Magister Educationis - MEd / School admission policies are powerful tools that can sometimes contain provisions that are in conflict with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa and other legislation and policies which regulate education in South Africa. Provisions relating to fees, documents required for admission and specific admission practices may have the effect of excluding certain learners from admission to schools. Such practices include charging application fees, charging registration fees, administering admission tests and demanding only specific documents for proof of address. On the face of it, these practices may seem unproblematic, but in effect, they exclude certain learners. This may be contrary to South African Law. Section 36 of the Constitution allows for the limitation of rights. Differentiation or discrimination may be permissible; however, it is unfair discrimination that is prohibited. Consequently the constitutionality of these policies and practices investigated are measured against the protection afforded by the Constitution. This study identifies some of these exclusionary provisions and practices at schools and proposes possible ways to eradicate and combat them. Because the exclusion of learners, whether through school admission policies or practices, may unjustifiably encroach upon the rights of such learners, this is an investigation into a legal issue and a legal theoretical lens must, therefore, be used to address this phenomenon. This qualitative study thus determines whether or not, and if so, how school admissions policies function to exclude learners from schools. The research is based on the comparative analysis of various public documents including the Constitution; legislation; judicial decisions; awards of cases of the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) and policies of the Western Cape Education Department school admission policies and practices from five high schools and five primary schools in the Western Cape were sampled and analysed. The focus of the research is public schools in the Western Cape Province including specialised schools referred to as focus schools.

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Commitment to a single, inclusive education system has been the aspiration of reform in education in a democratic South Africa. The dilemma facing the democratically elected government was to write educational policy which, when translated into practice, would improve the educational standards offered to students in impoverished schools while at the same time allow the maintenance of the high standards achieved in schools which had been privileged under the apartheid system. There was, furthermore, the challenge of providing a curriculum that would be meaningful to students from diverse backgrounds bearing in mind the socio-historical moment within which education found itself.Research on inclusive education in the developed world has been extensive. There has been less research completed in developing world countries. Situated in the Pietermaritzburg area of KwaZulu‐Natal (KZN), South Africa, a developing world country, participants in the current study were parents of children with disabilities, aide workers, regular and special educators, managers who made decisions affecting the education of these children, and the children themselves. The research is positioned in the theory of interpretivism which provided the opportunity to give a voice to the participants, to interpret how they made sense of their world. The methodology used was qualitative description with an evaluation component. Qualitative description allowed the discovery and understanding of "a phenomenon, a process, or the perspectives and worldviews of the people involved" (Merriam, 1998, p. 11). Data are presented so that the participants' point of view could be understood and made explicit (Artinian, 1988). Using qualitative description, this current study explored the beliefs about disability and inclusive education specifically of stakeholders in the education of disabled children. The evaluation component provided the means of ascertaining the extent to which disabled students were having their educational needs met, and the extent to which the policy ideals of inclusive education, as articulated in White Paper 6 (Department of Education, 2001), were being achieved.Inclusive education in this present study is viewed as a multifaceted construct which shares a reciprocal relationship with various theoretical determinants. The determinants considered in the present study are (a) concept of other, (b) disability discourse, (c) equity, (d) reconceptualist/incrementalist approaches to inclusive education, and (e) prerequisites for regular and special educator buy-in.Findings revealed that there was evidence of inclusive education beginning to be implemented in KZN in that barriers to learning for many students were being addressed and removed. The specific provision in policy documents directed towards children with disabilities was behind schedule, however, and there was little evidence of full inclusion of students with disabilities in regular education. Reasons for this were multiple and were explored in relation to criteria at a macro- and micro-level, distilled from the literature, which seem to be necessary for the successful inclusion of students with disabilities.The most significant macro-level factors were (i) the legacy of apartheid and the democratic process, moving towards a liberal democracy, still being in progress; (ii) the discourse around disability espoused by the majority of the population resulting in high levels of ostracism of the disabled; and (iii) the disabled becoming lost in the wide definition of need in the barriers to learning approach to inclusive education.The most significant micro-level factors were (i) regular educators being reluctant to embrace the inclusive education initiative because of problems they had encountered with another recent initiative, the implementation of Outcomes Based Education; (ii) special educators fearing for their students if they were to be included without the requisite preparation and support; and (iii) some parents lacking the efficacy to access education of any sort for their disabled children.These macro- and micro-level findings exist within a multifaceted array of factors, an intricate web of nuances and complexity.

