The present study assessed the factors that affect the implementation of inclusive education for children with learning disabilities in Zimbabwean primary schools. The assessment serves as a context for finding ways of dealing with challenges and proposing a model of implementing inclusive education for children with learning disabilities. The survey method was used in the empirical study and a self-constructed questionnaire was used to collect data. Two hundred and fifty primary school teachers, twenty education officers and thirty college/university lecturers participated in the study. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 16.0 was used to analyse data. Frequency tables and ratios were calculated to establish the relative rating of each item. Chi-square tests were also calculated. This study revealed that primary school teachers lacked training to assist children with learning disabilities in their classes. The study also revealed that the primary schools did not have material resources to implement inclusive education for children with learning disabilities. The current study also established that the stakeholders had negative attitudes towards the implementation of inclusive education for children with learning disabilities. Findings of the study also revealed that there was no inclusive education policy for the implementation of inclusive education for children with learning disabilities in primary schools. The present study recommended that the implementation of inclusive education for children with learning disabilities in primary schools would be improved through the professional preparation and training of Zimbabwean school teachers, the availability of trained teachers, the provision of resources and the need to formulate mandatory policies and legislation for the implementation of inclusive education. / Inclusive Education / D. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

The main assertion in this dissertation is that there is a lack of adequate and appropriate parental involvement in the education of learners with mild intellectual impairment in mainstream schools in Sisonke District. Empirical research was conducted to understand the perceptions of parents and teachers of the involvement of parents in the education of learners with mild intellectual impairment in mainstream schools. The focus was on parents and teachers in an extreme poverty context in Sisonke District of KwaZulu-Natal. A qualitative investigation of parental involvement in five mainstream schools was conducted by collecting data through interview, observation and documents analysis with ten parents and five teachers. The literature that was reviewed focused on the factors that increase and hinder parental involvement, prevalence of intellectual impairment, theories related to family, school and community partnership and inclusive education. The research has revealed that the lack of adequate and appropriate parental involvement at mainstream schools admitting learners with mild intellectual impairment is influenced by factors such as poor socio-economic background, high illiteracy, cultural beliefs, and parents’ denial of intellectual impairment, diversity, lack of teacher training in parental involvement, lack of healthy inclusive climate characteristics, parents’ attitudes and perceptions. The investigation further found that there is an urgent need for teachers to acquire knowledge, skills and strategies for active involvement of parents in inclusive mainstream schools. Each School Management Team (SMT) should strive to create a climate of inclusion that displays healthy school characteristics in order to improve parental involvement in mainstream schools. / Inclusive Education / M. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

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)

Using a qualitative case study method, this study sought to understand parents’ perceptions of the implementation of inclusive education that their learning disabled children experienced at independent schools when compared to the guidelines for implementing inclusive education as provided for by the Department of Education’s Guidelines for Responding to Learner Diversity in the Classroom through Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements 2011. In line with universal human rights movements and South African law, the inclusion of learners with learning disabilities or learning barriers into mainstream classrooms is necessary to enable them to succeed. South Africa adopted a policy of Inclusive Education in 2001 with the policy document, ‘The Education White Paper 6 on Inclusive Education’. This document paved the way for new approaches to teaching, learning and assessment. To achieve the intentions of the Department of Education (DoE) the Department of Basic Education has published numerous guidelines for addressing inclusion in the classroom. This research focused on the most recent guideline entitled ‘Guidelines for Responding to Learner Diversity in the Classroom through Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements 2011’ by focusing on curriculum differentiation and accommodation for learners with learning difficulties Independent schools maintain that they are not obliged to follow the DoE’s policy documents and guidelines because they are independent. The question is, do they have their own protocols in place to replace those of the DoE? However, the argument is that independent schools should be held accountable for the effective learning support of learners in their schools that experience barriers to learning by having the same or similar policies and guidelines as those of the DoE. The researcher used the guidelines provided by the DoE as a benchmark for the implementation of support measures in inclusive education to study the practices and specific support offered to learners experiencing learning problems in independent schools. The research revealed that the absence of explicit guidelines at independent schools creates uncertainty among parents. The researcher concluded that when independent schools do not deliver the anticipated appropriate support, parents are powerless to demand more effective support for their children. The opinion of the parents was that the implementation of inclusive education at independent schools can be advanced by the adoption of guidelines that are similar to those in use at public schools. / Inclusive Education / M. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

South African schools have educators that are faced with numerous challenges in managing their day-to-day classroom activities in general. This challenge is further made worse when it comes to managing classrooms with learners experiencing barriers to learning. The study investigated the suitability of different classroom management styles by educators in accommodating the needs of diverse learners experiencing barriers to learning. The study used a qualitative approach in which data was collected through the use of interviews, focus group discussions, lesson observations as well as literature review. The data analysis and findings revealed that many educators possess qualifications to teach and manage classrooms in regular or mainstream schools and not in special schools. With time these educators end up having to cope with managing learners experiencing barriers to learning through in-service training and professional development. The study established that there is no single classroom management strategy that should be used to manage learners experiencing barriers to learning. Educators should adapt their classroom management and teaching methods to accommodate the needs of learners experiencing barriers to learning. The study recommended that the government and the Department of Basic Education should train more educators in special education to enhance efficiency in managing learners with barriers to learning. Support structures and mechanisms should also be put in place to assist educators with different challenges that they face in the classroom on a daily basis. The study also recommended that all stakeholders in education like the government, SGBs, DoE, educators, Principals, parents, religious leaders and the community should come together to help manage lack of discipline among learners as well as giving all the necessary support to help manage learners experiencing barriers to learning. / Educational Management and Leadership / M. Ed. (Education Management)

