The study aimed to explore full-service school teachers’ sense of self-efficacy in teaching within an inclusive education system. This study formed part of a follow up qualitative phase of an international collaborative research project between South Africa, Finland, China, Slovenia, Lithuania and England. The main purpose of this comparative project was to produce a knowledge base that sheds light on the nature of the development of inclusive education in different countries from a teacher’s perspective. The data from the first quantitative phase indicated that many South African teachers experience a lack of self-efficacy in the implementation of inclusive education. Inclusive education has brought many challenges for full-service school teachers. Classrooms now have a wider range of diverse learning needs and this impacts significantly on classroom practice. This situation often creates stress and can exacerbate feelings of inefficiency. When teachers acquire abilities, skills and professional expertise they often accept the responsibilities of inclusive education and subsequently become more confident about inclusion which in turn empowers them to be more effective in teaching. Adequate professional development and sufficient support can, therefore, help teachers to feel more equipped to address and consequently experience positive self-efficacy beliefs. Teachers with improved self-efficacy will, therefore, become more motivated to implement inclusive education successfully. Consequently, in this research teachers’ sense of self-efficacy within an inclusive education environment with specific reference to South African teachers was further explored. The purpose of my research was to explore factors that influence full-service school teachers’ sense of self-efficacy, enabling or disabling them to implement inclusive education successfully. Bandura’s social cognitive theory of self-efficacy as well as Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological framework formed the theoretical framework of this study. To achieve this purpose, a qualitative interpretive design was decided upon by employing a multiple case study (two full service schools) as strategy of inquiry. Twenty one teachers voluntarily participated in this research, eleven from the first school and ten from the second school. Data was collected through qualitative data generation methods which included focus group and individual interviews, collages and an open questionnaire. The findings from the literature review as well as the empirical data revealed that self-efficacy as a concept was best described and understood in relating low with high teacher self-efficacy. A teacher with a high sense of self-efficacy can be viewed as a person who exhibits and portrays certain traits and skills. It was evident that sufficient knowledge about what inclusive education entails, intra- and inter-personal skills, as well as values that take the best interest of the learner into consideration, are essential for teachers to experience a high sense of self-efficacy in an inclusive education environment. The findings also indicated that certain ecosystemic factors are currently enabling and disabling teachers’ sense of self-efficacy to implement inclusive education successfully. These factors were reflected in the specific needs of teachers to be more self-effective in an inclusive education system. This included more and effective continuous professional development opportunities (CPD) for professional and personal development; increased and improved support from the Department of Basic Education (DBE) (provincial and district) as well as the school and peers; improved collaboration with parents, NGO’s and HEI’s; a more flexible curriculum; and more acknowledgement for achievements from the school, parents and the DBE. These needs were addressed in recommendations for teachers themselves, the schools and the DBE in order to develop and enhance teachers’ sense of self-efficacy, within an inclusive full-service school. / PhD (Learner Support)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015.

The study aimed to explore full-service school teachers’ sense of self-efficacy in teaching within an inclusive education system. This study formed part of a follow up qualitative phase of an international collaborative research project between South Africa, Finland, China, Slovenia, Lithuania and England. The main purpose of this comparative project was to produce a knowledge base that sheds light on the nature of the development of inclusive education in different countries from a teacher’s perspective. The data from the first quantitative phase indicated that many South African teachers experience a lack of self-efficacy in the implementation of inclusive education. Inclusive education has brought many challenges for full-service school teachers. Classrooms now have a wider range of diverse learning needs and this impacts significantly on classroom practice. This situation often creates stress and can exacerbate feelings of inefficiency. When teachers acquire abilities, skills and professional expertise they often accept the responsibilities of inclusive education and subsequently become more confident about inclusion which in turn empowers them to be more effective in teaching. Adequate professional development and sufficient support can, therefore, help teachers to feel more equipped to address and consequently experience positive self-efficacy beliefs. Teachers with improved self-efficacy will, therefore, become more motivated to implement inclusive education successfully. Consequently, in this research teachers’ sense of self-efficacy within an inclusive education environment with specific reference to South African teachers was further explored. The purpose of my research was to explore factors that influence full-service school teachers’ sense of self-efficacy, enabling or disabling them to implement inclusive education successfully. Bandura’s social cognitive theory of self-efficacy as well as Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological framework formed the theoretical framework of this study. To achieve this purpose, a qualitative interpretive design was decided upon by employing a multiple case study (two full service schools) as strategy of inquiry. Twenty one teachers voluntarily participated in this research, eleven from the first school and ten from the second school. Data was collected through qualitative data generation methods which included focus group and individual interviews, collages and an open questionnaire. The findings from the literature review as well as the empirical data revealed that self-efficacy as a concept was best described and understood in relating low with high teacher self-efficacy. A teacher with a high sense of self-efficacy can be viewed as a person who exhibits and portrays certain traits and skills. It was evident that sufficient knowledge about what inclusive education entails, intra- and inter-personal skills, as well as values that take the best interest of the learner into consideration, are essential for teachers to experience a high sense of self-efficacy in an inclusive education environment. The findings also indicated that certain ecosystemic factors are currently enabling and disabling teachers’ sense of self-efficacy to implement inclusive education successfully. These factors were reflected in the specific needs of teachers to be more self-effective in an inclusive education system. This included more and effective continuous professional development opportunities (CPD) for professional and personal development; increased and improved support from the Department of Basic Education (DBE) (provincial and district) as well as the school and peers; improved collaboration with parents, NGO’s and HEI’s; a more flexible curriculum; and more acknowledgement for achievements from the school, parents and the DBE. These needs were addressed in recommendations for teachers themselves, the schools and the DBE in order to develop and enhance teachers’ sense of self-efficacy, within an inclusive full-service school. / PhD (Learner Support)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015.

