Thesis (M Social Work(Social Work))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / The study emanates from the social worker’s intervention as facilitator for learners with disabilities in inclusive education. The aim of the study was to explore and explain the role of the social worker as facilitator in inclusive education. When learners with disabilities are placed in mainstream schools, there should be some means whereby the mainstream school system provides specialised support for their needs. An exploratory research design together with a qualitative research approach was chosen in order to obtain knowledge, insight and understanding regarding the role of the social worker as facilitator for learners with disabilities in inclusive education. A literature review was conducted to obtain a perspective of research done in this field. Much research has been documented regarding inclusive education. However no research has been done regarding the role of the social worker as facilitator for learners with disabilities in inclusive education. The empirical investigation consisted of case studies of two boys during middle childhood that were included in inclusive schools with the help of a facilitator. The findings of the investigation were in line with what was found in the literature study, namely that learners with disabilities can function successfully in inclusive schools with the help of a facilitator. Throughout the discussion it seemed clear that the social worker does not need new skills to be able to facilitate learners with disabilities in inclusive schools. The social worker can draw on already existing skills as discussed in the study.

Thesis (MEd (Educational Psychology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / According to literature, children who live in Children’s Homes are of the most damaged children in society. The contextual circumstances from which these children come, together with the trauma of removal, result in these children feeling rejected. The characteristic needs of these children are the need for love and attention, to be of value and to belong somewhere. The satisfying of these needs at school is therefore very important for the child’s development. The inclusive culture of a school is the creation of a school community where everyone feels safe, is accepted and regarded as worthy. This will be reflected in policy and practice. To belong, be accepted and acknowledged, is the nucleus of social inclusion. The purpose of the research was, therefore, to acquire understanding for the experience of six children from a Children’s Home concerning social inclusion in a local main stream school. Five dimensions of social inclusion, as found in the literature, formed the framework of this research. They are: acknowledgement of worth, human development, involvement and participation in decision making, sharing of social spaces and material prosperity. The research takes the form of a qualitative study. In order to obtain understanding for the experience of the children, a basic interpretative research design was decided on. A purposeful sample was selected. For the production of data use was made of individual semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews and observation. Data was processed by doing qualitative content analysis. Significant units were coded and categorised. Each child has his/her own construction of reality, but an experience which was expressed throughout, is their experience that they are regarded and treated as an inferior group. This is a harmful situation for the children and recommendations were made to pay attention to this within the school context.

