scholarly journals Educators as mediators in teaching English as First Additional Language in Grade 6 inclusive classrooms in South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Margaret Chauke ◽  
Ramodungoane Tabane

Educators are one of the stakeholders in the education system working to ensure learner success. According to the Minimum Requirements For Teacher Education Qualifications, educators must fulfil 7 roles in their quest to impart education. In the study reported on her, we investigated Grade 6 educators’ knowledge and use of mediation as one of their roles in teaching English as First Additional Language (FAL) in Grade 6 inclusive classrooms. We further investigated how educators responded to learners who had diverse learning needs in English as FAL in Grade 6 inclusive classrooms. Six educators who taught English as FAL were purposively selected to participate in this study. Data were collected using qualitative research methods such as in-depth interviews and observations, in addition to document analysis. The participating educators indicated that large classes, a lack of training on inclusive education, and the scarcity of teaching resources made their mediation roles in teaching English as FAL in Grade 6 inclusive classrooms very challenging.

SAGE Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 215824401769716 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dikeledi Mahlo

This qualitative study draws from Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory, which emphasizes interaction between the systems of education. The study argues that if teachers are able to cater for diversity in their classes, the vision of inclusive education will be realized. Inclusive education requires all learners with the diverse needs to be able to access education and succeed in their schooling careers. Ten teachers who are teaching in the Foundation Phase were purposively selected to form part of the study; data were collected through interviews, observations, and document analysis. Teachers indicated that large classes, lack of parental support, training for teachers, and social problems of the learners were making the teaching of learners with diverse needs challenging. This article focussed on the factors that are considered by teachers in the study as barriers to catering of learners with diverse needs, concluding that if teachers are provided with support, more learners will be able to sail through the system of education.


2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 217-229
Author(s):  
Mumpuniarti Mumpuniarti ◽  
Rendy Roos Handoyo ◽  
Diajeng Tyas Phytanza ◽  
Dewi Barotuttaqiyah

Regular teacher training for schools implementing inclusive education is expected to affect the teachers mastery of learning competency. The results of the training need to be examined to determine some aspects of competency that need to be trained further, so that it is beneficial to an ideal inclusive education. This study aims to describe regular teachers most important aspects of competency, as well as their obstacles and challenges in implementing learning in inclusive schools. The research instrument consisted of 21 closed-ended questions and 4 open-ended questions. The data from the 21 closed questions were analyzed using percentage of answers from respondents, and respondents' answers to the open-ended questions were analyzed using the categorization of the challenges faced by teachers for inclusive learning. The findings from the study shows that the inclusive teachers possessed the pedagogical competence to help them face the diversity of the students from various aspects; the regular teachers were able to manage the diverse learning needs; the regular teacher competence to help slow-learners was able to change abstract concepts into concrete forms; the regular teachers found some obstacles in managing students diversity; and the regular teachers challenges in implementing inclusive education included diverse teaching methods, competence to modify learning, and professional improvement achievement.


Author(s):  
Petra Engelbrecht

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.


2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Franciscus Adi Prasetyo ◽  
Jajang Gunawijaya

Self-stigma experienced by people who experience schizophrenia has influence on reduced self-esteem, on powerlessness, the weakening of hope, and a motivation towards recovery. The aim of this study is to explain the efforts of people suffering schizophrenia to manage their self-stigma through self-control, using a case study approach. Based on the purposive sampling technique, five people with schizophrenia were selected as the cases to be studied. Data collection techniques utilized in-depth interviews, observation, and documentary studies. The analysis of the study data employed the stages of data reduction, data display, and data verification. Improvement in study quality employed the triangulation of data sources by checking the data to determine its consistency. The results of this study indicate that people with schizophrenia who have the ability to self-control can overcome self-stigma through changes in the manner of viewing themselves, self-training through activities, having endurance, having an honest approach, being able to explain schizophrenia from a positive viewpoint, having initiative, and having a positive attitude and the courage to face challenges.


2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Madhu Upadhaya

Author(s):  
Ruth Swanwick

This chapter proposes a pedagogical framework for deaf education that builds on a sociocultural perspective and the role of interaction in learning. Pedagogical principles are argued that recognize the dialogic nature of learning and teaching and the role of language as “the tool of all tools” in this process. Building on established work on classroom talk in deaf education, the issues of dialogue in deaf education are extended to consider deaf children’s current learning contexts and their diverse and plural use of sign and spoken languages. Within this broad language context, the languaging and translanguaging practices of learners and teachers are explained as central to a pedagogical framework that is responsive to the diverse learning needs of deaf children. Within this pedagogical framework practical teaching strategies are suggested that draw on successful approaches in the wider field of language learning and take into account the particular learning experience and contexts of deaf children.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2300
Author(s):  
Constanza San Martin ◽  
Chenda Ramirez ◽  
Rubén Calvo ◽  
Yolanda Muñoz-Martínez ◽  
Umesh Sharma

Teachers play an important role in the success of inclusive practices for diverse learners in regular classrooms. It is, therefore, important to examine their beliefs and preparation to teach in inclusive classrooms. The main purpose of this study was to analyze the attitude of active Chilean teachers (n = 569) towards inclusion, their self-efficacy regarding inclusive practices, and their intention to teach in inclusive classrooms. Our secondary objectives were to explore the relationship between their attitudes and self-efficacy and to determine the influence of demographic and professional variables on these two constructs. A positive and significant relationship between teachers’ attitude and self-efficacy was found. Teacher qualification was not significantly related to attitudes towards inclusion but was negatively associated with their self-efficacy beliefs concerning inclusive practices. Secondary education teachers reported lower teaching efficacy beliefs for inclusion than pre-school, primary, and special education teachers. The type of school emerged as a significant predictor of teachers’ attitude and self-efficacy beliefs. The implications of this research and need for additional teacher and in-service training to improve educators’ attitudes and self-efficacy are discussed.


Author(s):  
Hemlata

The philosophy of inclusion is not new to India. It was very much there in the ancient times when all children were sent to ‘gurukuls’ for education. In today's context also, the emphasis is on providing education to all children in an inclusive environment. Inclusive education means education of all children, with and without disabilities together in regular schools. It is an approach, which takes into account unique characteristics, interests, abilities and learning needs of all children. It is an attempt to meet the unique needs of every child in a regular school setting where all children, including those with disability, try to participate in all facets of school life. The goal is to provide accommodating and personalized education for all students within the context of a general educational classroom. The need of the hour is to develop a universal design of learning which makes learning joyful for all children.


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