While the move towards the inclusion of learners with a learning disability gains momentum, the Deaf community is reluctant for the inclusion of deaf learners in a mainstream society. Arguing that the needs of deaf learners are entirely different to those of other learning disabilities, they believe that a mainstream educational environment will deprive a deaf learner with a sense of identity and a common culture. Consequently, the purpose of this research essay is to investigate the experiences of a solitary mainstreamed deaf learner in a high school educational environment, and to try and ascertain the effect such an educational environment has had on him. My participant is currently the only deaf learner in his school. He is completing Grade 12 this year at an IEB school. Utilising an oral-audal mode of communication, as well as having a cochlear implant and an assistive device, the participant communicates predominantly through lip-reading and speaking English. He identifies himself as belonging to a hearing world, and as such his exposure to other deaf peers, Deaf culture and Sign language is minimal. This research study employed a qualitative research design and data was collected using documentation, an open questionnaire, observation and an in-depth interview. All data collected was analysed using the qualitative content analysis technique. Each data source was analysed, data was broken down into codes, grouped into common categories and finally placed in educationally relevant themes. In this research essay, four themes were identified, namely the learning environment, mode of communication, socialisation in a hearing world and mainstream versus specialised educational settings. Through the analysis of the data it became evident that aspects such as the curriculum, educators’ teaching strategies and methodologies, as well as the school’s extra-curricular programme all contributed to the learner’s learning environment. While utilising an oral-audal mode of communication, the participant’s audal input is affected by his ability to lip-read, environmental pollution, and his familiarity with the speaker. Because he has been exposed to a hearing environment from birth, he has developed adequate socialisation skills. While preferring to socialise with individuals who are familiar with him, he does however not mind socialising with strangers. As such he has developed good social skills. While having been exposed to both a mainstream and a specialised educational setting during his educational career, the participant has enjoyed the opportunities mainstream education has afforded him and encourages other deaf learners to mainstream as he has. He does however state that in order to succeed within a mainstream environment, the deaf learner has to be self-motivated, confident and an active participant both in and out of the classroom. In addition, the participant felt that having mainstreamed had affected his character, making him quieter, more sensitive, gentle and emotionally strong. In essence, the following study has helped to highlight both the benefits and challenges a deaf learner faces in a mainstream educational environment. Through the concerted and unified efforts of all stakeholders – the school, its educators, the deaf learner and his family, it becomes evident that deaf learners can be successfully included and achieve positive academic, emotional and social development. / Mrs. O.R. Pettipher

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2004. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-115).

No description available.

The study investigated Black educators' readiness for the management of inclusive education in rural and township primary schools. It is a questionnaire-based field study employing basic descriptive statistics as well as qualitative analyses. It set out two aims: (1) to determined Black primary school educators' level of knowledge about inclusive education; and (2) to determine the attitude of Black primary school educators towards inclusive education. The sample for the study comprised 100 randomly selected Black primary school educators drawn from two randomly selected educational regions of KwaZulu-Natal. The study was guided by two hypotheses relating to Black educators: (1) Educators in rural and township primary schools are unable to meet the intellectual and socio-emotional needs of disabled learners; and (2) Educators in rural and township primary schools have a negative attitude towards inclusive education. The first hypothesis was confirmed, supported mainly by the finding that 97% of the sample indicated that they needed to know more about inclusive education before deciding to teach in it, and the finding that 65% would like to teach in inclusive education, but felt incompetent. The second hypothesis was rejected. The attitude of the educators was largely positive, supported by the following findings: 75% of the sample preferred to be engaged in inclusive education; 81% were confident that inclusive education would benefit learners with mild-to-moderate disabilities; only 2% was not interested in, and did not wish to know more about inclusive education; only 16% was not prepared to give extra attention that disabled children required; and 81% percent were confident that inclusive education would benefit learners with mild-to-moderate disabilities. Some recommendations are made in the light of the findings. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Durban-Westville, 2003.

This research focuses on pupils with special needs in mainstream schools. It is concerned with how their identities and experiences are constructed at a formal level, within official documents, and informally, in the way the pupils are talked about. A Foucauldian perspective provided the framework for analysing formal and informal discourses and the power/knowledge relations these contain. Formal SEN discourses were examined by analysing the Warnock and HMI reports and earlier official documents. At an informal level, accounts were obtained from eleven pupils with a range of special educational needs and their peers. The pupils were also observed within mainstream classrooms and playgrounds. The pupils' accounts challenged the appropriateness of conventional binary divisions, for example disabled/able-bodied; integrated/segregated, for understanding the identities and experiences of pupils with SEN. The data suggest a much more continuous process of construction, characterised by oscillations, uncertainties and ambivalences and by resistance from the pupils with SEN. A number of implications for the placement of pupils with special educational needs in mainstream schools are considered. These relate to how schools might build on mainstream pupils' existing understanding of disability and ensure that integration is a positive experience for all.

Thesis (M.Ed. (Literacy and Language))--University of South Australia, 1995.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Waikato, 2007. / Title from PDF cover (viewed March 17, 2008) Includes bibliographical references (p. 181-198)

Thesis, PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Frances P. Connor. Dissertation Committee: Thurston A. Atkins. Bibliography: leaves 163-189.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 1976. / Title from title page screen, viewed Dec. 3, 2004. Dissertation Committee: Clayton Thomas (chair), Sam Price, Dean S. Hage, D. Gene Watson, Louise Dieterle. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-84) and abstract. Also available in print.