Over the past fifteen years the integration of students with impairments from "special schools" into regular schools has been common practice in most western countries. Here in South Africa, the policy of integration is only just beginning to be formally legislated and implemented. One such integration project is currently underway in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. The initiative, organised between Clare Estate School and Dr. A. D. Lazarus Secondary, began in 1992. This study investigates the experiences of nine students with physical impairments. They form a part of a group of fourteen students presently integrated into Dr. A. D. Lazarus Secondary. The experiences of the students are examined from the perspectives of the students themselves, their teachers and their parents. All the differing viewpoints were gathered through semi-structured interviews and observation. As a framework within which to analyse the findings, a social model of disability was explored. The social model advocates that people have impairments and not disabilities. A disability arises when environmental factors exacerbate the existence of an impairment. The factors which could exacerbate impairment within the school setting range from physical inaccessibility to overdependency in an environment designed solely for able-bodied people. An environmental obstacle that hinders a person with an impairment is referred to as a 'disabling barrier.' The study revealed that unpreparedness for integration can result in many 'disabling-barriers' within the school context. These obstacles create hindrances not just for the students with impairments but for all students, teachers and parents. The researcher identified the disabling-barriers in order to highlight the many challenges that face the school. It was hoped that by gathering information, predominantly from the perspective of students with physical impairments, one is able to evaluate the experiences from their own personal perspectives. Furthermore, both the schools involved in the project are challenged into turning the identified "disabling-barriers" into more enabling environments for students with physical impairments. Finally, looking beyond integration towards an inclusive system of education is the ultimate challenge recommended for this particular context. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, Durban, 1996.

M.Ed. / Next to the school the parental home plays a dynamic role in the formation of the learners' self-esteem. The learner with mental-disabilities very often has a long history of disappointments and failures. In the teaching process teacher use words such as "stupid", "unwilling", "silly" and "lazy" when they refer to learners with mental-disabilities. The actions of teachers are very often characterized by impatience and fury. Even in special schools such remarks as "he's too lazy to think", "she does not want to use her intellect" and "you can forget about it because you'll never get it right". Against this background the aim of this study was to investigate the self-esteem of the learner with slight to moderate mental-disability in the special school. At the same time investigation of learners in the mainstream school with no mental disabilities was made. The quasi-experimental research method was used to collect data. This approach made it possible for the researcher to examine the comparisons between the various groups and also to identify possible similarities and differences. A structure questionnaire, in Afrikaans and English, was used to examine the self-esteem on eight different scales. These self-esteem scale includes the physical self-esteem, the experience of frustration, the relationship with the family and extended family, the social relationship of religion, self confidence and the academic self-esteem. The questionnaire was given to 924 learners of which 419 learners were mentally disabled and in special schools, while the other 505 learners had no disability and were from the mainstream schools. The analysis and interpretation of the data yielded the following results: Teachers that are involved with the education of the grade 10-learners with mental disabilities have to pay more attention to minimize the increase of frustration experiences that these learners are experiencing.

D.Ed. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. / The aim of this study is to investigate and determine the effect of a strategy like the computer in the equalisation of the educational opportunities for people with visual impairment. Furthermore, the study seeks to establish the effect of computer usage in subjects considered inaccessible to people with visual impairment. The attitude and perception of the educator toward) both the learner and the role the assistive device plays in the education situation will be examined. The perception that the person with visual impairment has about his potentials will be studied. Ultimately, educational opportunities constitute the core of the research. In other words, the focus of this study will be on what must be done to fully and in the best possible terms meet the educational needs of persons with visual impairment. What strategies must be employed to equalise educational opportunities for visually impaired people?

