This study investigates the work that is currently being done to promote contact between home and school at a residential school situated in a rural area of KwaZulu- Natal. The school serves primary school children with physical disabilities between the ages of five and seventeen years. The subjects in this study were twenty five parents, teachers, learners, and support staff. The research methodology was in the form of a qualitative case study. Individual interviews, focus group interviews, observation as well as document analysis were used to investigate the nature and extent of parental involvement, the areas in which parents participated, and how the school supported parents and the learners. The results revealed that the school acknowledges the value of parents a partners, and has initiated a parent involvement programme. Parents are involved in structures created by the school, namely, a parent teacher association, parent groups in the communities, learner adoption scheme. However, findings revealed that in a number of important areas parents are not equal partners. These are school governance, curriculum decisions regarding their children, choice of school placement, and admission and discharge of their children. An important finding was that in residential schools, because parents are not part of the immediate school community the concept of "parents as partners" is difficult to achieve. Most rural parents live great distances away from the school. Time, distance, work commitments, family commitments, and financial constraints make participation almost impossible. An implication of this study is that if residential schools continue to exist there is a need for the school to take cognisance of the various contextual factors that influence parental involvement in such a setting. Schools should find creative ways to overcome barriers that may exist. Schools need to be aware of recent policy developments regarding the rights of parents, for example, the South African Schools Act. Issues such as parent participation in school governance, their right to choice, and their rights regarding educational decisions on their children, enshrined in policy documents need to be, addressed collaboratively with parents. Another important implication is that policy makers need to review the role of large residential schools in meeting the educational needs of children with disabilities, in particular the long term goal of children gaining full citizenship in their communities. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Natal, 1996.

This study explored the lives of ten school leavers who were in the special class at the school in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. The intention of the research was to gain insight into the schooling experiences of ten schools leavers, and to examine the factors that impact on these particular life outcomes. A life story approach was utilised in this qualitative case study of the ten individuals. Interviews were conducted with the school leavers and parents or significant family member. The findings in this study if embedded within the social rights discourse reveal that for many of the learners systemic barriers within the schooling system served as barriers to positive life outcomes. The ten learners experienced various exclusionary pressures in their schooling years that have negatively impacted on their life outcomes. The school leavers face complex barriers that make it virtually impossible for them to achieve independence and full participation in society. These include no job opportunities, lack of any work skills, low levels of schooling, dependence on sheltered employment with low levels of income, dependence on the government social welfare grant, poor self-esteem. The findings further revealed that these learners might be vulnerable to social and emotional risk factors. The study suggests that there is a need for further research on school leavers from special class provision in the context of Education White paper 6: Building an Inclusive Education and Training System, (Department of Education, 2001) so that their needs can be given priority in the implementation process that is currently underway in the country. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.

In South Africa, education for learners with special needs has historically been provided for within a separate system of specialized education. Over the past few years, following international trends, there have been a few informal initiatives towards integration of learners with special needs into regular schools. This study examines the placement of a hearing impaired pupil at regular primary school in Durban, Kwazulu-Natal. The subject of the study is a hearing impaired child with a severe to profound hearing loss, who was placed by parent choice into a mainstream school in the neighbourhood, from preschool level. The eleven year old subject is a standard three pupil at Bonela Primary School. A case study approach was followed. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with the subject, parents, peers and staff at the school. Document analysis was undertaken on school reports, psychological reports, test records and pupil's books. In addition, the researcher used observation in order to capture details concerning the subject's social and academic ability in a natural environment. The results of this study reveal that the hearing impaired pupil made good progress in this regular school setting, despite the fact that there were minimal curriculum adjustments made. The placement experience was inclusive in practice, and proved to be successful in terms of the overall development of the hearing impaired child in this case. Positive attitudes of school personnel and peers, support from teachers, early identification, early intervention, consistent speech therapy, strong parent support, the child's language ability and the subject's personality were key factors contributing to the success of this placement. Findings suggest it is possible to include a child with severe to profound hearing loss in a regular classroom, with minimal support services. The study has implications for current debates in South Africa on the education of Deaf children. The issue of the right of choice of the parent and the Deaf learner is a critical one, and needs to be taken into account by policy makers. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, Durban, 1996.