Schools globally are characterised by an increasingly diverse learner population in terms of age, gender, language, socio-economic background, cultural practices and learning abilities. The diverse needs of learners in schools have implications for teacher training, as it demands a shift from the traditional “one-size-fits-all” approach to a more inclusive approach. Because teachers play a significant role in addressing diversity among all learners, several teacher-training programmes have been implemented worldwide since the inception of inclusive education. The main purpose of these programmes is to ensure that teachers acquire the relevant knowledge and skills to meet the learning needs of all learners in schools. One of these skills pertains to curriculum differentiation for making the curriculum accessible to all learners irrespective of their abilities. This research investigation was rooted in Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model. Situated in the interpretative paradigm, the study adopted a qualitative approach. A multiple case study research design was employed to investigate nine Foundation Phase teachers from rural, township, and former Model C full-service schools. All of them had completed the BEd (Hons) in Learning Support programme at one of South Africa’s major universities. Semi-structured face-to-face individual interviews were conducted, and a document analysis was used to explore participants’ understanding and implementation of curriculum differentiation. The analysis of the study revealed that teachers who had completed the BEd (Hons) in Learning Support programme had the necessary theoretical knowledge of the concept of curriculum differentiation. However, most of them faced difficulties regarding the understanding and implementation of curriculum differentiation. The study also showed that teachers did not make use of official documents that guide and explain the differentiation of school curriculum to meet the diverse needs of learners in full-service schools. In the light of these findings, five sets of recommendations were made in ensuring the effective implementation of curriculum differentiation in schools in order to make the curriculum accessible to all learners. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Early Childhood Education / PhD / Unrestricted

The purpose of this study was to examine the phenomenon of resilience by means of a literature review (to obtain a theoretical view) and empirical research, particularly to understand why some adolescents with Intellectual disability (ID) were resilient. Firstly, my motivation was curiosity (as teacher of many years of adolescents with ID) about why some youths coped better with the daily challenges that ID brought than some of their peers with ID. Secondly, there was a gap in the existing literature. Although there were studies that, among others, reported the rights of adolescents with ID to quality service provision, the risks that they and their parents/caregivers could expect daily, and challenges and coping skills for teachers/parents and caregivers who worked with these learners every day, I could not locate any South African studies, and only five international studies, that reported the protective resources/processes in adolescents with ID. The purpose of the study was to hear the voices of the adolescents themselves regarding what they, from the reality/context of their life-world, viewed as that which supported them, intrinsically as well as extrinsically, towards resilience. I also asked the teachers (as secondary informants) who worked with the adolescents with ID every day to complete a questionnaire about what (risks as well as protective resources), in their opinion, had an influence on the resilience of these adolescents with ID. I did this qualitative case study with the help of 24 primary informants (that is, adolescents with ID) who all attended schools for the physically and severely intellectually disabled in Gauteng province, South Africa, and 18 of their teachers. On account of the limited literacy of the adolescents with ID, I used a visual participatory research method, namely, draw-and-talk. This involved the primary informants drawing what made them “strong” in life. This was followed by informal conversations where the adolescent informants explained what they had drawn and why. The findings of this study were in agreement with existing literature that reported that resilience was a dynamic, socio-ecological, transactional process between the adolescent with ID (obtaining and using protective resources) and his/her surrounding environment (the ability of the community to supply these resources that could serve the adolescent with ID as buffer against daily risks). The findings included previously non-reported protective processes, namely a supportive social ecology that treated the adolescent as an agentic being (providing opportunities for socially appropriate choices and dreams for the future after school life) and the importance of providing safe spaces for adolescents with ID to be nurtured (children’s homes and/or school hostels). The study also considered what resilience processes there were in the currently existing schools for the physically and severely intellectually disabled. These considerations were aimed at teachers with the hope that they would support teachers and schools to support the adolescent with ID towards resilience. In summary, the study hoped to capacitate teachers, parents, and caregivers to better understand the adolescent with ID and to be aware of how they could support the youth to be resilient. / MEd (Learner Support)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