M.Ed. / With the changes in the „new South Africa‟ came a change of approach in the curriculum from content-based to outcome-based, with the movement to develop inclusive education. This was necessary to accommodate a diverse range of learning needs. This required teachers to adopt a new form of teaching and a new way of thinking for which many teachers were not prepared or trained for. With this movement came the need for school-based support teams (SBST) to assist teachers to cope with the new paradigm. The focus of this paper was to study a best practice case of a school-based support team in an inclusive LSEN (Learners with Special Educational Needs) secondary school. According to White Paper 6 the key function for any SBST is to support all the learners, educators within the school environment to ensure that the full range of learning needs is met. The aim of this study was to improve the understanding of the functioning of a SBST in an LSEN environment. A case study design was chosen as it allowed for an in depth investigation into the functioning of a „supposedly best practice‟ school-based support team within an inclusive LSEN Secondary school context. One LSEN school was used in the research as it was seen by surrounding schools as a „supposedly best practice‟ SBST. Focus group interviews were conducted with school-based support team members, SBST documentation collected, SBST meetings were observed (field notes made) and document analysis was undertaken.

M.Ed. (Multiculturalism and Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology by coursework and research report in the faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2010 / The study explored how teachers in mainstream schools in South Africa attempt to ensure all learners are included in the classroom as active participants. Inclusive education has been the educational policy in South Africa since 2001 and teachers are invaluable in implementing it, thus this research explored what teachers do in the classroom to ensure all learners are included as active participants. In particular the study explored whether teachers use learner-centred and differentiated instruction, strategies recommended for the inclusive classroom. Barriers and differences among learners that teachers consider in ensuring inclusion of learners in the curriculum and classroom as well as factors that hamper their ability in ensuring inclusion of learners were also explored. The sample of the study consisted of 14 teachers from four primary schools in the Johannesburg East region. Three focus groups and one individual interview were conducted. Questions looked at teaching strategies teachers use in their inclusive classrooms, factors among learners they consider in creating inclusive lessons and factors that hamper their implementation of inclusive education. It was found that teachers view learner-centred and differentiated instruction as useful within the inclusive classroom and they indicated that they do use these strategies. However, teachers indicated that they have received insufficient pre and in-service training for such strategies and for inclusive education in general and that there is thus a need to improve pre and in-service training for inclusive education. Moreover, commonly occurring factors such as large classes, limited resources, heavy workload, insufficient support services and time constraints were argued to make such strategies difficult to use. In discussing differences among learners considered in creating inclusive lessons teachers focused on cognitive and academic differences, while differences in culture, learning styles, interests, personality and socio-economic background were discussed infrequently. Barriers that teachers discussed as important to accommodate for in the inclusive classroom included hearing, visual and emotional barriers and poor concentration. Language was also identified as an important barrier to accommodate for. The family were identified as an important resource in achieving the goals of inclusive education, however it was indicated that there is a lack of family involvement. Limitations of the study are also discussed as well as directions for future research. / GR2017

Thesis (M.Ed. (Community and Continuing Education)) -- University of Limpopo, 2014 / This research is about establishing the needs and assets of a public adult learning centre for the visually impaired. The research is important because South Africa, as a signatory to the Salamanca Statement on Principles and Practice in Special Needs Education (UNESCO, 1994) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2006 (Väyrynen, 2008), has an obligation to ensure the provision of quality education and training through inclusion. This also includes adult learners. The research emanated from the assumption that Public Adult Learning Centres for the Visually Impaired are not well equipped to provide quality education as envisaged by the Salamanca Statement and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In order to resolve this assumption, a qualitative case study with Bosele Public Adult Learning Centre (BPALC) for the Visually Impaired was designed. The research participants from this centre were purposely sampled due to the importance of their shared experiences and opinions in answering the research question. Multiple perspectives were applied in data collection by means of semi-structured and focus group interviews and documents were examined and analysed to obtain in-depth information about the research. The analysis of the participants’ shared experiences and opinions, combined with observation and data analysis, assisted in deriving at the conclusion that, although Bosele is a Public Adult Learning Centre for the visually impaired, it is still deficient in terms of the capacity to provide quality education as envisaged in the Salamanca Statement and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The learning and teaching support materials are inadequate and have not been modified for many years. The facilitators do not receive the necessary professional support and as such are inadequately prepared to provide quality education to the visually impaired adult learners. The available assets within and outside BPALC are not mapped and therefore not recognized for effective utilization. The teaching, learning and physical environment around BPALC is not conducive to the promotion of quality education for visually impaired adults. iii To respond to the findings of this research, several recommendations have been suggested and an empowerment programme has also been provided with a view to improve the quality of teaching and learning at BPALC. Suggestions for future research topics have also been made in order to close the gap that exists in research for the education of learners with visual impairment.

