The main aim of this study was to attempt to establish by the use of an environmental specific Personal Growth Programme, whether it is possible to assist students towards a more ‘holistic’ personal formation. It also aimed to investigate whether a move away from traditional education in the form of alternative or parallel programmes, would assist in bringing about an integrated individual, who is more capable of dealing with life as a whole (Krishnamurti 1953). The research was undertaken with adult students between the ages of 21 and 60, at the multi-cultural and extremely diverse residential theological College of the Transfiguration, in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape Province. An overview of Holistic and Mainstream education was explored in this study, which included also the challenges and influences which each type of education faces. The study then went on to investigate whether it is possible to bridge the gap that exists between holistic and mainstream education using various methods of alternative education. In the qualitative study, the Personal Growth Programme Annual Review Questionnaire was used to obtain feedback from the students to assess the usefulness of the Personal Growth Programme in their journey towards wholeness. This, together with the student’s responses from the in-depth interviews were used to ascertain the study’s limitations, credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability.

Inclusive education within the United Arab Emirates has started to gain momentum and the roles of teachers have become more challenging. This study investigated teacher views surrounding the inclusion of SEN students into mainstream schools. A qualitative exploratory research design was employed and the social constructivist theory was used as a framework for the research. Purposive sampling was employed, and a total of seven teachers and four parents participated in the study. Thematic analysis was used and findings suggested that UAE teachers experienced various challenges due to the inclusion of SEN students into their schools. Some of the challenges included: lack of professional development, lack of managerial support, parental demands, cultural barriers and the lack of collaborative opportunities. The study recommended varied professional development workshops aimed at developing an understanding of SEN and inclusion within the UAE context. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

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)

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)

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)

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)

This thesis is focused on learning texts reading comprehension of pupils in primary schools for hearing impairment pupils in comparison with primary schools pupils of mainstream education, in connection with the textbooks. The whole issue is put into the theoretical framework of reading literacy and teaching texts information. Specifically, there is a reading literacy in the concept of international studies, and also a brief overview of the findings drawn from the textbooks, their functions, research, evaluation and comparison. The comparison of the concept of primary school textbooks for the hearing impaired with textbooks for mainstream schools through standardized assessment tools is included too. In this thesis, there is a research of learning texts comprehension for pupils from 3rd to 9th (or 10th) years of primary schools for the hearing impaired and analogous grades of primary school pupils of mainstream education. The research design is based on Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), one part of this research is translated into Czech sign language.

Educational challenges of immigrant children in South African schools include among others, poor English proficiency. This challenge poses a challenge of negative self-efficacy to teachers. I became aware of the immigrants’ challenges from the teachers’ complaints. The teachers complained about the immigrant learners’ poor English proficiency and behaviour. I also became aware that the immigrant learners isolated themselves from the local learners. They also did not participate actively during oral classroom activities. I sought to investigate the immigrant learners’ language challenges and how these challenges influence their behaviour in the learning environment. The question that arose is: How does the language challenge of immigrant children in the Foundation Phase classes of South African schools influence their behaviour in the learning environment? The study consists of six chapters. The literature reviewed provided psychological and sociological theories that explain the relationship between language and behaviour. Programmes that were designed by various education systems were looked at in order to ascertain how the language challenges and behaviour of immigrant school children have unfolded and dealt with in different countries. The qualitative research method was used. This was a case study of three schools situated in Tshwane North district. Sampling was purposive and data was collected by means of observations, focus group interviews, individual interviews and artefacts. Ethical considerations were also presented. The findings from the data indicate that immigrant learners experience a great deal of frustration, sadness, anxiety and stress relating to coping with prejudice and discrimination because of their poor English. Teachers were also distressed by their inability to assist these learners. A programme that integrates language teaching with social skills is suggested. The aim is to foster a positive learning environment by incorporating psychosocial content in language teaching. A positive learning environment promotes positive behaviour. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of 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)

