broader funded project of the University of Pretoria. More specifically, my study focused on the process and value (or not) when utilising Participatory Reflection and Action (PRA) for the development of a qualification. Based on the assumptions that teachers and expert stakeholders in the visual impairment community would be able to co-conceptualise an advanced diploma for teachers, 17 schools were involved, situated in five South African provinces, with 255 teacher-participants. In addition, 50 expert stakeholders in the field of visual impairment participated in this study, which adopted a participatory research approach, implemented an instrumental case study design and utilised interpretivism as paradigm. For data generation and documentation, I relied on PRA-based activities, individual interviews, observation, field notes, a reflective journal and audio-visual techniques. Following inductive thematic analysis of the data that apply to the focus of my study I identified four main themes, with the related subthemes. These themes relate to utilising PRA to access research partners’ knowledge and expertise, value for participants of being research partners in a PRA process, value for personal and professional development of the participants and recommendations for future application of the PRA process. Findings of my study indicate that it is possible and beneficial to implement PRA when conceptualising a qualification. More specifically, PRA is suitable for accessing research partners’ knowledge and expertise when developing a qualification. PRA empowers participants to instil positive change and further equip themselves. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Educational Psychology / PhD / Unrestricted

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Thesis (Ph.D. (Curriculum Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / The purpose of this study was to look at the crisis in the implementation of inclusive education and to reflect on the role of full-service schools in Sekhukhune district. Participants were purposively selected in this study. Most of the mainstream school‘s struggle to cater for special educational needs learners, resulting in many dropouts. The study collected data through semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. The findings of the study have shown that many educators lack capacity on inclusive education, and full-service schools do not play a critical role in supporting neighbouring mainstream schools. The findings reveal that lack of capacity development like workshops and human resources are main factors contributing towards failure of full service schools to support neighbouring mainstream schools. In addition, inclusive education needs to be included in educator training at tertiary level qualifications. Therefore, further investigation of the impact of educator qualifications and implementation is recommended.

Thesis (Ph.D.(Curriculum Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2017 / Full-service schools have been introduced as a means to pilot the implementation of inclusive education in South Africa. The purpose of the study was to explore whether this model of full-service schools is ready to roll-out the implementation of inclusive education to all schools or not. The study followed a qualitative research approach and a case study design was adopted. Scaccia, Cook, Lamont, Wandersman, Castellow, Katz and Beidas (2015) readiness theory (R = MC2) was adopted. Sixteen teachers (16) and eight (8) Head of Departments (HoDs) from eight full-service schools were recruited to form part of the study. Data was collected through interviews, observations and document analysis. The study came up with five findings: i) the implementation of inclusive education was perceived as a good practice, ii) teachers did not acquire adequate training during pre-service training, iii) insufficient provision of resources, iv) lack of on-going support , and v) lack of collaboration amongst stakeholders. The overall finding of the study is that, although full-service schools in Limpopo Province appear motivated to implement inclusive education, they still lack the capacity to implement it. As a result, full-service schools in Limpopo Province are not yet ready to roll-out the implementation of inclusive education. Recommendations that may assist in realising a smooth roll-out to all other schools have been presented by the study. Keywords: Inclusive education, full-service schools, readiness theory / Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS-SAHUDA) and the National Research Foundation (NRF)

Learners who are deaf and who are using the auditory oral approach are currently included in ordinary schools in South Africa. By default, most educators are not adequately trained to include these learners successfully. Transformation and train-ing, specific to the context of inclusive education, is thus undeniable. Therefore, in order to address the development of full-service schools to include learners who are deaf and who are using the auditory oral approach, a literature study on the nature of inclusive education with the focus on full-service schools to include the mentioned learners, took place. A qualitative study was conducted and data was gathered by interviews with six, learners, parents and educators. The findings were corroborated with the literature study with a view to addressing learner and system needs in order to include these learners successfully in a full-service school. Based on the findings, recommendations are made to address the development of full-service schools to include the mentioned learners. / Educational Studies / M. Ed.

Learners who are deaf and who are using the auditory oral approach are currently included in ordinary schools in South Africa. By default, most educators are not adequately trained to include these learners successfully. Transformation and train-ing, specific to the context of inclusive education, is thus undeniable. Therefore, in order to address the development of full-service schools to include learners who are deaf and who are using the auditory oral approach, a literature study on the nature of inclusive education with the focus on full-service schools to include the mentioned learners, took place. A qualitative study was conducted and data was gathered by interviews with six, learners, parents and educators. The findings were corroborated with the literature study with a view to addressing learner and system needs in order to include these learners successfully in a full-service school. Based on the findings, recommendations are made to address the development of full-service schools to include the mentioned learners. / Educational Studies / M. Ed.