Thesis (MEd)--University of Stellenbosch, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: White Paper 6: Special Needs Education, released in July 2001, is the response ofthe South African government's Department of Education to the inclusion movement. In this (re)search, I (de)construct this text to explore constitutions of (dis)ability and inlexclusion. I do so because I frame (de)construction as 'an aggressive, political mode of critical analysis that strips conventional and assumed truths down to their logically insubstantial bare bones' (Danforth & Rhodes, 1997: 358). I argue that it is necessary to (de)constructively read government policy that proposes a course or policy of action, particularly if, as poststructuralists state, language constitutes reality. In reading White Paper 6, I (de)construct the functionalist grand narrative as hegemonic: discourses constituted by and constituting this metanarrative, including the medical or special needs discourse, the charity discourse, the systems discourse, the business discourse and the pioneering discourse. The radical humanist grand narrative is also read as dominant, formed by and forming the rights discourse and social justice discourse. The social constructionist discourse, constituting and constituted by the intepretivist grand narrative, is (dejconstructed in White Paper 6 as not reflecting upon the social construction of disability itself, but on social constructions related to (dis)ability and inlexclusion. The objects, agents, action and binaries constituted by each of these discourses are also (de)constructed, as are the voices on the margins. The purpose of my (re)search is not to construct conclusions, but rather to (de)construct the polyphony of voices, truths and realities speaking into and out of White Paper 6. In so doing, the 'indecidability' (Silverman, 1989: 4) of the text is (de)constructed. With the indecidable (de)constructed, '... discourses can no longer dominate, judge, decide: between the positive and negative, the good and the bad, the true and the false' (Derrida, 1992: 86). (Dis)ability and inlexclusion tmths are troubled and the text is opened to different readings. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Witskrif 6: Spesialebehoefteonderwys, wat in Julie 2001 beskikbaar gestel is, is die reaksie van die Suid-Afrikaanse regering se Departement van Onderwys op die insluitingsbeweging. In hierdie (onder)soek(e) (de)konstrueer ek genoemde teks om bepalinge van (on)vermoë en inluitsluiting te ondersoek. Ek doen dit omdat ek (de)konstruksie sien as ". .. an aggressive, political mode of critical analysis that strips conventional and assumed truths down to their logically insubstantial bare bones ... " (Danforth & Rhodes, 1997: 358). Myns insiens is dit nodig om regeringsbeleid wat 'n handelswyse ten opsigte van, of beleid vir optrede voorstel, (de)konstruktief te lees, veral indien dit is soos die poststrukturaliste voorstel, naamlik dat taal werklikheid is. Met die lees van Witskrif 6, het ek die funksionalistiese groot narratief as hegemonies geede)konstrueer: diskoerse wat deur hierdie metanarratief gevorm word en dit tegelyk ook vorm, met inbegrip van mediese of spesialebehoeftediskoers, die relaas van naasteliefde, die stelseldiskoers, die sakediskoers en die baanbrekersdiskoers. Die radikaal humanistiese groot narratief, wat die regtediskoers en die diskoers van maatskaplike geregtigheid vorm en daardeur gevorm word, word ook as dominant vertolk. Die diskoers van maatskaplike konstruktivisme, wat die interpretatiewe groot narratief vorm en daardeur gevorm word, word in Witskrif 6 geede)konstrueer, as sou dit nie op die sosiale konstruksie van (on)vermoë self sinspeel nie, maar op sosiale konstruksies wat met (on)vermoë en inluitsluiting verband hou. Die voorwerpe, agente, optrede en binêres wat deur elk van hierdie diskoerse gevorm is, sowel as die stemme op die kantlyn, word ook deur hierdie diskoerse ge(de)konstrueer. Die doel van my (onder)soek(e) is nie om uitsluitings te konstrueer nie, maar eerder om die polifonie van stemme, waarhede en realiteite wat vanuit Witskrif 6 tot ons spreek, maar ook inspraak daarin het, te (de)konstrueer. Deur dit te doen, word die "indecidability" (Silverman, 1989: 4) van die teks ge(de)konstrueer. Met die nie-besluitnemende" ... discourses can no longer dominate, judge, decide: between the positive and negative, the good and the bad, the true and the false" (Derrida, 1992: 86). (On)vermoë en die inluitsluiting van Vt'aafhede is problematies en die teks word oopgemaak vir verskillende interpretasies.

Learners who are deaf and who are using the auditory oral approach are currently included in ordinary schools in South Africa. By default, most educators are not adequately trained to include these learners successfully. Transformation and train-ing, specific to the context of inclusive education, is thus undeniable. Therefore, in order to address the development of full-service schools to include learners who are deaf and who are using the auditory oral approach, a literature study on the nature of inclusive education with the focus on full-service schools to include the mentioned learners, took place. A qualitative study was conducted and data was gathered by interviews with six, learners, parents and educators. The findings were corroborated with the literature study with a view to addressing learner and system needs in order to include these learners successfully in a full-service school. Based on the findings, recommendations are made to address the development of full-service schools to include the mentioned learners. / Educational Studies / M. Ed.

