The introduction of Inclusive Education in South Africa was part of the democratisation
of the country and was in line with international trends. Based on the Constitution, the
South African government produced a policy document aimed at meeting the needs of
learners with barriers to learning, the underlying principle of which was inclusion. The
South African Schools Act was passed, clearly stating that a public school must admit
learners and serve their educational requirements, without unfairly discriminating in any
way. Based on the rights that all learners have, including those with barriers to learning,
no learner can be turned away from a public school based on any discrimination.
Previously teachers referred learners with barriers to learning to special schools, as they
did not see them belonging to the mainstream.
The purpose of this study was to identify the educators' perceptions about learners with
barriers to learning and development and how this may affect the implementation of
Inclusive Education. The survey method was used to identify the educators' perceptions
about learners with barriers to learning and development and how this may affect the
implementation of Inclusive Education. More detailed information on the essential
aspects for successful implementation of inclusive education was collected through the
use of questionnaire and interviews. Fifty eight participants were chosen randomly and
four special school educators and ten education regional officials were purposively
included as participants. The participants completed the questionnaires, and interviews
were used to obtain response clarity or additional information.
The collected data were analysed and categorised into themes. From the analysis of the
data it became apparent that inclusive education requires new skills, knowledge and
attitudes from the educators and, therefore, educator education and training should be
revisited and designed to accommodate and support inclusion. Educators also agreed that
there must be collaboration between the mainstream educators and specialized personnel
such as therapists and education specialists from the Department of Education for
successful inclusion to be able to address barriers to learning. / Thesis (M.Ed) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2007
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/16979 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Tlale, Lloyd Daniel Nkoli |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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