A research report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education in Educational Psychology in the faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2018. / Education White Paper 6 was developed with the aim of transforming the educational system of South Africa from one of exclusion of learners with disabilities to one that is more inclusive of all learners. This was to be done through the establishment of an integrated educational system that embraces children with barriers to learning into mainstream public schooling systems. This system should hold a flexible curriculum, structures to provide support for teachers and other schooling staff in implementing and maintaining the new inclusive system. The skills of teachers are to be improved so as to effectively manage classes wherein diverse ranges of learning needs are present. The primary aim of this research was to examine inclusive education research conducted in South Africa since its implementation in 2001. This was done through a systematic literature review analysis. Articles were selected for inclusion in the review based on the following criteria: the studies had to have been published in peer-reviewed journals between the years 2001 and 2016 to represent the extent of research on inclusive education in South Africa since its implementation. Studies had to be data based (either primary or secondary) and documented in English with a focus on inclusive education in South Africa. Studies had to meet all the inclusion criteria in order to be selected for inclusion into the review. Thirty seven eligible journal articles were included for the current review, of which 43% (n=16) used a qualitative methodology, 16% (n=6) used a mixed methods design and 6% (n=2) used a quantitative methodology. The remaining 35% (n=13) were conceptual articles. To obtain a thematic review of inclusive education research in South Africa Thomas and Harden’s thematic synthesis approach of data analysis was used. The results identified the following main emergent themes: Attitudes, beliefs, perceptions and practices of key stakeholders, Dissemination of information, Teacher training, Contextual factors, History, culture and traditions toward inclusive education, and Collaboration. Findings of the review clearly indicate that there are drawbacks and limitations as well as successes in relation to inclusive education implementation in South Africa. There are lessons to be learned from the South African experience of inclusive education in relation to the implementation of educational policy and the need for research to inform practice. / MT 2018

This work concerns the inclusive education of children with cochlear implants (CI). The theoretical part is devoted to the introduction to the issue of hearing impairments and their diagnostics. It provides informations on the issue of the cochlear implant and its history. It describes companies producing cochlear implants and implantation of their products in specific hospitals in the Czech Republic. The last theoretical chapter focuses on the education of children with CI, supporting measures and it contains selected studies about teachers' opinions on the inclusion of these children. The practical part of the work was carried out in the form of an online questionnaire survey inspired by one of the studies (Dulčić a Bakota, 2009) mentioned in the theoretical part. The research was enriched by open and semi-closed questions to obtain qualitative data, in addition to the quantitative part. The basis of the research was to find: whether teachers welcome the inclusion of children with CI. Further aims of the research were to find: how teachers are informed about the cochlear implant, what are the opinions of interviewed teachers on the inclusion of children with CI into their schools and how interviewed teachers are experienced with these children. Research has shown that the vast majority of teachers fully...

Thesis (D. Tech.) - Central University of Technology, Free State, 2009 / This research analyses the discourses of students without barriers on inclusive higher education. It is assumed that the discursive practices of students without barriers will affect their perception negatively on inclusive education. This leads to the students without barriers’ attitude. As a result the students without barriers believed that upbringing played a role in their discourses. Parental and societal stereotypes blinded them to discourses. Analysing the discourses of students without barriers indicates the need for support in order to go beyond their stereotypes. To confirm these findings, I used qualitative study to conduct my research. The literature is reviewed in Chapter Two to find out what various researchers in previous studies say with regard to the discourses of students without barriers. Six respondents were selected from two different universities, namely the Central University of Technology and the University of the Free State. This was done with the purpose of analysing the discourse of students without barriers to determine if they understood what it means to be supported. The Free Attitude Interview was used as the technique for gathering information from the respondents. The purpose was to find the discourses of students without barriers in an inclusive higher education. This research study used the textually orientated discourse analysis (TODA) as a technique for gathering data. A tape recorder was used as a supplement for information that might be forgotten. The audio recordings were transcribed, verbatim and later interpreted. The spoken word of the respondents was analysed with the aim of disclosing the ideology carried by the respondents. This study is able to conclude that students without barriers felt superior to physically disabled students, as they indicated in their dominant discourses. This implies that students without barriers are positioned with ideology and discourses in so far as their meaning construction of discourses are concerned. Based on the findings, the study recommends an inservice programme to help students without barriers to become aware of their discursive practices. The students without barriers should not allow negative stereotypes and misconception to prevent them from their discourses in inclusive higher education.

In South Africa, in July 2001, the National Department of Education released White Paper 6 which underpins the notion of inclusive education. It states that the needs of all children should be catered for within the South African educational framework. Subsequent guidelines from the Department (2005; 2012) also provide a strong focus on understanding individual children’s learning styles and explain the concept and application of children’s multiple intelligences. However, on closer examination, it seems that the inclusive education, as well as barriers to learning referred to in the abovementioned guidelines, are indicated to mean catering for children at the lower-ability end of the learning spectrum. This research begins to explore the notion that high potential children might require special attention, though not at the expense of those with learning impairments. An education system that provides inclusive education to children at both the lower and higher ends of the learning spectrum would be more equitable, and would give all children an equal chance of reaching their full potential. One possible strategy for accommodating the diverse needs of learners is through differentiation (Department of Education, 2005). Differentiation is a way of teaching that aims to provide stimulating and enriching learning environments to a diverse group of children within a classroom. This might be achieved by separating the class into smaller groups based on ability, or by providing children with different tasks at the same time, with the same learning objectives but at differing cognitive levels (Rogers, 2007). Vygotsky’s work on the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and mediation provides a theoretical framework for proposing differentiation as a strategy. The data was gathered through an in-depth examination (using a combination of classroom observations, document analysis and teacher interviews) of mathematics teaching in Grade 1 in three schools in Grahamstown. My analysis was based on Vygotsky’s theories (the main tenets of which were the ZPD and scaffolding, as well as the role of socio-culture in learning), using Tomlinson’s (1999) differentiated instruction framework to provide structure to the study. The following themes emerged from the data: a focus on the teachers’ understandings of differentiation; the use of grouping as a superficial form of differentiation; a lack of teacher preparation and understanding in relation to task differentiation; and an underlying sense of ‘sameness’ in teachers’ understanding of their learners. In addition to the above, I did not observe evidence of real differentiation for high potential children and hope that this research contributes to extending teachers’ training (both academic and in-service) in this area, convincing teachers of the existence and importance of critical thinking abilities in our youngest learners, and initiating a move towards the drafting of Individual Education Plans for all our learners. During the period of my research I have been convinced that the use of differentiated instruction in classrooms is the way forward in educational thinking, particularly as it relates to the notion of inclusive learning. Clearly there are challenges to be addressed in terms of school timetables, curricula, teachers’ time frames and past education system inequalities such as we have here in South Africa.