The purpose of this study was to examine the phenomenon of resilience by means of a literature review (to obtain a theoretical view) and empirical research, particularly to understand why some adolescents with Intellectual disability (ID) were resilient. Firstly, my motivation was curiosity (as teacher of many years of adolescents with ID) about why some youths coped better with the daily challenges that ID brought than some of their peers with ID. Secondly, there was a gap in the existing literature. Although there were studies that, among others, reported the rights of adolescents with ID to quality service provision, the risks that they and their parents/caregivers could expect daily, and challenges and coping skills for teachers/parents and caregivers who worked with these learners every day, I could not locate any South African studies, and only five international studies, that reported the protective resources/processes in adolescents with ID. The purpose of the study was to hear the voices of the adolescents themselves regarding what they, from the reality/context of their life-world, viewed as that which supported them, intrinsically as well as extrinsically, towards resilience. I also asked the teachers (as secondary informants) who worked with the adolescents with ID every day to complete a questionnaire about what (risks as well as protective resources), in their opinion, had an influence on the resilience of these adolescents with ID. I did this qualitative case study with the help of 24 primary informants (that is, adolescents with ID) who all attended schools for the physically and severely intellectually disabled in Gauteng province, South Africa, and 18 of their teachers. On account of the limited literacy of the adolescents with ID, I used a visual participatory research method, namely, draw-and-talk. This involved the primary informants drawing what made them “strong” in life. This was followed by informal conversations where the adolescent informants explained what they had drawn and why. The findings of this study were in agreement with existing literature that reported that resilience was a dynamic, socio-ecological, transactional process between the adolescent with ID (obtaining and using protective resources) and his/her surrounding environment (the ability of the community to supply these resources that could serve the adolescent with ID as buffer against daily risks). The findings included previously non-reported protective processes, namely a supportive social ecology that treated the adolescent as an agentic being (providing opportunities for socially appropriate choices and dreams for the future after school life) and the importance of providing safe spaces for adolescents with ID to be nurtured (children’s homes and/or school hostels). The study also considered what resilience processes there were in the currently existing schools for the physically and severely intellectually disabled. These considerations were aimed at teachers with the hope that they would support teachers and schools to support the adolescent with ID towards resilience. In summary, the study hoped to capacitate teachers, parents, and caregivers to better understand the adolescent with ID and to be aware of how they could support the youth to be resilient. / MEd (Learner Support)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

General pediatricians are typically the first professionals to detect the early developmental concerns of young children during their infant and toddler stages. When concerns are identified by the general pediatrician, best practice encourages the referral of young children for further assessment and/or intervention. Due to these factors, this study focused on the methods general pediatricians use in their efforts to implement the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines for the developmental surveillance and screening of young children. Furthermore, this study focused on the barriers faced by general pediatricians and the solutions they have developed to overcome these barriers in their efforts to assist young children with developmental delays and disabilities. Twenty-eight pediatricians who also were members of the Region V Florida Chapter of the AAP provided responses to survey data inquiring about the implementation of AAP guidelines within their settings. Six of the survey respondents were general pediatricians who each participated in a semi-structured interview to gain further insight into their implementation of the AAP guidelines. Additionally, existing barriers were examined to determine the strategies general pediatricians developed to overcome them. The results showed that each of the six general pediatricians reported their engagement in some, if not all recommended AAP guidelines. The general pediatricians shared specific examples of how this was done, which provided valuable data for other general pediatricians who desire to learn effective strategies for implementing AAP guidelines. The interview responses addressed several themes, including training and continuing education, learning about and using developmental screeners, determining the cause of delays and disabilities, referring children with delays and disabilities, using a culturally-sensitive/family centered approach, and increasing parent awareness. General pediatricians also reported how they have overcome the barriers (e.g., limited time and staff members) to following AAP guidelines, as well as barriers that continue to exist (e.g., insufficient reimbursement for preventive care, difficulties serving children from low-income families, etc.). Although this study focused on how general pediatricians have overcome obstacles, multidisciplinary collaboration was emphasized as an integral factor needed to achieve the earliest identification and intervention implementation for young children with developmental concerns.