The hearing-impaired learner as part of a historically segregated and disadvantaged group experiences discrimination within Nigeria’s general education system and the socio-political environment. In this study, the focus is on how hearing-impaired learners can access inclusive education, using normative ideas of equality that could inform the understanding and interpretation of the non-discriminatory clause in the Nigerian constitution. Emphasis is on advancing thoughts that are normatively open to the inclusive equality needs of the hearing-impaired in accessing primary education, in order to inspire and be capable of altering existing discriminatory conditions prevalent within Nigeria’s general education system. The study uses a range of analytical skills to probe the inclusiveness of existing arrangements regarding inclusive equality in education for hearing-impaired learners in Nigeria. More broadly, the study makes use of qualitative analysis. However, the study also employs a reasonable part of fieldwork which necessitated the use of quantitative data analysis in order to determine the number of semi-structured questionnaires to be distributed to schools. More generally, the study utilises the social model approach to disability and neo-natural law perspectives as qualitative interpretive tools for appraising understandings of inclusivity in education for hearing-impaired learners. From ideas inspired from the social model and neo-natural law, the study adopts the prescriptive and directive approach as a directing element in the evaluation of the responsiveness of law, policy and practice towards securing inclusive equality in education for hearing-impaired learners. Additionally, the study employs some aspects of comparative analysis. The purpose was not so much to compare, but to create awareness regarding the equality and non-discrimination agenda in other jurisdictions. Against this backdrop, the Canadian and South African jurisdictions were used. The study contemplates that positive lessons could be learnt from these jurisdictions and mistakes can be avoided. Throughout, the study highlights the hidden nature of law, policy and practice in relation to hearing-impaired learners, which consequently demand the application of practical reasonableness and ideas of substantive justice in the making and implementation of rules and policy. The study situates inclusivity as a flexible approach that should present each learner with an opportunity to access and make choices regarding placement options as a matter of self determination. In the final analysis, the study argues for the establishment of a non-discriminatory educational system, where hearing-impaired learners are taught in a language that is accessible and comprehensible and with which the learner is familiar right from home at the early age of schooling. The study considers the utilisation of accessible and comprehensible language an operative part of achieving substantive equality in education for hearing-impaired learners. / Thesis (LLD)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Centre for Human Rights / LLD / Unrestricted

Schools globally are characterised by an increasingly diverse learner population in terms of age, gender, language, socio-economic background, cultural practices and learning abilities. The diverse needs of learners in schools have implications for teacher training, as it demands a shift from the traditional “one-size-fits-all” approach to a more inclusive approach. Because teachers play a significant role in addressing diversity among all learners, several teacher-training programmes have been implemented worldwide since the inception of inclusive education. The main purpose of these programmes is to ensure that teachers acquire the relevant knowledge and skills to meet the learning needs of all learners in schools. One of these skills pertains to curriculum differentiation for making the curriculum accessible to all learners irrespective of their abilities. This research investigation was rooted in Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model. Situated in the interpretative paradigm, the study adopted a qualitative approach. A multiple case study research design was employed to investigate nine Foundation Phase teachers from rural, township, and former Model C full-service schools. All of them had completed the BEd (Hons) in Learning Support programme at one of South Africa’s major universities. Semi-structured face-to-face individual interviews were conducted, and a document analysis was used to explore participants’ understanding and implementation of curriculum differentiation. The analysis of the study revealed that teachers who had completed the BEd (Hons) in Learning Support programme had the necessary theoretical knowledge of the concept of curriculum differentiation. However, most of them faced difficulties regarding the understanding and implementation of curriculum differentiation. The study also showed that teachers did not make use of official documents that guide and explain the differentiation of school curriculum to meet the diverse needs of learners in full-service schools. In the light of these findings, five sets of recommendations were made in ensuring the effective implementation of curriculum differentiation in schools in order to make the curriculum accessible to all learners. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Early Childhood Education / PhD / Unrestricted

