There has been a paucity of research concerning vocational training of learners with special education needs. The literature study focused on a vocational training and transition planning programme in the United States of America, which could provide as a useful guide to educators and school managers, when implementing vocational training and transitional planning in South Africa. Research was conducted using semi-structured interviews with educators and principals at special schools, observation of learners whilst performing skills training and documentary analysis, to explore whether learners with barriers to learning are receiving skills training that could position them for employment in the open labour market after they exit school. Findings revealed that principals and educators at special schools are faced with challenges in the learner’s microsystem, exosystem and macrosystem, resulting in the inadequate preparation of learners with special education needs for employment in the open labour market. Based on the findings, recommendations in terms of Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory were made, to increase the opportunity for learners who experience barriers to learning, to be engaged in meaningful employment. / Education Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

Thesis (MEdPsych)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / Bibliography / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In White Paper 6 (Special Needs Education: Building an Inclusive Education and Training System), a framework was provided to establish an inclusive education and training system in South Africa. This development followed trends similar to those in other countries. The inclusive approach emerged as a key international policy at the World Conference on Special Needs Education in Salamanca, in 1994 in Spain. One of the implications of an inclusive education (IE) policy is the provision of appropriate educational opportunities for all learners, including those with disabilities, in the general education class. Therefore school policies that support this educational environment, and that provide administrative assistance, appropriate materials and resources, as well as qualified teachers, are needed. Literature states that teachers all over the world experience difficulties on different levels of IE. High school teachers, for instance, experience unique challenges and difficulties with the implementation of inclusive principles. Asperger's syndrome (AS), the focus of this study, is one of the disorders directly affected by an inclusive policy. The number of learners diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), as well as the number attending mainstream education, has grown worldwide. The characteristics of AS lead to challenges with learning behaviour and socialisation, and cause significant difficulties for classroom teachers, who need to maintain a learning environment that is conducive to learning by all learners. Although there is an increasing flow of information available relating to support, accommodations, methods and information, this does not ensure that educators will be aware of and effectively use these sources. Since teachers are the main team players in the successful implementation of IE, this study aimed to investigate exactly how ready they are to implement IE practices, especially with regard to supporting children diagnosed with AS. The theoretical framework on which this study was based was Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model. This study's research methodology can be described as basic qualitative research embedded within an interpretive paradigm. Purposive sampling was used to select participants from three different schools in the Western Cape Province in South Africa. Three methods of data collection were employed, namely reflective questions, as well as semi-structured individual and focus group interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. With Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model as the backdrop, the research findings indicate that the readiness of the participating teachers for IE, and therefore by implication their readiness to include learners with AS in the mainstream classes, is compromised. The findings indicate that this lack of readiness comprises factors on macro-, meso-, exo- and micro-system levels. These systems do not appear to be ready for IE, and therefore, although there is willingness to learn among the teachers in this study, it seems as though they are not ready for the inclusion of learners diagnosed with AS in their classes. Support needs to be aimed at increasing teachers' understanding of the philosophical principles of IE in general, but also increasing their knowledge of AS and providing them with practical suggestions regarding best practises relating to the inclusion of learners with AS in their mainstream classes. Since teachers seem not to be specialists in the support of learners with barriers to learning, professionals who will be able to support them in this regard need to be employed in the schools. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In Witskrif 6 (Spesiale Onderwysbehoeftes: Die Vestiging van 'n Inklusiewe Onderwys- en Opleidingstelsel) is 'n raamwerk verskaf vir die vestiging van 'n inklusiewe onderwys- en opleidingstelsel in Suid-Afrika. Hierdie ontwikkeling het gevolg op soortgelyke tendense in ander lande. Die inklusiewe benadering het na vore getree as 'n sleutel internasionale beleid by die Wêreldkongres oor Spesiale Onderwysbehoeftes wat in 1994 in Salamanca, Spanje gehou is. Een van die aspekte wat fundamenteel is tot die beleid van inklusiewe onderwys (IO) is die verskaffing van gepaste opvoedkundige geleenthede aan alle leerders, insluitend dié met gestremdhede, in die algemene klaskamer. Skoolbeleide wat hierdie opvoedkundige omgewing ondersteun, en wat administratiewe bystand, gepaste materiale en hulpbronne, sowel as gekwalifiseerde onderwysers verskaf, word benodig. Volgens die literatuur ervaar onderwysers die wêreld oor probleme op verskillende vlakke van IO. Hoërskoolonderwysers, byvoorbeeld, ervaar unieke uitdagings en probleme met die implementering van inklusiewe beginsels. Asperger se sindroom (AS), die fokus van hierdie studie, is een van die stoornisse wat direk deur 'n inklusiewe beleid geraak word. Die aantal leerders wat met outismespektrumstoornisse (ASS) gediagnoseer word, sowel as die aantal wat hoofstroomonderrig ontvang, neem wêreldwyd toe. Die kenmerke van AS lei tot uitdagings in leergedrag en sosialisering, en veroorsaak aansienlike probleme vir klasonderwysers, wat 'n leeromgewing moet kan onderhou waarin alle leerders die vermoë het om te leer. Hoewel daar 'n toenemende vloei van inligting is wat verband hou met ondersteuning, tegemoetkomings, metodes en inligting, verseker dit egter nie dat opvoeders bewus sal wees van hierdie bronne nie en hulle doeltreffend sal gebruik nie. Aangesien onderwysers die vernaamste spanlede is in die suksesvolle implementering van IO, was die doelwit van hierdie studie om ondersoek in te stel na presies hoé gereed hulle is om IO-praktyke te implementeer, veral met betrekking tot ondersteuning aan kinders wat met AS gediagnoseer is. Die teoretiese raamwerk waarop hierdie studie geskoei is, is Bronfenbrenner se bio-ekologiese model. Die navorsingsmetodologie vir hierdie studie kan beskryf word as basiese kwalitatiewe navorsing ingebed in 'n interpretatiewe paradigma. Doelgerigte steekproefneming is gebruik om deelnemers in drie verskillende skole in die Wes-Kaap provinsie in Suid-Afrika te selekteer. Drie dataversamelingsmetodes is gebruik, naamlik reflektiewe vrae, asook halfgestruktureerde individuele en fokusgroeponderhoude. Tematiese analise is gebruik om die data te analiseer. Met Bronfenbrenner se bio-ekologiese model as agtergrond kon die navorsingsbevindings wys dat die gereedheid van die deelnemende onderwysers in hierdie studie vir IO, en by implikasie dus hulle gereedheid om leerders met AS in hoofstroomklasse in te sluit, onvoldoende is. Die bevindinge dui aan dat hierdie tekort aan gereedheid faktore op makro-, meso-, ekso- en mikro-sistemiese vlakke omvat. Hierdie stelsels blyk nie gereed vir IO te wees nie en hoewel daar 'n bereidheid is om te leer by die onderwysers in hierdie studie, is hulle nie gereed om leerders wat met AS gediagnoseer is, in hulle klasse in te sluit nie. Ondersteuning moet daarop gerig wees om die onderwysers se begrip van die filosofiese beginsels onderliggend aan IO in die algemeen te verhoog, sowel as hulle kennis van AS, en om hulle praktiese voorstelle te gee m.b.t. beste praktyk in verband met die insluiting van leerders met AS in hulle hoofstroomklasse. Aangesien dit voorkom asof onderwysers nie spesialiste is in die ondersteuning van leerders met struikelblokke tot leer nie, moet professionele persone wat hulle in hierdie opsig kan help, deur die skole aangestel word.