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine the differences in academic achievement, behavioral health outcomes and attendance in poor, rural children receiving physical and mental health services regularly as opposed to those children not receiving the intervention. The intervention was a school-based health and mental health clinic located on the school’s campus. This study was analyzed by providing descriptive information for several variables including the number of suspensions per year, number of times corporal punishment was used as a means of correction, educational outcomes, total number of clinic visits per year, attendance percentages per year, and number of teacher and parent referrals to the school clinic. Data for this study were presented in multiple charts and graphs and schools are compared using descriptive information. The results suggested that as the number of clinic visits increased across the three year period, the numbers of, and rates of, corporal punishment in the clinic school decreased. In contrast, the available data suggested that across the first two years the numbers of, and rates of, corporal punishment increased in the control school. Further, in the majority of subject areas, the percentage of students’ proficiency levels in the clinic school increased across time and the percentages exceeded these in the control school. These findings were consistent with the hypotheses that there will be improvements in the behavioral outcomes associated with the presence of the clinic in the school. Unfortunately there were not enough data to conduct a test of statistical significance of the differences between schools for the third year.

In South Africa the inclusive trend grew stronger since the White paper 6’s release. The need for a more integrated school was called upon by the Department of Education. The Department of Education selected 30 schools which represents a district to start the transformation process. Through guidelines written by the Department of Education it seemed that when mainstream schools are transformed to the phenomena of Full-service schools by the Department of Education or through themselves, many changes take place. However, there seemed to be a gap in literature regarding the changes taking place, this gap guided this research dissertation. This retrospective study was undertaken to gain insight into the transformation process and thereby into the change towards inclusive education. As a descriptive study on the transformation of one particular school it could also assist other schools that are on their way to such a transformation. The research approach adopted was qualitative process to gain insight and understanding of the changes made, but especially the role players’ attitude and feelings towards this change into a full-service school. Insight into this transformation process could provide insight to inclusive education, with an interpretivist paradigm, and applied to a single-case study (Stake 1995). Data collection consisted of open-ended interviews, visual diary and field notes. Additional documents were received from the school and the Department of Education and were included in this study.Codes for classifying the interview responses were predetermined (a priori coding) and designated as Microsystem, Macrosystem, Leadership and Management, Culture, Identity, Strategy, Structures/Procedures, Physical changes, Technical support and Human resources, as set out by the framework of Lazarus and Davidoff (1997:17). The interviews were open-ended. Visual data were collected to illustrate contrasts and similarities between conditions before and after the transition. The data obtained about the transition process were discussed using the a priori coding categories and drawing parallels to the existing literature. This research recommends and highlights significant aspects of the transition process leading to a full-service school. AFRIKAANS : In Suid-Afrika het die tendens van inklusiwiteit sterker geword sedert die vrystelling van Witskrif 6. Die Departement van Onderwys het ’n beroep gedoen dat daar voldoen moet word aan die behoefte aan skole met groter integrasie. Die Departement van Onderwys het 30 skole, wat ’n distrik verteenwoordig, gekies om met die transformasieproses te begin. Riglyne opgestel deur die Departement van Onderwys het getoon dat wanneer hoofstroomskole getransformeer word na voldiensskole, hetsy deur die Departement van Onderwys of deur hulself, daar baie veranderinge plaasvind. Daar is egter ’n gaping in die literatuur met betrekking tot die veranderinge wat plaasvind, en hierdie gaping het gelei tot die navorsingsverhandeling. Hierdie studie het slegs op die kwalitatiewe navorsingsproses staatgemaak om insig en begrip te verkry oor die veranderinge wat gemaak is, maar veral ook oor die rolspelers se houding en gevoelens teenoor hierdie verandering in ’n voldiensskool. Insig in hierdie transformasieproses kan insig gee in inklusiewe onderwys. Deur die transformasieproses te verstaan, kan skole gehelp word met hul eie transformasie na voldiensskole. Die doel van hierdie studie was om die oorgangsproses van ’n voldiensskool te verstaan en te interpreteer. Vir hierdie doel is ’n kwalitatiewe navorsingsbenadering saam met ’n interpretivistiese paradigma gebruik. Daarvoor het ek ’n enkele gevallestudie gebruik (Stake, 1995). Data-insameling het bestaan uit oop onderhoude, ’n visuele dagboek en veldnotas. Addisionele dokumente is van die skool en die Departement van Onderwys ontvang en is in hierdie studie ingesluit. Kodes is vooraf bepaal, naamlik mikro- en makrostelsels, leierskap en bestuur, kultuur, identiteit, strategie, strukture/prosedures, fisiese veranderinge, tegniese ondersteuning en menslike hulpbronne, soos uiteengesit in die raamwerk van Lasarus en Davidoff (1997:17). Hierdie proses van kodering word ook priori-kodering genoem, aangesien die onderhoude vooraf bepaal is. Die visuele data is voor en na die oorgang geneem om die kontraste en ooreenkomste duidelik te toon. Nadat parallelle tussen die relevante literatuur en priori-data geïdentifiseer is, is die data van die oorgangsproses bespreek. Hierdie navorsing beklemtoon belangrike faktore wat in gedagte gehou moet word tydens ’n oorgangsproses na ’n voldiensskool, en maak ook aanbevelings. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