Abstracts in English, Ndebele, Zulu and Venda / The study aimed to explore teachers’ experiences and to discover challenges encountered by mainstream teachers in the inclusion of learners with diverse barriers to learning in the Foundation Phase mainstream classrooms in the Vaal, Gauteng region. The study provides strategies that can be utilised by the teachers to enhance inclusive education practice in mainstream classrooms. Ten teachers were purposively selected from five mainstream primary schools with two participants from each school. All participants were grade three Foundation Phase teachers. Data were collected through in-depth interviews that enabled the researcher to delve deeply and find rich and relevant information for the study. For triangulation purposes, the researcher made use of document analysis as a second method of collecting data for this study. The study followed a qualitative data analysis method which derived the information from the perceptions of the informants and formed significant themes. The study revealed that teachers are challenged greatly by a lack of knowledge and skills to address diverse learning disabilities adequately; initial training that is ineffective in dealing with learners with diverse barriers to learning; a gap of knowledge that exists between theory and practice; a lack of adequate resources; poor infrastructure; large numbers of learners in a class; a lack of support from District Based Support Teams; and an inflexible curriculum. The study recommends collaborated teaching where teachers learn from each other; peer teaching; teacher exchange programmes; curriculum modification that caters for learners with barriers to learning; and workshop training that focuses on practical skills that will enhance inclusive education in mainstream schools. / Irhubhululo belinqophe ukuphenya ilwazi elihlangabezana nabotitjhere kanye nokuveza iintjhijilo ezihlangabezana nabotitjhere bomkhakha wefundo omkhulu lokha nakufakwa abafundi abaneenqabo ezahlukahlukeneko eziphazamisa ukufunda ematlasini weSigaba esisiSekelo (Foundation Phase) eLigwa (Vaal), esiyingini esise-Gauteng. Irhubhululo linikela amano lawo angasetjenziswa botitjhere ukuqinisa ihlelo lefundo efaka woke umfundi ematlasini womkhakha wefundo omkhulu. Abotitjhere abalisumi bakhethwe ngehloso eenkolweni zomkhakha omkhulu, eenkolweni ezihlanu zamabanga aphasi, kanti zinabadlalindima ababili abavela kuzo zohlanu iinkolo. Boke abadlalindima bekubotitjhere abaphuma kuGreyidi 3 wesikolo esisesiGabeni esisiSekelo. Idatha ibuthelelwe ngokusebenzisa iinhlolombono ezidephileko ezisize umrhubhululi bona angene atjhinge bese athole ilwazi lesifundo elinothileko nelifaneleko. Ngokulandela iinzathu zokusebenzisa iindlela ezinengi zokubuthelela idatha, umrhubhululi usebenzise ihlelo lokutsenga umtlolo (document analysis) njengendlela yesibili yokubuthelela idatha yaleli rhubhululo. Irhubhululo lilandele indlela yokutsenga enamathele kwingcoco, mayelana nokuhlukanisa ngeengaba kwedatha etloliweko, okuyidatha leyo umcwaningi ayisusele emiqondweni yabadlalindima begodu yakha iindikimba eziqakathekileko. Irhubhululo liveze ukuthi abotitjhere bahlangabezene neentjhijilo eziqakathekileko ezimalungana nokulandelako: Ukutlhayela kwelwazi namakghono ukulungisa ngokwaneleko iinkhinyabezo zokukhubazeka ezihlukahlukeneko; ibandulo lokuthoma elingasebenzi kuhle malungana nokuqalana nabafundi abanokukhubazeka okusiqabo eziphazamisa ukufunda; isikhala selwazi esikhona phakathi kwethiyori kanye nokwenza; ukutlhayela kwemithombo eyaneleko; umthangalasisekelo omumbi; imbalo ephezulu yabafundi abagcwele ngetlasini; ukutlhayela kwesekelo elivela eenqhemeni ezidzimelele kudistriki; kanye nekharikhyulamu e ngatjhugutjhugulukiko. Irubhululo lincoma ihlelo lokufundisa elitjhebisanako, lapho abotitjhere bafunda komunye; ukufundisana kwabafundi; amaphrogremu wokutjhentjhisana ngabotitjhere; ukutjhugululwa kwekarikhyulamu efaka abafundi abaneenqabo ezibavimbela ukufunda; kanye nesifundobandulo esiqale ekufundiseni amakghonofundwa wokusebenza azokusiza ukuqinisa ihlelo lefundo efaka woke umfundi eenkolweni zomkhakha wefundo omkhulu. / Ucwaningo beluhlose ukuphenya izinto ezihlangabezana nothisha kanye nokuveza izinselele ezihlangabezana nothisha abakwingxenye enkulu yemfundo kanti kuxutshwa phakathi abafundi abanezihibhe ezahlukahlukene eziphazamisa ukufunda emagunjini okufunda aseSigabeni