Inclusive education came into the spot light with the World Conference on Special Needs Education: Access and Quality, held in Salamanca, Spain in June 1994. The problem investigated in this study is how teaching oral hearing impaired learners in an inclusive school affects the classroom practice of the mathematics teacher as teaching-and-learning expert. In this study, the term hearing impaired refers to learners with a bilateral, moderate to profound hearing loss who have hearing aids and/or cochlear implants. These learners communicate orally, in other words, they have developed spoken language and do not communicate using sign language. The study focused on the classroom practice of three teachers in three different phases, namely the Intermediate Phase (Grade 4-6), the Secondary Phase (Grade 7-9) and the Further Education and Training phase (Grade 10-12) and explored how they teach mathematics to Hearing Impaired (HI) learners in an inclusive school. A qualitative research approach was followed and the research design was an exploratory case study. The data was collected in an inclusive school that includes oral HI learners which was purposefully chosen due to its model of inclusion where oral HI learners attend the same classes and lessons as their hearing peers. Three data collection instruments were used, namely semi-structured interviews, lesson observations and documentation analysis. The data was analysed deductively according to the themes reflected in the conceptual framework. The conceptual framework was based on ten practices mathematics teachers should apply when teaching HI learners (Easterbrooks & Stephenson, 2006), but through the lens of the mathematics teacher as teaching-and-learning expert and the language factors in teaching mathematics to HI learners. The research revealed that not all teachers who teach at an inclusive school truly understand the concept of inclusion and that continuous training is a pre-requisite for inclusion to be successful. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / MEd / Unrestricted

In Saudi Arabia, students with disabilities have historically received education in special and segregated schools. As times progressed, regulations and laws changed the manner in which students with disabilities were served. Regulations order that students with disabilities be educated in the least restrictive environment; however, preservice teachers’ perspectives continue to differ in regard to working with students with disabilities in a general education setting. Research has shown that teachers who portray positive attitudes towards inclusion are more likely to work with students with disabilities in an inclusive classroom (Dev & Hayes, 2015). Today, inclusion has occurred in schools around the country; it is the educator’s responsibility to modify instruction in order to teach all students in the inclusive classroom. In order to investigate preservice teachers’ perspective toward inclusion in Saudi Arabia, this study used interviews with seven preservice teachers from the University of Umm Al-Qura. Six major themes emerged from the interview data, which represent Saudi special education preservice teachers’ perspectives toward inclusion, reasons for their perspective and recommendations including (1) negative perspective toward inclusion, (2) reasons related to students with disabilities’ condition and personality, (3) reasons related to the university, (4) reasons related to schools, (5) demand for more hands-on experience, (6) need to spread awareness among in-service teachers, principal, staff and community. Findings of the study and aspects related to the preservice teachers’ perspectives are discussed in detail, as well as implications of the findings and recommendations for future research.

In this 21st Century, the global increasing population of disabled people has led to the demand for the inclusion of the mobility disability in various sectors of life, among them, the tourism sector. imminent. The demand by the tourists with mobility disability to access tourism facilities triggered the need to carry out this research. The study identified the importance of inclusive tourism for people with mobility disabilities, the barriers faced as well as the strategies to make the tourism more inclusive for people with mobility disabilities in Zimbabwe. The research aimed at benefitting tourism service providers and various stakeholders. The research framework was guided by the Human Rights Theory of Change and Results Framework, with the theoretical model underpinning the study being the human rights model of disability. The abductive research approach was used together with a qualitative methodological choice. A case study approach was used and research participants were identified as follows, 10 management from Hospitality companies,5 Zimbabwe Council for Tourism Officials, 5 Ministry of Environmental, Tourism and Hospitality Officials, 5 Zimbabwe Tourism Authority Officials, 5 National Association of Societies for the care of the Handicapped (NASCOH) Officials and 10 people with mobility disability. Data was collected through in-depth interviews and questionnaires. With regards to the importance of inclusivity of people with mobility disability, the research findings were that organisations gained monetary value, enhanced corporate image and reputation, despite the low attendance of people with mobility disability. The research also found out the mobility disability clients faced infrastructural, attitudinal and other barriers affecting their involvement in the tourism sector. Another challenge noted was that less collaboration was being carried out between tourism-related organisations and the NASCOH. The research also found out that various strategies which include infrastructural developments, education and awareness for attitudinal change amongst staff and employees,introducing concessionary rates to encourage tourism for the mobility disability, corporate social responsibility sponsoring tourism for the mobility disability and continuous improvement. Collaboration was noted to be viable strategy enhancing inclusivity of people with mobility disability. Although the Zimbabwean government was found wanting in the provision of financial assistance to the tourism service providers to better ensure inclusivity for tourists with mobility disability. However, the government involvement in policy formulation, has to be appreciated. The research finally recommends that the Zimbabwean government introduce financial assistance that can benefit the tourists with mobility disability. Multiple baseline surveys are also recommended in the various sectors of tourism to review the effectiveness of the inclusivity of people with mobility disability.

