Developing Inclusive Schools in South Africa

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petra Engelbrecht
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Education System ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Learning And Development ◽  
Barriers To Learning ◽  
Diverse Learning ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Inclusive Schools

In South Africa, new legislation and policies on inclusive education in the post-apartheid era since 1994 have placed a strong emphasis on equity, equality, and human rights, as defined in the South African Constitution. As a result, a White Paper on building an inclusive education and training system was published in 2001. It acknowledges the failure of the education system to respond to the barriers to learning and development experienced by a substantial number of learners, including diverse learning needs caused by, for example, language, socioeconomic, or gender issues as well as disabilities. This policy document describes inclusive education as being based on the ideals of equity and equality and as a result recognizing and respecting learner and learning diversity within mainstream schools. As stated in the policy, in practice this means identifying and removing barriers in the education system to ensure that the full range of diverse learning needs are met in mainstream classrooms as well as providing support to learners and teachers in addressing barriers to learning and development. Research studies on the implementation of inclusive education in South Africa, however, are finding that despite the development of a wide range of implementation guidelines since 2007, complex interrelated issues continue to complicate the development of successful inclusive schools. These issues include a continued divergence of views of inclusive education with a continuing strong belief in special education and separate educational settings by most teachers, therefore leading to a resultant lack of clarity regarding the implementation of inclusive education at the level of local practice in schools and classrooms. These differences in the understanding of inclusive education and its enactment in diverse school contexts also bring the question of power and agency into South African debates about inclusive education: who should decide which version of inclusive education should be the goal of the development of inclusive education in a specific school district or a specific school. Furthermore, contextual issues including the lack of financial and human resources, for example effectively trained teachers, effectively functioning district educational support teams for schools in specific school districts, lack of textbooks, and overcrowded classrooms, play a dominant role in the development of effective inclusive schools.

Developing inclusive policy and practice in diverse contexts: A South African experience

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 631-643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Berenice Daniels
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
School Psychologists ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
White Paper ◽  
National Commission ◽  
Barriers To Learning ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Inclusive Policy ◽  
Education Support

Pre-1994, South Africa was a country riddled with inequality and discrimination stemming from the policy of ‘apartheid’. Since 1994, there have been considerable efforts made to enable the country to move toward becoming non-racial and democratic, with a culture of human rights and social justice. One of the primary tasks of the new democratically elected government was a reform of the education system. Specialized Education was initially neglected, but then in 1996 a National Commission was appointed to investigate Special Needs in Education and Education Support Services, of which the author was one of the co-ordinators. The timeline for the full implementation of the resulting White Paper 6 on Inclusive Education is 20 years. Inclusive Education in South Africa aims to meet the needs of all learners by addressing barriers to learning, welcoming diversity and fostering maximum participation by all in the culture of the school. This article, based on the author’s experience, will discuss the challenges for implementation of the policy in one of the South African districts which field-tested the recommendations in White Paper 6, a district with diverse contexts, the emerging promising practice, and the implications for specialized support professionals, in particular the role of school psychologists.

scholarly journals The implementation of inclusive education in South Africa: Reflections arising from a workshop for teachers and therapists to introduce Universal Design for Learning

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth M. Dalton ◽  
Judith A. Mckenzie ◽  
Callista Kahonde
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Universal Design ◽  
Universal Design For Learning ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Curriculum Differentiation ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Design For Learning ◽  
Inclusive Education Policy

South Africa has adopted an inclusive education policy in order to address barriers to learning in the education system. However, the implementation of this policy is hampered by the lack of teachers’ skills and knowledge in differentiating the curriculum to address a wide range of learning needs. In this paper we provided a background to inclusive education policy in South Africa and a brief exposition of an instructional design approach, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) that addresses a wide range of learning needs in a single classroom. We reported on a workshop conducted with teachers and therapists in South Africa as a first attempt to introduce UDL in this context. Knowledge of UDL was judged to be appropriate and useful by the course participants in the South African context as a strategy for curriculum differentiation in inclusive classrooms. Furthermore, knowledge of the UDL framework facilitates dialogue between teachers and therapists and provides a relatively simple and comprehensive approach for curriculum differentiation. We therefore conclude that there is potential for this approach that can be expanded through further teacher training.