The study is premised on the assumptions that learners with special educational needs are not fully included in regular schools and that perceptions of teachers influence their behaviour toward and acceptance of learners with special educational needs in regular classes. In light of this, the aim of the current study was to examine the nature and extent to which learners with special educational needs are included in regular schools with the ultimate aim of assisting learners with special educational needs to be fully catered for by schools and teachers. The researcher opted for the mixed method approach which is embedded in the post positivist research paradigm. The mixed method approach makes use of quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection, presentation and analysis. Data were generated from a sample of 60 teachers and 4 principals from 4 regular primary schools mainly through questionnaires. Data were also generated from interviews, observation and documents. These data from interviews, observation and documents were used to buttress results from the questionnaires. The findings of this present study showed that many schools are now moving towards inclusivity. There is a relative prevalence of learners with disability in schools. The study also established that the inclusion of learners with special educational needs in regular schools was faced with a number of problems. There were inadequate professionally-trained teachers in schools. Shortage of classrooms, large class sizes, equipment and materials affected the quality of access to education for learners with special educational needs. Although there was significant support at school level, it emerged that there was inadequate quality in-service training programmes for teachers conducted by district officials. Overall, the findings of the study have confirmed the assumptions of the study. For learners with special educational needs to be fully included in regular schools, the study would recommend that the government improve the quality of teachers through in-service training programmes. Moreover, schools must be adequately resourced and government should commit itself to the alleviation of large class sizes. The study further revealed that, gaps still exist in the inclusion of learners with special educational needs between the intended and the actual practice. The study, therefore, recommends that research be conducted with the possibility of establishing strategies for the inclusion of learners with special educational needs in regular schools. This might improve the actual practice of including learners with special educational needs in regular schools. In turn, learners with special educational needs can be said to have equal access to education.

M.Ed. / Because special Education and therefore also the education of visually impaired children, is an expensive undertaking, it is of great importance that every school for the visually impaired functions as effective as possible. In the light of this urgency, research was therefore done to determine the most effective way to manage a school for visually impaired children under the authority of the Department of Education and Training. Before a model for the management of a school for the visually impaired could be developed, attention was given to the historical development of the education of the visually impaired in the Republic of South Africa. This is followed by focussing on the present situation concerning the education of Black visually disabled children. Attention was given to the areas to be managed at such a school, namely: staff, Pupils, Parents and Community, Curriculum, Buildings and Physical assets and Methods and Procedures. Reference was also made to the present management situation at these schools under the authority of the Department of Education and Training and to the managerial functions to be performed by a principal of a school for visually impaired children. Management by objectives and its value for Educational Management was also considered. Finally, the Biblical-Christian perspective on science, management in general and Educational Management in particular, was also considered. The model for the management of a school for the visually impaired from this perspective was suggested. Because of the lack of space the model could be applied to only one management area, namely, staff. It can however be adapted to also suit the management of the other areas. With this model "in the hand" the Christian principal and the management team of a school for the visually impaired, should be able to manage the staff and other areas of the school (more) effectively. They should be able to transfer meaningful and formative education to the pupils entrusted to them and also experience a sense of deep inner satisfaction, because they know that they are busy with a task God has called them for, doing it in the way He wants it to be done.