This research focuses on the experiences of primary school teachers in providing learning support for learners with mild intellectual disabilities. In South Africa, most learners attend in mainstream schools. Mainstream schools are expected to support learners inclusively. However, most teachers seem challenged to address the learning needs such as those experienced by learners with mild intellectual disabilities. The research was conducted by means of interviews with selected participants over a period of approximately four months. Data was also obtained through the analysis of records such as learners‘ workbooks, test books, support forms used by teachers to record their observation and field notes which were reflected in a journal. Interviews and transcriptions were typed out verbatim. The research produced a number of key findings and concluded that many teachers lack sufficient training to identify and address barriers to learning, especially those with mild intellectual disabilities. Furthermore, the study revealed that support structures at participating research schools seem to be non-functional, and guidance and assistance from the Department of Education is minimal. The findings were used to propose recommendations that could be used by primary school teachers to support learners with mild intellectual disabilities in mainstream schools. / Inclusive Education / M. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

Much research on the educators' perceptions of and attitudes towards inclusive education has been conducted both in South Africa and abroad. What is absent in this literature is an acknowledgement of the socially constructed nature of teachers' responses to inclusive education and its recipients. In this study, the talk of educators involved in piloting inclusive education is compared to that of educators who are not involved, in order to determine the discourses from which educators draw in their construction of inclusive education. It is a comparative study premised on the social constructionist perspective in which discourse analysis was employed. The sample was drawn from schools piloting inclusive education in the East London District of the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa and was compared with schools not involved in the pilot, but in the same area. Semi- structured interviews were conducted with eight educators spread across two piloting and two non piloting schools. The analysis revealed significant similarities and quite minimal differences in the manner in which educators across the two settings construct their experiences of inclusive education. Even though the educators draw on the rights driven anti-discriminatory discourse, they still embrace the special needs/medical/expertise and charity discourses. These discourses construct disability around notions of disputed degrees of impairment, feared status and perceptions of disability as a personal issue rather than a public responsibility, and they undermine the status of people with a disability while supporting notions of dependency. In this article, I will argue that the historical legacy within which these discourses were originally constructed, will essentially continue unless there is a change in how diversity is viewed.

In this study the focus is on the implementation of the Children’s Act in mainstream schools. The Children’s Act mandates that all children who are in need of care both in school and out of school should be taken care of and be protected. However, they are often not afforded the full opportunity to enjoy the benefits of this Act. This is due to various factors that hinder the process of its implementation in mainstream schools. The main emphasis of this study is on the factors that hinder the implementation of the Children’s Act. The aim of the Children’s Act is to look after and provide services and support to children in need of care and protection. In order to provide such services and support to children, one needs to first identify such learners in need of care and their needs. Having done this, the support needed can be assessed and provided. This process is not easily achieved in mainstream schools. This study seeks to determine the factors that discourage the implementation process of the Children’s Act in mainstream schools. Data collection for this study included face to face interviews with teachers who are principals of schools and Life Orientation teachers, a social workers and school nurse. The data was used to analyze and interpret the challenges that hinder the implementation of the Children’s Act in mainstream schools. Among others, the study found that there is a lack of collaboration among stakeholders and coordination of service delivery. Poor parental involvement and commitment to parent involvement programmes was also evident. However, to a limited degree, there is interaction between the schools and relevant government departments. The study recommends that multidisciplinary teams should be formed whereby scarce resources can be shared. Various professionals should have the opportunity to come together toshare ideas and information. In order to encourage identification of learners in need of care, it is recommended that, the peer groups or peer educators be established and awareness campaign be conducted in schools. The study also recommends that developmental assessment programmes be conducted. Developmental assessment programmes will help gather information directly from learners or from an appropriate adult in the child’s life. They provide frameworks which can be used as guides for eliciting and analysing information.

M.Ed. / According to the investigations conducted by the National Commission of Special Needs Education and Training (NCSNET) and the National Committee on Education Support Services (NCESS) in South African schools, the findings were that: Firstly, only the minority group benefited in both physical and human resources. The specialised education and support were predominantly provided on racial basis for whites only. Secondly, the government can no more fund these schools. Thirdly, learners with disability want to be out of the cocoon. The purpose of this research was to find out how people in the education system, namely parents, educators and learners in "special" and "mainstream/developed" schools in Soweto perceive inclusion. Since is qualitative research, the researcher interviewed, observed and recorded educators (heads, deputies or HODs) and 4 parents from three different types of special schools, namely Sizwile School for deaf and dumb children, Adelaide Tambo School for the physically disabled and Philip Khushlik School for Cerebral Palsied children. She then interviewed 2 learners, one from J.C. Merkin School for quadriplegic learners and one from Dominican Convent High School. The findings of this research effort suggest that disabled learners do not want to be kept in bedrooms because they feel isolated, excluded and discriminated against. They need to be part of the community. They need a step ahead, a brighter future so that they can plough back something into the community.

