Summary, recommendations and conclusion
7.3 Findings from the literature review
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The third research focus of this study involved investigating what support from the district is available to teachers and learners at this school. One of the key strategies for establishing inclusive education is the establishment of support structures responsible for providing a coordinated professional support service to schools. The full-service school is one of the institutions that should be receiving that quality support from the SBST and DBST. The findings in this study reveal that there is only one structure at school level (SBST), and the support received is minimal. The other support structure is not available in this district, and only the special education component seems to be responsible for inclusive education at this stage. The South African Ministry of Education believes that the key to reducing barriers to learning lies in a strengthened education support service; however, these structures remain on paper only inclusive education in this district is driven primarily by the special education component (SNES). The district managed to establish the support structures in some of the schools, so that these will provide support to learners and teachers.
Surprisingly, teachers have little or no knowledge and skills for responding to all learners’
needs. The lack of training presents serious challenges to the implementation of inclusive education at this full-service school. During the interview with the LSE she indicated that she had not received any support from either the provincial or district DoE. The DoE has neglected to empower her yet expects her to develop the full-service school to become a centre of care, learning and support.
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After 1994 South Africa established a democratic society, and after this educational policy changes took place;
In the past schools were categorised according to learners’ abilities, and there was no provision of support to special needs learners;
South Africa became part of initiatives and policies that paved the way for the inclusion model;
The availability of support across the board was envisaged;
South Africa adopted policy and legislation that emphasise the ideology and principles of human rights, social justice and quality education for all to address all the disparities imbalances of the past; and
The concept of full-service schools is envisaged in EWP6.
7.4 Recommendations for the DoE
This research acknowledges the initiatives that this country embarked on and the legislation that promotes inclusion. However, the findings show that the limited understanding of EWP6 and its implementation pose a challenge to most of the teachers at Ntabakayikhonjwa full- service school. The recommendations that I highlight are based on the findings of this study, my observations during data collection and data analysis. These recommendations aim to encourage debate on the challenges that this country is facing in the understanding of issues pertaining to inclusive education and its implementation. I am also aware that most studies conducted on inclusive education have some common recommendations, much like some of those that will be presented in the current study. Recommendations for the DoE include the following:
The way that teachers at this school relate their understanding of EWP6 indicates that they lack adequate training. The DoE needs to consider that most of the teachers have not received formal training in inclusive education, which makes it difficult for them to translate it into practice.
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The DoE needs to review the pre-service training they offer to teachers. The duration of the training, which is 2–3 weeks, is not enough to fully come to grips with the new innovation.
The DoE needs to thoroughly train teachers on the new concept so that learners experiencing barriers to learning and development receive the necessary support.
Furthermore, the DoE needs to provide enough personnel in full-service schools, as promised in EWP6, so that all full-service schools have an SC responsible for psycho- educational and social support.
Furthermore, there is a need for the strengthening of support to the SBST and the establishment of a DBST, since this district does not have an operational DBST. The strengthening and establishment of these structures will help in the successful implementation of inclusive education in uMngeni district.
The LSE plays a huge role in the full-service school, since she is an itinerant worker and responsible for providing support to teachers, learners and parents. I recommend that the LSE be stationed at a full-service school on full-time basis so that she will be able to support teachers and learners, since the concept of the full-service school is still very new in South Africa.
The findings reveal that there is no synergy between the mentioned DoE departments and that they work in silos. There needs to be synergy between the national, provincial and district departments. Once there is collaboration between the national, provincial and district departments within the DoE all schools will see the importance of implementing this innovation.
There is a need to strengthen collaboration between the sub-directorates within the DoE, for example, curriculum, assessment and examinations, physical infrastructure, early childhood and development, human resource services, governance and management.
There is also a need for consultation with all of the stakeholders involved in the implementation of inclusive education in South Africa.
Parents have a huge role to play in the implementation of inclusive education, and they also need training on the new concept of the full-service school so that they will be able to provide the necessary support to their children. The training of parents need not only
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be to parents of learners experiencing barriers to learning, but to all parents as envisaged in the policy document. Once they are involved in the learning of their children, they will be able to advocate to others.
I also recommend that parents be afforded an opportunity to be part of decision making regarding their children’s educational needs.
The literature reveals that full-service schools are expensive, and during data collection teachers indicated that they do not receive enough funding to implement inclusive education. Teachers felt that learning programmes are being compromised because of insufficient allocation of funds. I recommend that the DoE reviews the proposed funding norms and makes sure that all funds are distributed accordingly; this should include training SMTs on the appropriate utilisation of funds. By so doing full-service schools will be more effective, and learners with diverse needs will be appropriately accommodated.