Inclusion is the practice of serving the needs of all students, with a full range of abilities and disabilities, in the general classroom with appropriate in-class support. Using qualitative case studies, this thesis explores the inclusive placement of three students with a hearing impairment. The students came from non-English speaking backgrounds, used hearing technology to access the class program and were eager to attend their local primary school. They had different types of hearing losses and were the only hearing-impaired students enrolled at their school. Five variables were examined which influenced the success of the inclusive placement. These included the student's academic, social and physical performance, the school environment and parental/family support. The constant comparative method was used to analyse data collected in each case study. Findings from the case studies identified strengths and weaknesses in the students' inclusive placement, and also provided data for future research and discussion on inclusive education / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Inclusive education is a recent phenomenon in the education system in Papua New Guinea. It is about giving equal educational opportunities to all children, whether with disabilities or not in the regular school or classroom. Schools are considered as social institutions that should endeavour to enhance all children's lives through appropriate teaching and learning practices. However, the school culture, which is generally defined as 'how things are done here' is vital for the promotion of inclusive practices. The main aim of this study was to identify the school cultural features and practices that influenced or did not influence inclusive education, and the impact on inclusion. Teachers and school administrators appeared to play a vital role in enhancing inclusive practices through their practices. The study was based on an interpretive/naturalistic research paradigm, the qualitative research approach and the case study methodology. Four schools were studied and categorised as rural and urban settings. The main purpose of categorisation was to identify some similarities and differences in terms of how inclusion was promoted in these schools. Teachers and school administrators were chosen as the main participants. The primary source of data collection was semi-structured interviews. Interview questions were developed for both teachers and school administrators respectively. A non-participant observation method was used as a support instrument to collect more data from selected research participants based on the preliminary interview data. The results suggested the existence of four broad school cultural features and practices. These included staff understanding of special and inclusive education concepts, leadership and organisation, school cultural features/practices and implications for staff, and policies. Teachers and school administrators appeared to have limited knowledge and understanding about what constitutes special and inclusive education practices. However, the school leadership, collaboration and inspection practices minimally influenced inclusive practices. At the same time other school cultural features such as the outcomes-based education curriculum and ecological assessment seemed to have the potential to influence the outcomes of the process of inclusion. The results suggest the value of Callan Services as a school support service agency to influence inclusive education in the Southern Highlands Province. It was noted that children with disabilities were already part of the education system. Though the teachers and school administrators claimed this to be inclusive education, according to the literature this was a manifestation of functional mainstreaming practices. The teachers and school administrators and the Department of Education at the provincial and national levels appeared to take less responsibility in disseminating information pertaining to inclusive practices. The teachers and school administrators received limited support and information from the national and provincial Departments of Education. Therefore, the special education policies developed at the national level had not trickled down to the school level. This situation created a gap between inclusive education policy and practice. One of the major channels of communication and connection was through the inspectors and their inspection practices, but this appeared to have been under-utilised.