This thesis investigated the education support services provided by occupational therapists, physiotherapists and speech and language therapists in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Changes in the education policy in South Africa to an inclusive education system have major implications for the way therapists provide support. Therapists have been challenged to move from a medical model of support with a focus on highly specialised treatment for a small number of individual learners with disabilities, to a system, including all learners, teachers and parents. The aim of this research was to develop an appropriate and integrated approach for therapists to support schools within an inclusive and health promoting schools framework in South Africa.

Upon close examination of Education White Paper 6: Building an Inclusive Education System, it became evident that, special schools have a crucial role to play. EWP6 clearly outlines the roles of special schools as resource centres. This entails a paradigm shift from a medical to a social model.The purpose of this research was to investigate the role of resource centres in supporting learners who require high levels of support, in an inclusive education system in the Pietermaritzburg district. The study was conducted at a special school with 23 respondents. The triangulated data were collected through participant observations, open-ended questionnaire and interviews. This study revealed that not only are SSRCs totally committed to the paradigm shift but SSRCs are “leading " the way with regard to implementing inclusive strategies like SIAS process, the curriculum changes and alternate means of assessment. SSRCs are valuable resources that are currently under utilized. / 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)

This thesis investigated the education support services provided by occupational therapists, physiotherapists and speech and language therapists in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Changes in the education policy in South Africa to an inclusive education system have major implications for the way therapists provide support. Therapists have been challenged to move from a medical model of support with a focus on highly specialised treatment for a small number of individual learners with disabilities, to a system, including all learners, teachers and parents. The aim of this research was to develop an appropriate and integrated approach for therapists to support schools within an inclusive and health promoting schools framework in South Africa.

According to White Paper 6, national policy regarding the provision of education in South Africa has changed since 1994 with an emphasis on the accommodation of all learners in one education system. The Department of Education envisaged an education and training system that would promote education for all and foster the development of inclusive and supportive centers of learning which would enable all learners to participate actively in education alongside their peers. The responsibility of the education system to develop and sustain learning is premised on the recognition that education is a fundamental right which extends equally to all learners. A complex and dynamic relationship exists between the learner, the centre of learning, the broader education system and the social, political and economic context of which they are all part. These components play a key role in whether or not effective learning and development take place. There are factors that lead to the inability of the system to accommodate diversity, which lead to learning breakdown or which prevent learners from accessing educational provision and have been conceptualized as barriers to learning and development. The primary aim of this study was to investigate and describe the barriers faced by foundation phase learners in an inclusive classroom and to propose the support needed to address those barriers. A literature review provided the background to an empirical inquiry using a qualitative approach. The design type chosen for this study was phenomenology which requires the researcher to ‘bracket‘ or put aside all prejudgments and collect data on how individuals make sense of a particular experience or situation. From the population of 17 schools in UMzimkhulu zone, three Junior Secondary schools were purposively chosen as a sample and the target group was foundation phase educators data was collected by means of INTERVIEWS as well as DOCUMENTS and were inductively analysed. FIELD NOTES were taken during interviews and a tape recorder was used. The data was analysed by using a thematic content analysis. The main themes identified in interviews were, among others, support, challenges faced by foundation phase educators, expectations of foundation phase educators, perceptions of inclusive education and challenges of inclusive education. The conclusion reached is that educators need more information and training about inclusive education. / Inclusive Education / M. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

Like other countries globally, South Africa has embraced inclusive education as a reform that supports and welcomes diversity among all learners. Inclusive education is a process of addressing the diverse learning needs of all learners by reducing barriers to and within the learning environment, as well as to increase their full participation in the learning process. In every classroom, there are learners who present with a diversity of personal characteristics and experiences attributable to physical, personal health or wellbeing, intellectual, psychological, religious, cultural, socio-economic or life experiences that may impact on their access to and participation in learning. It is important to respect the learners’ diversity in order to respond to the unique strengths and needs of every individual learner. The problem is that the pathological-deficit model seems to play a dominant role in teaching and learning, whereby learners who experience barriers to learning and development are not given opportunity to participate fully in learning. The purpose of this study is to enhance productive pedagogies to shift from pathological-deficit model which approaches learners based upon the perceptions of their weaknesses rather than their strengths and views those learners’ differences as deficits. The theoretical framework of critical pedagogy and social constructivism provided an extensive platform from which to engage with the study. A mixed methods study was conducted in two phases. Both phases were conducted at the Bojanala district in the North West Province. Phase one comprised a qualitative approach where focus groups and individual interviews were conducted with SBSTs and principals. Phase two comprised the quantitative approach where all teachers at the selected schools completed a questionnaire. A sequential mixed methods sampling was used with a multilevel purposive sample for choosing the schools. In both phases data were gathered from mainstream, full-service and special schools’ SBST, principals and all teachers selected by purposive and probability sampling respectively. The findings from the qualitative phase revealed that some schools are fully resourced to address diversity and respond to diverse learning needs of all learners. It is further revealed that inclusive practices are effectively implemented at those schools. It was also revealed that some schools were under-resourced to address barriers to learning and to respond to learners’ diverse needs. The SBST from the mentioned schools were not functional because they were not trained on their roles and responsibilities as support structures at their respective schools. Furthermore, several factors were identified as challenges in implementing inclusive practices and responding to diverse learning needs, and these are: limited teaching and learning time, overcrowding, lack of support from the District-based Support Team (DBST), insufficient knowledge and skills on addressing diversity and barriers to learning, lack of parental involvement and inadequate learner progression policy. The questionnaire findings indicated that some teachers did not have knowledge and skills on inclusive practices, did not attend inclusive education workshops and that there is a need for an extensive continuous professional teacher development programme for such teachers. Based on the findings of the empirical inquiry, recommendations are made to enhance productive pedagogies, improve inclusive practice and a call is made for extensive continuous professional teacher development where teachers can talk and share ideas about different approaches and strategies on how they can adjust their pedagogies, respond to diverse learning needs of all learners and get learners involved in learning. / Inclusive Education / D. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

