Thesis (MA (Psychology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether certain Ron Davis techniques which have been applied by the Davis Dyslexia Correction Center in America the past two decades could in the short term have a significantly positive influence on the reading ability and psychological functioning of children with a reading disorder, especially regarded against the background of escalating concern about the reading ability of South African learners in general and learners with a reading disorder in particular.

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.

This study investigated how rural children with disabilities and their families in the Qwaqwa Region of the Free State province experience disability. The aim was to examine the various social, cultural, economic, and political factors that impact the lives of the children and their families. It also explored what support systems are available for the children and the families in this rural context. Seventeen children with disabilities and their families were selected through a process of purposive sampling from three areas in the region: Mabolela, Makgalaneng, and Bolata. Nine of the children are currently in primary schools, and eight do not have access to formal schooling. This was a qualitative study. The research method was the semi-structured interview. The main caregiver in each of the families was interviewed. Interviews were conducted in Sesotho and audio-taped. These were transcribed, and then translated into English. The findings in the study reveal that despite the fact that various legislation and policy documents in South Africa make special reference to the protection of the rights of rural children with disabilities, the rights of the children and families in this study continue to be violated. The study revealed the urgent need to address barriers to learning and development that these children are experiencing which are largely located in the system. Some of these are: poverty and underdevelopment; negative attitudes; lack of education and rehabilitation services, lack of access to information; inadequate social and psychological support; lack of community based and accessible support services; lack of access to information about disability; poor access to resources such as health care, and social welfare; lack of coordination between professional services and departments in the province. The study has implications for planning services to address the needs of children with disabilities and their families in this rural context. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, 1999.

No abstract available / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Didactics)

The implementation of inclusion policy for learners with special education needs as stipulated in the Education White Paper 2001has been an issue of concern for South African schools. This study sheds light on the implementation of inclusion policy for learners with special education needs in the selected primary schools in the Fort Beaufort District in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. The aim of the study is to examine the implementation of inclusion policy for learners with special education needs. The study was placed within the post-positivism paradigm and used a mixed method research approach that integrated concurrent procedures in the collection, analysis and interpretation of the data. Questionnaires were used to collect quantitative data while qualitative data were collected through interviews, and document analysis. A total number of 30 teachers completed the questionnaires. The researcher conducted interviews with ten principals and eight teachers. She also held interviews with four education district officials and one provincial official. Data were analysed by statistical and non-statistical procedures. The study revealed that the inclusion policy is being implemented in the selected schools. However, there are challenges that are being encountered. Firstly, some teachers have not received adequate training with regards to inclusive education policy. Staff development workshops put in place to address this challenge are minimal, and there is not enough joint effort being established by the different stakeholders with regards to support and monitoring the implementation process. Despite the challenges that accompany implementation of inclusion of learners with special education needs, as well as the difficult working conditions, this study reveals that there are pockets of good practice of inclusion policy in some of the selected schools in the Fort Beaufort District. For instance, it was found that teachers implement inclusion of learners with special education needs, even though the majority of them do not have qualifications in special education. It was also revealed that teachers used learner-centred teaching methods to accommodate all learners, which include group and individual teaching, group demonstration, discussions, question-and-answer sessions, and practical activities.

Text in Afrikaans / In hierdie studie is die opvoedingspraktyke van verskillende samelewings met betrekking tot verstandelik erg gestremde kinders histories-analities ondersoek. Die tendense wat telkens onderliggend aan veranderinge was, is geidentifiseer en aan die hand van pedagogiese kriteria geevalueer. In die antieke Griekse en Romeinse beskawings is 'n praktyk van uitwissing gevplg. Die Christelike godsdiens bet 'n meer verdraagsame houding meegebring, maar in die Middeleeue bet onkunde en bygeloof nog steeds hoogty gevier. Eers vanaf die agtiende en negentiende eeu bet groter kennis en 'n nuwe kindbeeld tot 'n meer rasionele benadering tot die verskynsel van verstandelike gestremdheid gelei. Pioniers, veral medici, bet na vore getree en die weg gebaan vir 'n beter bedeling vir hierdie kinders. Dit was egter eers in die tweede helfte van die twintigste eeu dat onderwys aan verstandelik erg gestremdes 'n werklikheid geword bet. Die beginsel van normalisasie is toenemend op dienste wat aan hierdie kinders verskaf is, toegepas en het tot gevolg gehad dat wetgewing met betrekking tot die onderwys aan verstandelik erg gestremde kinders tans in die toonaangewende lande en in SuidAfrika op 'n handves vir menseregte geskoei is. Hierdie bevindings bet segwaarde vir die huidige situasie ten opsigte van die beplanning van onderwysvoorsieninge vir verstandelik erg gestremde kinders in die Republiek van Suid- Afrika. / In this study the education practices with regard to severely mentally handicapped children of various societies have been investigated from a historic-analytical perspective. The trends related to a certain anthropologic view and a specific child image, which have been the cause of certain changes have also been identified and were evaluated according to pedagogic criteria. In the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations a trend of infanticide influenced the education of severely mentally handicapped children. The Christian religion brought a more tolerant attitude, but during the Middle Ages superstition and ignorance were still at the order of the day. It was only from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that more knowledge and a new child image brought about a more rational approach to this problem. Pioneers, mostly medical surgeons, came to the fore and paved the way for a better dispensation for these children. In the latter part of the twentieth century education for the severely mentally handicapped had for the first time become a reality. The normalization principle was increasingly applied to all services rendered to these children and this resulted in legislation regarding the education of severely mentally handicapped children in all leading countries and in South Africa being based on a declaration of human rights. These findings have an important meaning for the present situation with reference to the planning of education services for severely mentally handicapped children in South-Africa. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Historiese Opvoedkunde)