While recognising the complexity of inclusive educational policy for teachers, this thesis argues that a constructive approach for future action may be accomplished by drawing on teachers’ own accounts of significant characteristics contributing to effective inclusion. Accordingly, it is proposed that an understanding of the realities constructed by teachers involved in inclusive practice provides imperatives for future action. In particular, this study explores the finer structures of changed pedagogy, professional development of teachers and the vision of quality education for all that underpin the fabric of inclusive schooling. Furthermore, the study suggests that the focus on teachers’ own accounts or voice provides a major resource with which to theorise and analyse the actuality of inclusive practice and to help overcome barriers to success. In examining the work realities of teachers involved in inclusive education this thesis reports on the results of an empirically grounded and theoretically informed enquiry of the major educational reform of including students with disabilities into regular classroom settings. The case study site for this investigation included two schools, within the State of Victoria, Australia. Primary evidence generated through this study suggests that teachers’ work is a vital contributing factor to successful inclusion, despite the overpowering emphasis on additional funding within the political construction of policy implementation. However, teachers’ existing professional expertise and their professional development needs have not been a key focus of policies directed at sustaining the changed political culture required by inclusion. Drawing on relevant research literature and research evidence, this study argues against the political reductionism of both liberal pluralism and systems theory approaches that have dominated State policy action in inclusive education. In contrast the evidence presented in this thesis suggests the need to reconsider and revalue the knowledge and expertise generated by the education policy actors in this field, namely classroom teachers and school administrators involved in institutional planning and practice. It is these knowledgeable education workers who really influence policy implementation. The significance of this research is that the ‘insiders’ are presented as potentially important drivers shaping the mechanisms for educational reform. For this reason the framework of this study centres on the communicative infrastructures within existing institutions (schools) and the policy actors (teachers) who come together to formulate issues and professional directions. Therefore, the review of the research literature sets out to identify key theories and evidence pertaining to the teachers’ knowledge and learning communities. Literature on the importance of individual and collective agency is reviewed and situated in terms of the debates over the communicative action and life worlds of teachers at the sites of inclusive education reform. In turn, this provides a pathway for establishing the secondary evidence concerning what is currently known about the life worlds of teachers where change engages with struggles over ideological totality, elitist political agendas and the actualities of educational reform. Transcending critical and interpretive paradigms of educational research, capturing teachers���� voice on the complexities of inclusive education, the study moves beyond critical analysis of the way policies construct, or fail to construct, institutions and individuals within them. Inclusion is viewed through the life worlds of teachers involved in integration and inclusive programs, and situated within the context of their communicative actions. Data was generated through unstructured interviews where there was an emphasis on informal contexts and open communication that was free from system distortion. Communicative interaction was then expanded through a second semi-structured interview for the purpose of validation of the data and for testing the researcher’s construction of received messages. In addition feedback regarding emergent themes and representative quotes was also requested from participants. In this study the situated meaning of teachers’ work as an expression of policy-in practice was explored in relation to the textual framing created by State policy, institutions (schools) and teachers’ own skills and knowledge. The major perceptual elements for this research focus on the interrelation between these policy contexts, the paradigm that frames teacher’s professional knowledge and the pathways and processes for teaching and learning to occur. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This qualitative study examined the perceptions of stakeholders (administrators, principals, teachers, students, parents of students with/without disabilities and community members) in the Kalulushi District of Zambia�s Copperbelt province about their views on inclusive education in their district. The study provided a detailed, comprehensive portrait of the views of stakeholders, a view which can serve as a medium through which Zambia can familiarise itself with issues and concerns surrounding inclusion, anticipate problems and plan strategies for success. This study�s primary purpose was to obtain the perceptions of stakeholders in the district regarding a trial of inclusion and to compare their issues and concerns with those encountered in developed countries. The collection of data was conducted over a period of two months and involved interviews, surveys, and focus groups with all stakeholders and analysis of national and local policy. The thesis provided a rich description and detailed analysis of the views of stakeholders regarding issues and concerns about inclusion. Among the findings are that (a) general economic conditions, restructuring programs and medical and social-cultural issues have a huge impact on the implementation of inclusion; (b) schools in the district have few human and material resources to support inclusion; (c) students with/without disabilities and most stakeholders, except teachers, tend to favour inclusion; and (d) the agenda for donor countries complicate educational reform in developing countries.

<p>When Vladimir Putin in the year 2000 came to power in Russia many believed that the Russian civil society were weak and had very little influence and with Putin people say that the situation have deteriorated. The purpose of this paper is to establish what kind of relationship exists between the Russian state and the civil society and to analyze this from a top-down perspective. We are looking at Russia during Putins first term in office from the year 2000 until 2004. In order to establish the relationship we have used John S. Dryzeks theory of inclusive and exclusive state and whether it’s active or passive in this process. The method used in this paper is a qualitative case study design. We concluded that the Russian state is an exclusive state rather then an inclusive one. When it comes to establish if the state is active or passive is more difficult but we feel that it’s more of a passive state then active.</p>

<p>All inclusive travel has become a popular way to travel abroad. When tourists pay for everything in advance their need for contact with the local people will be reduced. The consequences of this can be dissatisfaction from the local people as they are left out and do not share the financial benefits created by tourism. During the purchasing cycle of an all inclusive travel, it is possible that the tour operator can influence a sustainable development.</p><p>The aim of this paper is to compare how a large and a small tour operator in their purchase of all inclusive holidays interacts with local players to create sustainable development, thereby creating a surplus value to the customer. The hypothesis is that the amount of knowledge and application of this knowledge regarding sustainable development differs in the purchase process between large and small tour operators.</p><p>This paper was carried out as a case study. We conducted two deep interviews with the chosen tour operators Fritidsresor and PolarQuest. We came to our conclusion by analyzing the answers from the two tour operators and comparing them to the chosen theories. We found that Fritidsresor, as a large tour operator, has knowledge of sustainable development. However they do not use this knowledge in their purchase of all inclusive travels. Nor do they interact with local players to create surplus value to the customer. PolarQuest on the other hand succeed to create sustainable development by interaction with local players. The exchange of knowledge and information between the parties create surplus value for the customer. This conclusion confirms our hypothesis.</p>

Thesis (M.Ed.)--Regis University, Denver, Colo., 2006. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Feb. 20, 2007). Includes bibliographical references.