esiyisiSekelo (Foundation Phase) ngase-Vaal, esifundeni sase-Gauteng. Ucwaningo lunikeza amasu angasetshenziswa wothisha ukuqinisa uhlelo lwemfundo oluxuba wonke umfundi emagunjini okufunda. Othisha abayishumi bakhethwe ngenhloso kwizikole zemfundo esebangeni eliphansi, kanti abadlalindima ababili bavela kuzo zonke lezo zikole. Bonke abadlalindima abangothisha ababekwiGreyidi 3 ye-Foundation Phase. Idatha yaqoqwa ngokusebenzisa izinhlolovo ezijulile ezasiza umcwaningi ukuba agxile ngokujulile futhi athole ulwazi olunothile nolufanele lwalesi sifundo socwaningo. Ngenhloso yokusebenzisa izindlela eziningi zokuqoqwa kwedatha, umcwaningi wasebenzisa uhlelo lokuhlaziya umbhalo njengendlela yesibili yokuqoqa idatha yalolu cwaningo. Ucwaningo luye lwalandela uhlelo lokuhlaziya idatha olugxile kwingxoxo (qualitative data analysis method), mayelana nokwehlukanisa ngezigaba kwedatha ebhalwe phansi, okuyidatha umcwaningi ayisusele kwimiqondo yabadlalindima kanti futhi iye yakha izindikimba ezisemqoka. Ucwaningo luveze ukuthi othisha bahlangabezene nezinselelo ezisemqoka mayelana nalokhu okulandelayo: ukusweleka kolwazi kanye namakhono okulungisa ngokwanele izihibhe eziphazamisa ukufunda; ukuqeqeshwa kokuqala okungenamthelela omuhle ekubhekaneni nabafundi abanezihibhe ezahlukahlukene zokufunda; isikhala solwazi esikhona phakathi kwethiyori kanye nalokho okuyizenzo eziphathekayo; ukusweleka kwemithombo yolwazi eyanele; ukwentuleka kwemithombo eyanele; ingqalasizinda engathokozisi; inani eliphezulu labafundi emagumbini okufunda; ukusweleka koxhaso oluvela kumaqembu axhasayo esifundazwe; kanye nohlelo lwemfundo oluqinile. Ucwaningo luncoma uhlelo lokufundisa olusebenzisanayo, lapho othisha bafunda komunye; ukufundisana kwabafundi; izinhlelo zothisha zokuphakelana ngolwazi; ukuguqulwa kwekharikhyulamu efaka abafundi abanezihibhe ezibaphazamisa ukuthi bafunde; kanye nezinhlelo zokuqeqeshwa eziphokophele kuqeqesho lwamakhono okukhombisa ngezenzo, okungamakhono azoqinisa uhlelo lwemfundo oluxuba wonke umfundi kwizikole zengxenye yomkhakha wemfundo omkhulu. / Ṱhoḓisiso yo livhiswa kha u wanulusa tshenzhelo dza vhadededzi na u wanulusa khaedu dzine dza ṱangana na vhadededzi vhane vha funza kha zwikolo zwa vhagudiswa vha re na tshumelo dzo khetheaho musi vha tshi katela vhagudiswa vha re na zwithivheli zwa u guda zwo fhambanaho kha u guda kha Vhuimo ha Fhasi kiḽasini dza vhagudiswa vha si na tshumelo dzo khethea ngei Vaal, kha dzingu ḽa Gauteng. Ṱhoḓisiso yo ṋetshedza zwiṱirathedzhi zwine zwa nga shumiswa nga vhadededzi u khwinisa maitele a pfunzo nyangaredzi kiḽasini dza vhagudiswa vha si na tshumelo dzo khetheaho. Vhadededzi vha 10 vho nangwa ho sedzwa vhukoni u bva kha zwikolo zwa phuraimari zwiṱanu zwa vhagudiswa vha si na tshumelo dzo khetheaho. Vhadzheneleli vhoṱhe vho vha vhadededzi vha Gireidi ya 3 ya Vhuimo ha Fhasi. Data yo kuvhanganyiwa nga kha inthaviwu dzo ṱanḓavhuwaho ine ya konisa muṱoḓisisi u ṱoḓisisa nga vhudzivha na u wana mafhungo o pfumaho o teaho kha ngudo. Kha ndivho tharu, muṱoḓisisi o shumisa u saukanya ḽiṅwalwa sa ngona ya vhuvhili ya u kuvhanganya data ya ṱhoḓisiso iyi. Ngudo yo tevhedza ngona ya u saukanya ya khwanthithathivi data, u ya nga khethekanyo ya data yo ṅwalululwaho ye muṱoḓisisi a i bvisa kha kuvhonele kwa vhadzheneleli na u vhumba thero dza ndeme. Ṱhoḓisiso yo wanulusa uri vhadededzi vha tshenzhela khaedu dza ndeme musi zwi tshi ḓa kha zwi tevhelaho: u sa vha na nḓivho na zwikili u amba nga ha zwithivheli zwa u guda zwo fhambanaho nga nḓila yo teaho, vhugudeli thangeli vhu songo teaho kha u shumana na vhagudiswa vha re na zwithivheli zwa u guda zwo fhambanaho; phambano ya nḓivho ine ya vha hone vhukati ha thiori na nyito; ṱhahelelo ya zwishumiswa zwo teaho; ṱhahelelo ya themamveledziso; tshivhalo tshinzhi tsha vhagudiswa kiḽasini; u sa wana thikhedzo u bva kha thimu dza thikhedzo dza tshiṱiriki; na kharikhuḽamu ine ya thivhela u swikelela ṱhoḓea dzo fhambanaho dza vhagudiswa. Ngudo yo themendela tshumisano kha u funza, hune vhadededzi vha guda u bva kha muṅwe, pfunzo ya thangana ya murole, mbekanyamushumo dza u tshintshisana ha vhadededzi; u khwinisa kharikhuḽamu dzine dza katela vhagudiswa vha re na zwithivheli zwa u guda; na vhugudisi ha u pfumbudzwa ho sedzaho kha zwikili zwine zwa ḓo khwinisa pfunzonyangaredzi kha zwikolo zwa vhagudiswa vha si na tshumelo dzo khetheaho. / Inclusive Education / M. Ed. (Inclusive Education)