M.Ed. (Education Management) / The White paper 6 advocates the introduction of inclusive education in all public schools in South Africa, where all learners irrespective of their abilities, would have to be taught together.That leaves educators with the biggest challenges. Among others, the educators must change their method of teaching in order to be able to deal with multi-lingual and multi-cultural classrooms. Moreover, educators are expected to change their attitudes and perception on learners with special educational needs. In addition, they should be reskilled to serve as managers, counsellors and consultants. However, in South Africa there is no single model that could be used to address all the challenges left by the legacy of apartheid in public primary schools. The purpose of this study is to contribute and add to the existing body of knowledge on the challenges facing educators in implementing inclusive education. In order to accomplish this aim, the main endeavour is to reveal the biggest challenges facing educators in implementing inclusive education in public primary schools and to highlight the implications of inclusive education in schools. The researcher used the critical qualitative action research approach to probe eight educators and school principals regarding their training, whether they have the necessary skills to deal with the implementation of inclusive education in their mainstream schools and probing them about effective models of inclusion that are applicable to their schools. The research sample was randomly selected from two public primary schools in Gauteng Province in District 011. Interviews, classroom observation and closed questionnaires were used as instruments of obtaining relevant data. In this study, interaction schedules, coupled with other data processes such as inductive analysis and verifications were used to analyze data. Data collected was catergorise into themes and comparisons were made on patterns that appeared and reappeared during this study. The research study revealed that, there is a need for a change or shift from traditional practice to new paradigms where teachers as reflective practitioners, are expected to take a closure, critical look at their way of teaching, as dictated by the new curriculum. Furthermore, the study revealed that there is a need for a shift from a medical model to a understanding system located within an understanding of barriers to learning. Secondly, perceptions of educators on learners with barriers should change. Furthermore, there is a need of giving learners extra support so that they can fit or be integrated into the mainstream classrooms. Moreover, assessment should cater for diverse needs of all learners and very crucial, there should be a shift from pedagogy of exclusion to a pedagogy of possibilities that takes into consideration barriers to learning, different intelligences and learning styles. In order for the implementation of inclusive education to take place smoothly in public primary schools, the researcher recommended that: schools should develop effective partnership with parents, organizations and other community stakeholders. The Department of education in conjunction with schools should embark on an advocacy campaign. Furthermore, the Department of education should strengthen the site-based support teams (SBST) and ensure that educators receive quality training in inclusive education for human resource development and lastly, the Department should ensure that special schools are strengthened as resource centres.

Thesis (M. Tech.) - Central University of Technology, Free State, 2008 / This study investigates how primary school educators in Manyatseng construct their meaning of their perceptions towards the inclusion of learners with disabilities in their mainstream classrooms. To arrive at the findings, the researcher used qualitative study to conduct the research. Literature was also reviewed to find out what the previous findings in other countries are with regard to the above mentioned research question. The Free Attitude Interview was also employed to obtain information concerning ideas, opinions, feelings and experiences of the four selected respondents. Grounded on the above findings and conclusions, the study recommends that efforts should not be spared to enable educators to adapt positive meaning making strategies. These strategies may be accompanied by enhanced positive feelings about their capability which may in turn also impact positively on their perception. The research further argues that this goal may be achieved through in service training, support services and empowerment, therefore further research needs to be conducted that will elaborate clearly, what the implications of perceptions in education are in teaching and learning, what are the most effective means of transferring strategies of meaning construction to educators with negative perception, how to strengthen and further sustain the positive meaning making strategies among educators who perception, how to strengthen and further sustain the positive meaning making strategies among educators perceive inclusion positively. Recommendations relating to educator empowerment through training and support are made as well as suggestions for further relevant research based on the concept generated in this research.