may be urban areas in the same country or even foreign countries. In many cases, working parents leave their young children in rural areas which are perceived as more affordable and secure. The resultant latch- key children may however not have enough guidance from caretakers or elderly grandparents.
Material or physical understandings of rurality may be perceived as having constraints to inclusive education due to rurality. While many such perceptions cannot be denied, it is important to note that many of them may not be accurate. This is because many of us view the material conditions in rural areas using urban-centric lenses and therefore see only deficiencies and liabilities where there may be strengths and assets. These strengths and assets are discussed as opportunities for rural inclusive edu- cation in the following section.
lone individual. Presence, acceptance, participation and achievement in learning should therefore be defined by reference to the environing com- munity rather than any specific feature of the individual learner. This is because isolating, focusing on and privileging any innate features of the individual learner go against the indigenous knowledge espoused in Ubuntu. Indigenous Ubuntu knowledge manifests in proverbs that have a profound influence on views of teaching learners with disabilities.
Kisanji (1995) explains that proverbs generalise a community’s experi- ence, and Devlieger (1999) says they are containers of meaning on dis- ability. Two disability-related proverbs are utilised here to illustrate and illuminate the more generalised understanding of disability in African culture. The first proverb is Seka hurema wafa (Laugh at disability after you are dead—implying that one should never laugh at disability as one can get disabled even in old age). Devlieger (1999) stated that this prov- erb reflects the existential insecurity of laughing at someone with a dis- ability as anyone could become disabled one day. This proverb illustrates how Ubuntu places emphasis on the social rites of incorporation in school communities. Incorporation which entails making school communities accessible physically and epistemologically is discussed here.
The first level of incorporation relates to physical or formal access to schools. Children with disabilities need to be present in schools in order to be incorporated into the school community. Since anyone can become disabled at any time, all should therefore be catered for so that they can access schools. No one should be excluded by the way in which infra- structure is put up. Ubuntu therefore offers opportunities to utilise uni- versal design strategies that allow all to use the school infrastructure. For instance, schools could put up ramps instead of stairs in order allow both physically disabled and non-disabled members of the school community to access buildings. The advantage is that most rural school buildings are single storey and so flights of stairs may be unnecessary. Designing build- ings with all learners in mind obviates the need for making alterations to accommodate learners with physical disabilities as alterations to build- ings are likely to be perceived as too expensive. To enhance formal access to schools, the regulatory framework should not focus on innate charac- teristics of learners as qualifications for access. Once children with
disabilities are present in schools, then the environment can be made accepting.
Acceptance of children with disabilities in schools usually relates to positive attitudes that acknowledge that they are different, but not plac- ing a value judgment on the difference. Each learner is accepted irrespec- tive of any difference that they bring to school. Rather than viewing individual differences among learners as problems, Ubuntu in rural schools provides opportunities for those differences to be used as resources.
An Ubuntu-based proverb, Chirema ndochine zano, chinotamba chakasen- dama kumadziro (A deformed person is clever, he supports himself against a wall when dancing) demonstrates that people with physical disabilities are clever at finding solutions for activities that would seem difficult or impossible. The solutions that people with disabilities devise should be used as resources to solve related problems. This is particularly important in resource-constrained rural environments where creativity is essential in order to resolve problems. The important thing is that the people with disabilities need to actively participate in resolving problems.
Participation of each individual in learning is important for inclusive education. All learners need to be actively engaged in two ways. Firstly, each learner contributes what he or she can in both individual activity and collective or collaborative work. Secondly, each learner is actively engaged with information and no one is expected to just passively absorb information. These ubuntu-based ideas have firm support in constructiv- ist approaches to teaching and learning on which inclusive education is heavily grounded. The underlying idea is an acknowledgement that learn- ers interpret information and ideas through the experiences and theories that they bring to school. Urban-centric curricula would therefore appear to be inappropriate in rural schools. At the very least, the starting point for any meaningful teaching ought to be the rural experiences that the diverse children bring to school. Meaningful teaching and learning would enable effectiveness and achievement in rural schools.
Achievement within inclusive education entails supporting each learner so that they can achieve according to their potential. Support for each learner involves using Bronfenbrenner’s model to identify individual strengths and shortcomings as well as environmental assets and barriers.
Once these have been identified, focus is on supporting through
maximising the potential for strengths and assets as well as ameliorating the shortcomings and barriers. In rural areas, environmental assets usu- ally include a supportive extended family system. The assets of the extended family system need to be brought to bear on the barriers to academic and social development of learners.
Conclusion
This chapter explored how the particularities of rural communities can be considered in order to utilise meaningful indigenous knowledge to over- come perceived limitations by appropriately responding to diversity in rural schools. The chapter adopted understandings of rurality that recog- nise it as multifaceted, complex and fluid. The challenges of rural inclu- sive education were identified as revolving around the presence of children with disabilities in school. However, since the physical presence of chil- dren in school is only one of four concepts that are central to inclusive education, there are therefore many more opportunities than challenges for rural inclusive education. In this light, rural communities have many more unexplored, in-built strengths and assets that can be utilised for inclusive educational practices.
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