Thesis (PhD (Educational Psychology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Until recently, learners with intellectual disability were legislatively marginalised from
participation in mainstream education in South Africa. Since the advent of
democracy in South Africa in 1994, legislation has been passed and education policy
developed which supports the inclusion of learners with intellectual disability in
mainstream secondary schools.
This research was prompted by a problem situation which occurred in the Western
Cape of South Africa when it became apparent that many learners described as
having mild intellectual disability could not be accommodated within the School of
Skills (previously a Special Secondary School) to which they had applied. The
purpose of the research has been to evaluate the implementation of a programme of
support developed collaboratively between various stakeholders to allow for the
inclusion of these learners within six urban mainstream secondary schools.
Through its guiding transformative theoretical framework and its evolving design, the
evaluation of the programme has attempted to be as inclusive as possible. It has
used qualitative research methods in order to seek out the views and encourage the
participation of diverse stakeholders; from the learners whose social and academic
wellbeing and advancement have been the central focus of this study, to individuals
representing various systems surrounding these learners.
In order to do justice to the complexity of the programme implementation and
evaluation process and to identify and accurately represent common themes and
categories which emerged over time, data transformation has been emphasised in
three different ways; namely a description, an analysis and an interpretation. The
observations and themes which have emerged from this evaluation have highlighted
various factors which were seen to advance or impede the inclusion of learners with
mild intellectual disability in the six secondary schools; the extent to which the
learners' social and academic wellbeing had been advanced by the programme; and
the degree to which problem solving was evident in the participating secondary
schools and the local education authority. Prolonged and sustained engagement in a
process of programme development, implementation and evaluation suggests that
positive educational and social transformation is enabled when stakeholders are
given the time and space to reflect upon their intentions and practice.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/1353 |
| Date | 12 1900 |
| Creators | Loebenstein, Harriet |
| Contributors | Engelbrecht, Petra, Newmark, Rona, University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Education. Dept. of Educational Psychology. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | University of Stellenbosch |
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