Inclusive Education (IE) reflects the values, ethos, and culture of an education system committed to excellence by promoting education opportunities for all learners. IE is about building a more just society and ensuring the right to education for all learners regardless of their individual characteristics or difficulties (UNESCO: 2007). The kingdom of Swaziland has committed itself to high quality basic education which provides equal opportunities for all children and youth. This is evident in the Swaziland National Constitution (2006). To promote Education for All (EFA) as stated in the constitution, an IE Policy has been developed and a draft policy is in place. The programme has been operational since 2006. There are nine pilot schools and four teachers from each school who have been trained on how to handle pupils with disabilities. The programme will be rolled out to 608 primary schools by 2015. In this research, the goal was to investigate how a School Management Board responds to the challenges of managing an Inclusive School. This research is a qualitative interpretive case study based in one of the pilot schools in Mbabane in Swaziland. The study used document analysis, semi‐structured interviews and focus groups to collect data. The study revealed that the school has done much in accommodating IE as there are changes in management structures and approaches, organizational culture and operating procedures. On the other hand, there are still significant challenges such as a lack of knowledge of inclusion and negativity on the part of learners and parents. Other challenges include inadequate training for educators and lack of suitable infrastructure. The study concludes by recommending improved staff development programmes, infrastructure upgrades, acquiring appropriate teaching and learning resources and employing multidisciplinary personnel.

This study sought to find out ways in which teachers can be supported to implement inclusive education at a primary school in the Kwaluseni district of Swaziland. The government of Swaziland introduced Free Primary Education ( F.P.E) also called mainstreaming. As per governments order, parents brought their learners for grade 1 and that was in 2010 January. That marked the beginning of the problem as teachers were not used to teaching disadvantaged learners in their classes but believed that such learners have to be transferred to specials schools of which the country only has four. The study is a case study using a qualitative approach. Purposive sampling was used in choosing the sample. The key informant were teachers from Kwaluseni primary school. For data collection a designed interview with semi structured and open ended items was used. Data was analysed using codes and there was a search for patterns of thinking or behaviour, words or phrases that appeared with regularity was the coding categories. A report was then written based on the findings. Then recommendations were stated. / Inclusive Education / M. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

It is the aim of this research to create a manual and programme for the reintegration of burn-injured primary-school learners in order to assist in their re-socialisation, and to act as a buffer against depression, conduct disorders, and academic lag. Additional aims of the programme included being resource-efficient, flexible, and compatible with Outcomes-Based Education (aBE) principles evidenced in Curriculum 2005. The final aim of the research involved designing the programme in order for teachers to be able to facilitate it. The manual and programme were evaluated through an embedded case study, encompassing a mildly disfigured burn-injured learner, his family, and his school environment by way of his class and teacher. The programme was found to be efficient in its use of resources, congruent with aBE principles, and engaging of the learners and teacher. Participation in the intervention seemed to afford the burn-injured learner with a buffer against depression, but did not prevent academic lag. Minimal teasing was encountered after the programme was implemented, which is contrary to the expected outcomes based on the literature available. Teacher facilitation was not achieved, however, numerous benefits were derived from the intervention for the majority of the participants.

M. Ed. (Education Management) / Schools for Specialisted Education cater for pupils who suffer from a wide range of disabilities. At these schools the staff component is diverse in order to cater for all the needs of the pupils. Because of the diversity of staff members, which include teaching staff, therapists, nursing staff, hostel staff, administrative staff etcetera, special care must be taken to address the staff development needs of all staff members. The purpose of this study therefore had two main objectives, namely : (1) To do a survey and establish exactly what is being done in practice regarding staff development at schools for Cerebral Palsied and Learning Disabled. (2) To draw up guidelines to assist principals when planning their annual staff development and in-service training programme. It was found that very few schools for Specialised Education plan specifically for the needs of a diverse staff, but rather include topics that will interest most staff members as a group. Staff members also expressed the need to be included in the planning stages to ensure that their needs are addressed and that they are empowered to perform their tasks to the best of their ability. After a general overview of the essence of any staff development programme, more specific guidelines are given to assist principals of schools for Specialised Education and schools for Cerebral Palsied and Learning Disabled in particular.