The South African government introduced Full-service schools to provide quality education to all learners through flexibility to meet the full range of learning needs. Full-service schools are institutions that strive to transform themselves, proactively addressing the barriers to learning and increasing participation of the learners and educators in the teaching and learning process. This can be achieved by enhancing the flexibility of teaching and learning methods used. This study therefore focused on the teaching and learning methods used in inclusive classrooms to accommodate diversity. This was a case study that was conducted at Mphuphuthe Full-service school at Ledig, situated in the Bojanala Region in the North West Province. A qualitative approach and purposive sampling was used. The triangulation of data collection methods using three data collection instruments, namely focus group interview, observation and document analysis was used. The results showed that teaching and learning is flexible, making use of differentiated methods such as multilevel teaching; songs and rhymes; storytelling using pictures, puppets and big books. Dramatisation was used in instances where learners acted out the stories they were told. Cooperative learning was used for problem solving activities and projects so that learners could work together. Differentiation in terms of lesson planning, activities and assessment standards was used to accommodate all the learners. Based on the findings, recommendations were made for effective teaching and learning in inclusive classrooms in the Foundation Phase. / Inclusive Education / M. Ed.(Inclusive Education)

In South Africa, the issue of learners reading below their grade level is of great concern. In order to overcome this problem, the Department of Education made it possible that learners be taught to read early in Grade 1. However, despite the learners being taught to learn to read at an early stage, numerous studies have revealed that most of the learners, including those in Grade 3, are still experiencing reading problems. The purpose of this study is to explore how Grade 3 teachers support learners who experience reading problems in Full-service schools. Full-service schools are mainstream schools that were transformed to attend to the underlying inclusive principles and to provide quality education to all learners. In this study, a qualitative approach was used to collect data at the Tshwane North District in the Gauteng Province. The interview questions were piloted with one of the Grade 3 class teachers from a neighbouring full-service school. Then after the pilot study, eleven Grade 3 class teachers and six Learner Support Teachers from three identified full-service schools were interviewed and observed in their classroom while supporting learners experiencing reading problems. The documents that they used were also analysed. To analyse the empirical data an inductive approach and the method for analysing data suggested by Creswell (2000) was followed. The findings revealed that teachers who participated in this study followed a more prescriptive approach of supporting learners who were experiencing reading problems. Furthermore, the findings revealed they used different reading strategies and reading methods even though there were some challenges that hampered the implementation of the support. The issue of differentiating and adapting the reading support to suit the diverse reading needs of learners arose from the study. This was due to the fact that most of the teachers were not trained to adapt the reading support based on the reading needs of the learners. Based on the findings, recommendations were made, and guidelines to draw up an effective reading support based on an integrated approach for Grade 3 learners who experience reading problems in full-service schools was developed. The guidelines combined two theories that underpinned the study, namely, Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory and Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory. The researcher concluded that learners’ improvement in terms of their reading abilities relies on how teachers provided support to them. Hence it is important for teachers to be equipped with sufficient skills and knowledge to provide individualised reading support to learners experiencing reading problems. / Inclusive Education / Ph. D. (Inclusive Education)

Reading is an important skill that forms part of acquiring knowledge. It improves literacy levels, social skills, personal wellbeing and provides a sense of purpose. However, there are majority of learners experiencing reading difficulties around the world. The purpose of this study revolves around recent trends in academic underperformance that have led to a proliferation of studies which suggest that one of the greatest causes is reading difficulties. The Full-Service Schools (FSS) being part of the support strategy as denoted by Education White Paper 6 are primary schools that are equipped with most resources including Information Communication Technologies (ICTs). For this reason, they were selected so that the perceptions and experiences of their School-Based Support Team (SBST) members and Learning Support Educators (LSEs) can be explored, described and be explained when supporting learners experiencing reading difficulties. Through the concurrent triangulation mixed methods design data was collected using both quantitative and qualitative methods (that is the structured questionnaire, focus group interviews and official documents). The collected data was analysed through mixed analysis and merged to corroborate the findings from quantitative and qualitative data. Findings indicated that there was a small statistically significant difference in the reading performance of participants who were exposed to ICTs as a support mechanism for learners experiencing reading difficulties in the FSS. The slight improvement can be attributed to lack of ICTs guidelines for supporting learners experiencing reading difficulties, limited teacher training on ICTs and the limited use of the ICTs. In conclusion, the ICTs scaffolding guideline for teachers to support leaners experiencing reading difficulties was developed. The guideline incorporated the three theories that unpinned this study namely the social interaction part of Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, the readers-response theory and e-reading theory. Throughout the ICTs scaffolding guideline, electronic text feature as part of the e-reading theory. It is the eradication of reading difficulties that can improve the learners’ confidence which in turn will have a positive effect on their academic performance on some or all of the subjects. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

The South African government introduced Full-service schools to provide quality education to all learners through flexibility to meet the full range of learning needs. Full-service schools are institutions that strive to transform themselves, proactively addressing the barriers to learning and increasing participation of the learners and educators in the teaching and learning process. This can be achieved by enhancing the flexibility of teaching and learning methods used. This study therefore focused on the teaching and learning methods used in inclusive classrooms to accommodate diversity. This was a case study that was conducted at Mphuphuthe Full-service school at Ledig, situated in the Bojanala Region in the North West Province. A qualitative approach and purposive sampling was used. The triangulation of data collection methods using three data collection instruments, namely focus group interview, observation and document analysis was used. The results showed that teaching and learning is flexible, making use of differentiated methods such as multilevel teaching; songs and rhymes; storytelling using pictures, puppets and big books. Dramatisation was used in instances where learners acted out the stories they were told. Cooperative learning was used for problem solving activities and projects so that learners could work together. Differentiation in terms of lesson planning, activities and assessment standards was used to accommodate all the learners. Based on the findings, recommendations were made for effective teaching and learning in inclusive classrooms in the Foundation Phase. / Inclusive Education / M. Ed.(Inclusive Education)