scholarly journals Teaching Mathematics during the COVID-19 Lockdown in a Context of Historical Disadvantage

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 177
Author(s):  
Brantina Chirinda ◽  
Mdutshekelwa Ndlovu ◽  
Erica Spangenberg
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Education System ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Education Community ◽  
South African Education

The COVID-19 global pandemic widely affected education across the world and engendered unprecedented scenarios that required expeditious responses. In South Africa, the pandemic came on top of pre-existing inequalities in the education system. Using a qualitative research method of exploratory and descriptive nature, this study engaged a social justice framework to explore the teaching and learning of mathematics during the COVID-19 lockdown in a context of historical disadvantage. A sample of twenty-three Grade 12 mathematics teachers at various public secondary schools in Gauteng, South Africa was used in the study. The teachers were selected through purposive sampling. A Google-generated open-ended questionnaire and follow-up telephonic interviews were used to collect data. Data were analysed thematically in five steps. The findings revealed that the WhatsApp platform is a valuable tool that can support the teaching and learning of mathematics beyond the classroom in the contexts of historical disadvantage. The findings also provided insights into how mathematics teachers became learners themselves during emergency remote teaching (ERT) as they had to adapt to digital teaching, find solutions to unfamiliar problems and acquire knowledge from a larger mathematics education community around the globe. The article discusses these findings and teachers’ challenges of transitioning from traditional face-to-face classrooms to ERT and how they were addressed. At the time of publishing the article, most learners in South Africa had started going to school on a rotational basis. Nonetheless, the study reported in this article is of importance as ERT in the context of historical disadvantage has foregrounded issues of inequality in the South African education system that must be dealt with urgently.

scholarly journals The essential role of physiotherapists in providing rehabilitation services to people living with HIV in South Africa

2013 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Cobbing ◽  
V. Chetty ◽  
J. Hanass-Hancock ◽  
J. Jelsma ◽  
H. Myezwa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
People Living With Hiv ◽  
Highly Active ◽  
Hiv Epidemic ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Living With Hiv ◽  
Education Courses

Despite increased access to highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) in South Africa, there remains a high risk of people living with HIV (PLHIV) developing a wide range of disabilities. Physiotherapists are trained to rehabilitate individuals with the disabilities related to HIV. Not only can South African physiotherapists play a significant role in improving the lives of PLHIV, but by responding proactively to the HIV epidemic they can reinforce the relevance and value of the profession in this country at a time when many newly qualified therapists are unable to secure employment. This paper offers recommendations that may help to fuel this response. These ideas include enhancing HIV curricula at a tertiary level, designing and attending continuing education courses on HIV and researching Southern African rehabilitation interventions for HIV at all levels of practice. furthermore, it is vital that physiotherapists are at the forefront of directing multi-disciplinary responses to the rehabilitation of PLHIV in order to influence stakeholders who are responsible for health policy formulation. it is hoped that this paper stimulates discussion and further ideas amongst physiotherapists and other health professionals in order to improve the quality and access to care available to PLHIV in South Africa.

scholarly journals Challenges South African youth face in education and their quest to eradicate issues of the past

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Kim Barnes
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Education System ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
The Past ◽  
African Youth ◽  
Democratic Elections ◽  
Unequal Opportunities

The youth of South Africa today face many challenges in their daily lives. The majority of South Africa's population is made up of youth- people aged between 15 and 35 years old. The youth in South Africa face challenges such as crime, unemployment, poverty, and most importantly unequal opportunities in education. These challenges should not be present in the daily lives of South African youth, especially since it has been over two decades since South Africa’s first democratic elections. The challenges that are faced in the education system is explored and solutions are suggested to help end the chain of poverty.