D.Ed. / In schools for cerebral palsied learners there are also learners who, in addition to their primary disability, have a secondary mental disability. Teaching these learners poses a serious problem, as there is no set curriculum for them. In most cases teachers do not have the necessary skill and training required to teach these learners. It is this deficit in learners, teachers, therapists and parents/guardians that has become noticible to the researcher. The researcher, as educational psychologist has felt the need to develop a model that would make education in this LSEN-phenomenon (Learners with special education needs) more meaningful. The purpose of this research is to develop a model that will optimise learning in cerebral palsied and mentally disabled learners, and that will enable these learners to realize their full potential. The model has been developed from a programme which has been compiled after four years of practical experience in teaching LSEN. The programme involves creating a context in which these learners can master life and learning skills. In this research a qualitative exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design was followed. The research was divided into four phases namely conceptualization, the relation within the concepts, the description of the model and the evaluation of the model. The validity and reliability of the research were described using Guba's model for determining trustworthiness. During phase one the researcher concentrated on identifying and classifying concepts, after which these concepts were defined. In order to do this, a multiple case study design was applied. Four learners were selected purposively. These learners suffered primarily from ii therapists, and parents/ guardians. Data was collected through operationalising the programme. Interviews were conducted with the various role players. The learners' progress was evaluated continually. Data was also collected through document analysis. During phase two the various concepts were brought into relation with each other, after which a model was devised during phase three. During phase four guidelines for the implementation of the model in practice were given. The programme included in this model refers to learning and life skills that learners would require within an education and learning situation. The learning skills or meta learning strategies referred to, are planning, evaluation, and correcting. The life skills refer to self care skills, social skills and work skills. life skills are addressed in all subject areas under a single theme, in the classroom situation, as well as with the therapist and at home. The most significant contribution of this research is the fact that a model has been devised, which contains a programme that enables learners to reach their full life potential, a result of the more purposeful guidelines provided by educational psychological intervention to the various role players.

M.Ed. (Educational Leadership) / The purpose of this study was: A. To discuss the term slow learner and to identify certain problems experienced by the slow learner. B. To identify specific problems experienced by the parents of the slow learner. C. To design a parent guidance programme for the head of the guidance department to aid Afrikaans speaking parents of the slow learner to accept their child and to try and solve the problems that their child experiences. D. To evaluate the effectiveness of the parent guidance programme. In evaluating the effectiveness of the parent guidance programme, the specific aims of the study were: - To ascertain what kind of parenting style the parents were using. - To teach the parents the advantage of the democratic parenting style. - To ascertain how the selfimages of the parents have improved in attending the programme. - To design guidelines for the parents how to cope with problems existing in the relationship between parent and child such as: * how to cope with conflict, * how to communicate effectively, * how to motivate the slow learner to become a successful student, * how to improve the selfconcept of the slow learner, and * how to cope with discipline. The Head of the Guidance department has a very important role to play in the establishing of such a parent guidance programme. This can be accomplished by keeping track of the needs of the parents and to update all the information regarding the slow learner. The ultimate goal will still be to create a positive working relationship between parent and teacher, to accommodate the needs of the slow learner and to cooperate in making the slow learner a successful student and eventually a successful adult.

Holistic evaluation -- Journal writing -- Relationship between oral and written language -- Whole language approach.

Holistic approach--Whole language approach.

A large proportion of youth in foster care receive special education services, and poor educational outcomes are one of the most important difficulties facing these youth. One potential risk affecting the low educational achievements of youth in foster care and special education could be teachers' negative and stigmatizing comments toward them. Teachers' negative and stigmatizing comments could have negative effects on youths' behaviors, school attitudes and school performance. Yet, research on the nature and the impact of teachers' negative and stigmatizing comments remains limited. Based on labeling and attribution theories, this study investigated the nature and impact of teachers' negative and stigmatizing comments on the school performance of 123 youth in foster care and special education. Qualitative analysis of the youths' IEP documents was conducted, along with longitudinal quantitative analysis of the associations of negative and stigmatizing IEP comments and the youths' school attitudes, behavior, and performance. Qualitative findings revealed that almost three-fourths of the IEPs included one or more negative comments, and that a substantial proportion of teachers' negative comments specifically included stigmatizing features that could convey negative attitudes or perceptions about the youth to others, including subjective or judgmental comments, biased reports from other teachers, low expectations, and little attention to context or reason. Findings from structural equation modeling showed that teachers' negative comments indirectly predicted youths' school absences through a mediational effect of youths' problem behaviors, and the relationship between current and future youth absences was partially mediated through a complex mechanism incorporating both direct and indirect pathways involving youths' school attitudes and problem behaviors. The findings highlight the important predictive and potentially protective roles of teachers' negative comments and youths' school attitudes and problem behaviors on youths' absenteeism.

Exploring the resilience construct is highly relevant for the field of learning disabilities. Resilience is a dynamic process of adaptation that involves interactions between a range of risk and protective factors. This research presents recent learning disability and resilience literature, focussing on the risk and protective factors in the lives of those with learning difficulties. Children with a learning disability often have associated emotional, behavioural and social difficulties that may become major obstacles to positive future outcomes. Historically little attention has been paid to the experiences of mothers of children with a learning disability and how the mother-child relationship may or may not foster the development of resilience in the learning disabled child. This research explores the issue within a qualitative framework / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)