Full-Service Schools are new institutions in South Africa which have been established in terms of the Education White Paper 6, Special Needs Education and Training System (Department of Education, 2001: 22-23; 2014: 9) as pilot schools for the rolling out of the Inclusion Policy in South Africa. A full-service school is a school that encourages learners who experience barriers to learning and learners without barriers to learning to learn and live together (Department of Education, 2001, 2014). For this reason, all learners must have opportunities to learn and play together and participate in educational activities in full-service schools. These inclusion practices, which promote acceptance, equity and collaboration, are responsive to individual needs, and embrace diversity (The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act No. 108 of 1996). The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of educators in management of inclusive classrooms. This study focused on how the educators perform the three of the seven educators roles as expected in the Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications (MRTEQ) (Department of Education, 2011).The educators, over and above these roles, are expected also to participate in extra-curricular programmes, such as sports, cultural and artistic activities, and thus taking more of their time, most probably to the detriment of not fulfilling their Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications as expected. The three selected educators roles are ‘the educator as a learning mediator’, ‘the educator as assessor’ and ‘the educator as support provider’, viz. the community, citizenship and pastoral roles of educators for the learners who experience barriers to learning in English First Additional Language (FAL) in the Grade Six inclusive classrooms. A qualitative research method was employed in this study, to explore the way in which individuals make sense of their world in the naturalistic setting of the classroom, without predetermining the research outcomes (Patton 2002, MacMillan & Schumacher 2010, Denzin & Lincoln 2011, Creswell, 2013). Data analysed was gathered through in-depth interviews, non-participatory observation, and document analysis. Data was analysed through content analysis. / Inclusive Education / D. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

The study sought to investigate educators’ perceptions of the implementation of Inclusive Education in mainstream secondary schools around Polokwane, Limpopo Province of South Africa. The approach to the study was qualitative, guided by an interpretivist paradigm. A purposefully selected sample of 20 teachers from 10 purposively selected mainstream secondary schools in Polokwane participated in this study. Instruments for data collection comprised in-depth interviews, corroborated by non-participant field observations to verify the implementation of Inclusive Education in mainstream secondary schools. Content analysis was employed to analyse the data with the aim of coming up with themes and subthemes. The study revealed that the educators had the passion and willingness to implement Inclusive Education. The educators further perceived Inclusive Education as needful. The implementation of Inclusive Education was perceived as being effective to a lesser extent. The educators perceived the implementation of Inclusive Education as being negatively affected by their inadequate training, school environments which were unfit to accommodate learners with disabilities, the lack of facilities and equipment and higher learner enrolments in mainstream classrooms. Gender was seen to affect the educators’ confidence in handling learners with disabilities and their ability to identify such learners. The study recommends the continued professional development and training of educators in the area of Inclusive Education, regular support and monitoring of Inclusive Education activities in mainstream schools by the DBE, provision of relevant resources and facilities in mainstream schools for the implementation of Inclusive Education, and additional support to educators to enhance their confidence in handling learners with barriers to learning and development. Finally, a model for the improvement of the implementation of Inclusive Education in mainstream schools is proposed. / Inclusive Education / D. Ed. (Inclusive Education)