scholarly journals Critical agency in the post-apartheid education system

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nazir Carrim
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
South African ◽  
Educational System ◽  
Education System ◽  
The South ◽  
African Education ◽  
South African Education

This paper looks at critical agency in the South African education system. There has been a consistent linking of critical thinking with critical agency under apartheid, and that this was constructed by a ‘critical struggle’ (Touraine, 1985) against apartheid domination. However, this changed significantly in the post-apartheid moment, where compliance with the newly elected government is emphasised, and could be viewed in terms of ‘positive struggles’ (Touraine, 1986). These, however, limit critical agency in the post-apartheid formation. There is, nonetheless, evidence of critical agency being enacted in the post-apartheid education system. The importance of highlighting those forms of critical agency is crucial in order to enhance social justice in the post-apartheid educational system and society. This paper also links critical agency in the post-apartheid situation with the postcolonial and postmodern conditions because such conditions affect the possibilities of critical agency not only in South Africa but more generally.

scholarly journals Alternatives to Bankruptcy in South Africa that Provides for a Discharge of Debts: Lessons from Kenya

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 1-34
Author(s):  
Zingaphi Mabe
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
The South ◽  
Insolvency Law ◽  
Debt Restructuring ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Insolvency Proceedings ◽  
National Credit Act

The problems faced by debtors in South Africa is not that there are no alternatives to insolvency proceedings, but that the available alternatives do not provide for a discharge of debt as with a sequestration order, which is ultimately what the debtor seeks to achieve. Debtors in South Africa can make use of debt review in terms of the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 or administration orders in terms of the Magistrates' Court Act 32 of 1944 to circumvent the sequestration process. However, both debt review and administration orders do not provide for a discharge of debt and provide for debt-restructuring only, in order to eventually satisfy the creditor's claims. Attention is given to the sequestration process and the alternatives to sequestration as they relate specifically to the discharge or lack of a discharge of a debtor's debts. The South African law is compared to Kenyan Law. This article seeks to analyse the alternatives to the bankruptcy provisions of the newly enacted Kenyan Insolvency Act 18 of 2015 in order to influence the possible reform of insolvency law in South Africa. Like the South African Insolvency Act, the old Kenyan Bankruptcy Act (Cap 53 of the Laws of Kenya) also did not have alternatives to bankruptcy. The old Kenyan Bankruptcy Act, however, contained a provision on schemes of arrangement and compositions. The Kenyan Insolvency Act now caters for alternatives to bankruptcy and provides a wide range of alternatives to bankruptcy, some of which allow debtors in different financial positions to obtain a discharge.    

scholarly journals Inclusive Education at a South African University: Awakening the Sensitivities and Democratic Consciousness of Pre-Service Teachers

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 158
Author(s):  
Cina P. Mosito ◽  
Toyin Mary Adewumi ◽  
Charlene Nissen
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
South African ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Barriers To Learning ◽  
Curriculum Differentiation ◽  
Regular Classrooms ◽  
Education Training ◽  
Higher Purpose

One of the chief goals of inclusive education is to provide pre-service teachers with a learning environment and prospects that enable them to become independent, responsible and critical educators. This study sought to determine how pre-service teachers at a South African university experienced inclusive education training. A purposeful sample of 6 pre-service teachers was selected. Data were collected using open-ended questionnaires which were exploratory in nature, and then analysed thematically. Findings showed inter alia that studying inclusive education proved to be an “eye opener”: students were enlightened to various aspects of being an educator: (i) curriculum differentiation, (ii) diversity, (iii) learners’ rights and (iv) the fact that learners experiencing various barriers to learning can be accommodated successfully in  regular classrooms. It was revealed that studying inclusive education allowed pre-service teachers to appreciate the scope, value and higher purpose of teaching. The study shows that awareness of inclusive education enriches the training of pre-service teachers in South African schools.

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