A research report submitted to the Wits School of Education, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education by combination of coursework and research. Johannesburg 2019 / Grade retention in South Africa, as in other developing countries, is a common practice of holding back learners who have failed to meet specific promotional requirements. Despite studies that highlight the negative outcomes of scholastic retention, this practice has gained popularity in countries in Southern Africa including South Africa. Learners who struggle academically are retained in the grade if they are unable to meet specific requirements. It is sad to note that learners are not consulted before being retained; their voices do not matter. Studies have been conducted on teachers’ perspectives on this topic. However, research on how learners experience retention has not been done. The main objective of this research is to ascertain how learners experience and perceive the practice of grade retention in the foundation phase. Doing research with children is critical and challenging, and this research tries to ‘dip a toe’ in and conduct research with children and not on children. Most schools were sceptical about allowing learners to participate in this study .but one school consented and allowed their learners to participate. The participants were selected using a number generating system so as to make sure that the sample was representative, and the participants were involved in two sets of interviews. In the first set of interviews, they drew pictures of themselves and were probed about the pictures they had drawn. In the second set of interviews, a blob tree was used as a tool for those interviewed to express their feelings. The focal point of this research was to understand the perceptions and experiences of a group and not an individual. Therefore, this qualitative research employed a phenomenographic methodology because it aims to “explore the range of meanings within a sample group, as a group, not the range of meanings for each individual within a group” (Akerlind, 2005, p. 323). This research was based on finding out how experiences of retained learners can enable Inclusive education. The findings were reported according to five key themes, namely socio-emotional outcomes, impact on learners’ relationship; academic issues and stereotyping by teachers. The findings of this study revealed that the majority of learners did not enjoy being retained in a grade, but this did not affect their academic progress. Some learners were teased and bullied by peers and friends. In some cases, the teachers also teased learners about repeating the grade. The limitations of the study included the following: the time frame; the sample size; the researcher’s involvement in the study; the data was collected from one school in Gauteng; the emotional distress experienced by some of the respondents; and, contradictory statements from a few of the respondents. Future research could look at broader cultural, social and economic issues that might contribute to an increased retention rate, as well as the negative emotional effects of grade retention. / NG (2020)

The poverty issues in South Africa is reaching unbearable levels. The land reform policy in place from 1994, which offered fair compensation for the land to be redistributed, had shown little results in dealing with the issue of poverty. In 2018 it was proposed that no compensation should be considered an option which eventually leads to the proposed bill to amend article 25 on property rights. The proposal saw a lot of outrage. This theory consuming study aims to give more context to the inclusivity of the proposal and how it contrasts to the original Article 25. By using inclusive institutions theory as a foundation, the study found that both the constitution under Article 25 and the proposed amendment can be explained and reasoned with inclusive institutions theory, but that the context of South Africa’s demographic and economic inequalities changes the justification for how radical the land reform should be according to the theory.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education (Educational Psychology) in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Needs Education at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2015 / Currently, South Africa is in phase two of implementing 50 full-service schools (FSS) and further development is said to be based on results from immediate to short-term results (DoE, 2005a). Concerns over the new development relate to whether resources are sufficient and available to further expand the provision of FSS and, overall, whether the Education White Paper 6 (EWP6) has been implemented successfully in phase one. This research therefore evaluates the implementation of EWP6 within selected phase one FSS in the Kwazulu-Natal (KZN) province. Purposive sampling was used and the researcher selected institutional-level support team (ILST) members within FSS to participate (n=43 participants). Questionnaires were self-administered and designed to address the following research questions: Have policy objectives been met in the implementation of EWP6 within FSS? What are the barriers to implementing EWP6 within FSS? And, what strategies have ILST members used to overcome these challenges? The questionnaire elicited both quantitative and qualitative data which was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software and thematic analysis. Some schools reported successes which include the enrolment of learners who experience diverse barriers to learning and optimistic attitudes among ILST members regarding possible benefits of inclusive education and their theoretical knowledge of multi-level teaching. Barriers to implementation of the EWP6 within FSS include inadequate resources (human, educational, physical and financial), inadequate support provision to FSS and ILST, inadequate training and subsequent training support and a lack of involvement from parents and communities. Many participants are unsure of how to overcome these challenges but, undoubtedly, are in need of support from communities, parents and the Department of Education (DoE).