Full-service/inclusive schools are new institutions in South Africa which have been established in terms of the Education White Paper 6 (Department of Education, 2001:22-23) as pilot schools for the rolling out of the Inclusion policy in South Africa. The purpose of this study was to explore the teachers‟ challenges in identifying learners who experience barriers to learning in a rural Full-Service School in KwaZulu-Natal. Teachers in such schools are expected to have skills and knowledge to identify learners and provide support. Most teachers in Full-Service Schools possess qualifications to teach in mainstream schools and depend on the Departmental workshops for the skills needed to identify learners and provide support. The identification of such learners was selected because it is the first step in the process of providing support to learners. Teachers should therefore have skills and knowledge of identifying learners in order to minimise bias, non-identification, over-identification as well as mis-identification. This qualitative study employed a case study design to examine teachers‟ challenges in identifying learners. Six teachers were selected for interviews and the SIAS documents were studied to confirm the findings from interviews. Inductive methods were used to analyse the data. Recommendations for future research studies were made. / Inclusive Education / M. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

Since 1994, the South African education system has undergone a number of paradigm shifts culminating in the implementation of the policy of Inclusive Education as highlighted in Education White Paper 6: Building an Inclusive Education and Training System. The purpose of this research was to explore how foundation phase learners who experience severe intellectual barriers to learning are provided with high levels of support at special schools in the Pietermaritzburg district. A case study design was embarked upon as this allowed for an in-depth exploration of the above research question. Three special schools in the Pietermaritzburg district that cater for learners who experience severe intellectual barriers to learning were chosen for this investigation. Quantitative and qualitative research methods, consisting of questionnaires, interviews and observation were utilised. The findings reveal that educators at these schools do provide high levels of support to foundation phase learners who experience severe intellectual barriers to learning. / Inclusive Education / M. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

This study examines stresses experienced by primary school learners with learning problems in inclusive classrooms in an Independent School. Literature suggests that learners with learning problems experience more academic, emotional and social difficulties at school than do their peers without learning problems. The Transactional Model of stress was used as a point of departure for the qualitative empirical study to understand stress as it is experienced by three Grade 4 learners. Several school stresses were identified which contributed to unmet emotional and social needs. The three central sources of stress were classified as S1 (Inability to meet perceived/anticipated demand), S2 (Overload – too much expected) and S3 (Selfexpectations not met). The learners’ own suggestions regarding the relief of these stresses were examined and contributed to guidelines to assist teachers in relieving these stresses experienced by learners with learning problems in the inclusive classroom. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

Mildly intellectually disabled (MID) learners, in South Africa, experience a great deal of discrimination. For the Black MID learner, the situation has been the worst in that even at a time when their white counterparts received education in separate schools, nothing of the sort existed for them. Most of them found themselves in ordinary schools, a situation described by many authors as "mainstreaming by default". The new education dispensation of 1994 brought along with it the need to begin looking at ways in which these learners are to be accommodated in the education system. However, such accommodation is made difficult by the fact that teachers are not familiar with ways of catering for diversity in the classrooms. An investigation was undertaken of the phenomenon mild intellectual disability. The characteristics of these learners were studied, in order to understand how these characteristics impact on their learning. The teaching principles and learning principles that make it easier for them to learn were studied. Most of these learners experience problems with reading, writing and mathematics. Existing educational programmes in developed and developing countries were examined, together with aspects of those programmes that might be of use in South Africa. A closer look was taken at provisions for these learners in South Africa before the new dispensation. An empirical study was undertaken to investigate what manifestations these learners display, how they are assisted once they are identified and to establish if teachers receive any support from parents, school management teams and the Department of Education. Finally, it was investigated if methods used for Outcomes-Based Education can be used to accommodate MID learners. Implications were then tabled on three levels, namely, the macro level, which is the provincial level, where decisions regarding educational policy and legislation for the Province are made, the meso level, which concerns implementation at the district level, and the micro level, which is the school itself. This level concerns the teacher's task in the classroom. Finally, a training manual for school support teams was designed, tested and finalised as a document to be used in assisting teachers to support MID learners / Early Childhood Education and Development / D. Ed. (Special Needs Education)

The main aim of this study was to assess teachers’ awareness levels of dyslexia, their perceptions of their ability to identify and manage dyslexia, and their perceptions of the adequacy of their pre-service and in-service training in dyslexia. The sample comprised teachers at 16 mainstream high schools in the Western Cape. A Likert type scale questionnaire was used to collect data that were analysed by means of a sign test of difference and a Kruskal-Wallis test of variance. The results indicated that teachers had adequate knowledge of dyslexia, believed they are able to identify and manage dyslexia, and believed that they received little or no pre-service and in-service training in dyslexia. The main conclusion that can be drawn is that teachers need on-going adequate pre-service and in-service training in the field of dyslexia. / Department of Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)