The study explored readiness to accommodate career construction (CC) of learners with visual impairment (LVI) in 2 full service schools (FSSs) within 2 provinces in South Africa (SA) (see Annexure B). A qualitative research approach was applied to gather rich information. Research participants were selected using non-probability, purposeful sampling. The sample consisted of a total of 26 teachers recruited from the 2 provinces of the Free State (2) (see Annexure C) and the Eastern Cape (24). Data was generated through face-to-face semi-structured interviews, observations and teacher participation in participatory action research (PAR) workshops. Data were analysed employing inductive, thematic data analysis, where themes emerged that answered the study’s research questions (see Annexure H). The findings from the study indicated the following themes arranged according to prominence: (1) the role FSSs play in CC; (2) positive and negative perceptions teachers hold towards accommodating CC of LVI; and lastly (3) skills and resources needed by FSSs and teachers. It is hoped that the results will assist the Department of Higher Education in collaboration with the University of Pretoria (UP) to develop a qualification to train teachers on accommodation of LVI. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Educational Psychology / MEd / Unrestricted

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters in Educational Psychology in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Needs Education at the University Of Zululand, 2018 / The dispute of inclusion is one that has not only been a challenge for South African schools but for the country as a whole. The success of the implementation of the inclusion policy will not only talk to the progress at the schools in South Africa (SA), but it will also provide us with a glimpse of the nation’s progress towards the implementation of democracy itself. Considerable work has been done internationally with regards to the practicality of full-service schooling; however, a limited expanse locally. The objectives of the study were: (i) To determine the nature of experiences of primary school teachers in full service schools; and (ii) To establish if there is any relationship between the teachers’ experiences in full service primary schools and the variables of interest: gender, age, qualification, race and teaching experience. In order to address the study questions, a mixed method research design was employed. A sample of 63 teachers in Full Service Schools (FSSs) in Umlazi district was purposefully selected based on experience and expertise. For data collection, self-developed questionnaires comprising a demographic information section and a Likert-type inventory were used. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) accounted for statistical and descriptive analysis; and Thematic Analysis for qualitative analysis. The findings of this study revealed that a greater number of teachers had positive experiences within FSSs in Umlazi district. However, disabling conditions that prevent teachers to be completely convinced of Inclusive Education (IE) were found to be: Lack of support from the Department of Education (DoE), teachers’ perceived incompetency when dealing with impaired children, insufficient resources, maltreatment of disabled children by their non-disabled peers, lack of parental support, large class sizes and shortage of staff. With regards to the variables of interest in relation to the experiences of teachers in FSSs, it was discovered that: male teachers expressed more positive experiences than their female counterparts; it appeared that the higher the qualification, the more teachers felt confident about teaching in FSSs; more Indian teachers reported having favorable experience than black African teachers; and teachers with more years of teaching experience indicated optimism towards teaching in FSSs than teachers with less teaching experience. Recommendations from the current study suggest that teacher pre-service training be tailored in accordance with the requirements of teaching in a FSS. Workshops and conferences should be conducted to provide teachers with recent updated teaching material that will allow them to stay relevant with the IE curriculum. Furthermore, psycho-education around the maltreatment of disabled children should be provided to schools and communities in an attempt to bring awareness about disability and advocacy against the exclusion and the ill-treatment of the disabled. Again, psycho-education should be provided to families to bring awareness regarding the importance of the caregiver’s active role in the academic and personal life of a child. This would entail the process of providing education and information to families of children that attend FSSs. These recommendations would bridge a gap in the challenges that are experienced in FSSs.