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for Masters of Education (Educational Psychology) in the Department of Educational Psychology & Special Needs Education, Faculty of Education at the University of Zululand, 2018. / This research investigated the attitudes of Further Education and Training (FET) phase teachers toward the implementation of inclusive education in Libode District in the Eastern Cape. The investigation took place during the period between March and July 2017. The participants in this study were 182 Further Education and Training (FET) phase teachers from 12 randomly selected FET phase schools in the Libode district. Data were collected from teachers using a questionnaire. The data from the questionnaire were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The results showed that the FET phase teachers in the Libode District hold negative attitudes toward the implementation of inclusive education in the Libode FET phase schools in the Eastern Cape Province. The study recommends many strategies to combat these negative attitudes, including making available a guide for FET phase schools on how to implement inclusive education, in-service training of the FET phase teachers on inclusive education, participation of FET phase school teachers in implementing the Inclusive Education Policy, involvement of stakeholders (parents and experts in different relevant fields) in the implementation of inclusive education, providing special education needs learners in FET phase schools with relevant resources, introduction of modularization to progressed learners in the FET phase schools and strengthening subject choices in FET phase feeder schools in grade eight and nine for grade ten subject streams.

A mini-dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education in the Department of Educational Planning and Administration at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2009. / This study was influenced by multiplicity of policy documents such as national Constitution (Act 108 of 1996), White Paper 6 of 2001 and the South African Schools Act (Act 84 of 1996), which provides for an inclusive educational system in which diverse racial groups and genders of different ability can co-exist and enjoy educational opportunity unimpeded. Such a system of education calls for diversity management within the school, where differences are to be found among teachers and learners, even though they share a common history. The inclusion of learners and teachers from vastly different milieus may indeed be a noble endeavour, but accommodation of these differences within the same school becomes a complex task for school managers. The diversity that must be catered for include a wide range o religious and cultural mores and standards, varying levels of physical an mental ability, a wide array and talents and different sexual orientations, lifestyles, family norms and languages in individual educational institutional. This study investigated the role of primary school principals in managing diversity in Umbumbulu Circuit in the Mafa, Amanzimtoti and Umbumbulu Central Wards. In carrying out this project, the researcher also reviewed relevant literature on policies that provide for the implementation and management of diversity and strategies for optimising the use of learning opportunities in schools. The role of the principals in managing diversity in this regard was highlighted. The following are some of the key findings that emanated from the empirical study: ■ There is a lack of institutional policies that mandate the principals and staff in the management and implementation of diversity. ■ There is a lack of stakeholder involvement in managing diversity. On the basis of the above findings referred to above, the researcher recommends, among others, that every primary school principal and teacher should be trained adequately to manage diversity effectively. Furthermore, the School Governing Body, parents, teachers and learners should be actively involved in managing diversity. The Department of Education should provide meaningful and adequate support services to principals and schools to ensure that diversity is managed efficiently and effectively. This study may prove to be valuable in assisting schools to make the process of diversity management really inclusive, because it encourages open discussion and negotiation between schools and their stakeholders.