6.4 Macro level
6.4.3 Organisation and practices to support inclusion at the school and in the classroom
The criteria in the radii of the web in Walton’s and Nel’s inclusion web were used as a tool to identify the criteria of the organisation and practices that supported inclusion at Baobab School in the foundation phase classrooms. These criteria will be discussed in more detail below.
o Teacher training
South African studies have acknowledged the importance of pre-service and in-service professional training of teachers in the attitudes, knowledge and skills required for an inclusive education in schools and classrooms (Walton, 2006; Ntombela, 2011). The question I asked
was: what enabled and constrained the teachers at Baobab School in receiving in-service professional training in the implementation of inclusive teaching and learning practices, as well as in barriers to learning and in how to address such barriers?
Ms Miya had undertaken formal learning in inclusive education while at university, three years prior to the date of the interview. Mrs Coetzee and Mrs Snyman, who had been teaching for 20 and 36 years respectively at the time of their interviews, had not received any formal training from their teacher training institutes as to inclusive education. They had received in-service training from the DBST and the Department of Education for the filling in of SNA forms for learners experiencing barriers to learning. They had also undergone training in the use of laptop computers, which were supplied to them, and in recording the administrative factors of their learners in their classrooms. This included capturing all the information concerning the learners, such as the yearly intake, the acceptance and rejection of learners, their home language, and their demographics (4.3.2 Interview with Grade 1 Teacher, Extrinsic factors).
The in-service professional training that the teachers had received from the Department was of an administrative nature.
Mrs Coetzee and Ms Miya were concerned that they had not received any training in the implementation of an inclusive education and inclusive teaching and learning practices in the classroom, nor in barriers to learning and how best to address them. The inclusive education of the learners was constrained by the lack of professional in-service teacher training as teachers did not have the necessary knowledge and skills to provide the support needed to the learners experiencing barriers to learning nor in how best to accommodate them and adapt their classroom teaching. This was seen in the inability of the teachers adequately to support the H.I.V. learner and the learners with behavioural problems (4.3.2 Extrinsic factors, Difficulties experienced in implementing inclusive education in the classroom; 4.4.1 Intrinsic factors).
There had, however, been workshops that the foundation phase teachers had attended in the teaching and learning of various subjects, such as Mathematics, by particular NGOs interested in the implementation of inclusive education in Grahamstown schools.
Ms Miya had attended such a workshop in Mathematics with an NGO in Grahamstown during the week I observed her class. She received various resources from the NGO and their workshop demonstrated methods of using the resources in the teaching and learning of certain concepts in Mathematics (5.3.3 Lesson 3). The resources provided visual and concrete manipulative tools for the learners, which readily assisted all of them with their learning,
including learners experiencing barriers to learning who struggled to understand semi-concrete and abstract concepts illustrated in the textbooks.
The university had also offered teachers at the schools in Grahamstown workshops on the implementation of inclusive teaching and learning practices in other subjects, such as in reading. They provided the learners at Baobab School with books for them to read and had also arranged for students who had volunteered to read with them on an individual basis. The results were seen in Ms Miya’s reading lesson (5.3.6 Lesson 6). Ms Miya stated that the learners who struggled with reading were helped with their reading by being part of this initiative.
It would appear that in-service professional teacher training in the implementation of inclusive teaching and learning practices for Baobab School was forthcoming from NGOs, the university and other initiatives in Grahamstown, all of which enabled the inclusive education of the learners. The teachers, however, felt they remained inadequately equipped to deal with certain learners at the school, such as those with behavioural and health problems, as they had had no professional training in inclusive practices in the classroom or in the barriers to learning experienced by learners and how to address them. This resulted in a feeling of inadequacy as how to address issues arising among learners who were stigmatised, stereotyped, and labelled, such as the learner born H.I.V. positive.
o SBST (ILST)
The SBST of a school mainly comprises the teachers, but may include the parents, support staff, and experts from the community. The team coordinates the support for learners experiencing barriers to learning (Okeke et al., 2014). The questions I asked concerning the SBST at Baobab School were: who comprised the team, what were their functions and were they enabling or constraining the inclusive education of learners experiencing barriers to learning?
Baobab School had a SBST, consisting of the principal and teachers, which provided support to learners experiencing barriers to learning and to their parents. They helped the parents fill out the SNA forms and send them off to the DBST, as well as helping to put in place a support plan to assist the learners and their parents where possible. But because there was no come-
back nor feedback from the DBST once the SNA forms were sent to them, the SBST, teachers and parents attempted to find other courses of action to support the learners.
There was access to free assessment and counselling from the psychologists at the university and the psychiatric hospital (4.3 Interview with Grade 1 Teacher and 4.4 Interview with Grade 2 Teacher), and free medication from the clinics such as the supply of Ritalin for learners diagnosed with ADHD (4.5 Interview with Grade 3 Teacher) and antiretroviral drugs for the learner born H.I.V. positive (4.4 Interview with Grade 2 Teacher). The teachers attempted to assist where they could in the classroom giving individual, one-on-one support to the learners experiencing barriers to learning.
The foundation phase teachers admitted that even with the SBST, they struggled to provide the necessary support for the learners experiencing barriers to learning, because of various constraining factors such as large learner numbers, insufficient resources and infrastructure, and inadequate in-service professional training. They felt out of their depth with the more severe cases such as with learners experiencing behavioural problems from abuse (4.3 Interview with Grade 1 Teacher) or their H.I.V. status (4.4 Interview with Grade 2 Teacher).
The SBST at Baobab School enabled the provision of support to the teachers and parents in assisting them where they could in organising individual support plans for the learners experiencing barriers to learning.
o Support and Specialist Personnel
Support and specialist personnel include doctors, nurses, audiologists, eye specialists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists, and counsellors.
Learners experiencing barriers to learning may require the services of one or more of these specialists to help provide the best possible support. The question I asked was; how did the teachers, along with the parents, access the support and specialist personnel for the learners experiencing barriers to learning to enable an inclusive education?
The foundation phase teachers at Baobab School stated that they had received no support from the DBST or Department of Education with any specialist personnel or resources for the learners experiencing barriers to learning. As no SNA applications had received any follow up
from the Department, the teachers and parents of the learners attempted to make their own plans by finding free or low-cost access to specialist personnel in the community. This included access to various doctors, nurses, psychologists, eye specialists and physiotherapists from the community. The lack of support personnel being provided by the DBST and Department of Education was a constraining factor in providing the necessary support for learners experiencing barriers to learning. Fortunately access to support and specialist personnel in the community enabled support to be put in place for some of the learners at Baobab School.