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.

D.Ed. / Education for the Deaf in South Africa appears to be insufficiently researched, contributing to a less than ideal educational situation. Teachers are not trained to address the special needs of Deaf learners, there is limited cohesive instructional theory and the educational policy focussing on the needs of Deaf learners is limited in both range and depth. Due to the ineffectiveness of Deaf education in South Africa, the majority of Deaf school leavers leave school linguistically impoverished, 'disabled' by the lack of effective educational opportunities, thus carrying the main barrier to learning' with them into life. In an effort to ascertain why the educational system is deemed ineffectual, I identified the lack of training programmes for teachers of the Deaf in South Africa as a main cause of inadequate Deaf education in South Africa. In order to assess this working hypothesis, I initiated an investigation into the perceptions of the crucial role players in Deaf education, namely the teachers of the Deaf and Deaf adults (former learners). The purpose of the study was thus to find out why the Deaf education system is ineffectual. An inquiry was therefor conducted into the emic views of teachers of the Deaf and also Deaf adults who had experienced the education system in South Africa first-hand. I aimed to study rigorously and methodically these perceptions and experiences with the view of contributing to the discourse about the improvement of Deaf education in South Africa. These personal views were obtained in a 'bottom-up' research mode and could be essential in contributing to the sparse body of knowledge on Deaf education in South Africa from the Deaf adult's perspective. The study should also contribute to the Deaf community's move toward empowerment and equality. The findings that emerged from the study support the hypothesis that the present situation in Deaf education is unacceptable to both educators and learners alike and that specialised training for teachers of the Deaf, including knowledge of Sign Language, is essential. The investigation concludes with a consolidation of the findings into a framework for a proposed teacher training programme for teachers of the Deaf, which is presented within the outcomes based paradigm.

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.

The main aim of this study was to explore and describe the development and cognitive ability of a sample of children aged six to eight enrolled in specialised education, in the category of specific learning disability (SLD). This was achieved through the utilization of the Griffiths-Mental Development Scales – Extended Revised, the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children – Fourth Edition and input from the trans-disciplinary team. A non-probability, purposive sampling method was employed and the sample consisted of eight participants. The multiple case study method was used in order to achieve the aim of the study. Both qualitative and quantitative data were incorporated to provide a holistic description of the participants. Quantitative data was obtained from the Griffiths-Mental Development Scales – Extended Revised, the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children – Fourth Edition while qualitative data was obtained from the Biographical Questionnaire, input from members of the trans-disciplinary team, data from the participants‟ archives as well as clinical observations made during the assessment process. The data was analysed according to the domains of childhood development.The results obtained revealed that the general development of the sample as measured by the Griffiths-Mental Development Scales – Extended Revised was average. The Eye and Hand Co-ordination Subscale was the most problematic for the participants. The majority of the sample obtained below average scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children – Fourth Edition‟s full scale IQ (FSIQ). The Verbal Reasoning Index and the Working Memory Index yielded the lowest scores amongst the sample. The results indicated that the majority of the participants are stronger with non-verbal as opposed to verbal reasoning. The study revealed that the two measures, the Griffiths-Mental Development Scales – Extended Revised, the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children – Fourth Edition complement one another. The developmental and intellectual nature of the measures allow for gaps left by the one measure to be filled by the other. The study highlighted the importance of gaining information from the trans-disciplinary team and not relying purely on psychometric measures. It was made clear through the study that deficits often exist that are not picked up by assessment measures alone. In order to gain a comprehensive, holistic picture of a child, one needs to consult a variety of sources. Questions regarding the classification system of high needs learners as well as the current system of specialised education were raised.