7.2 Presentation of data
7.2.6 Teaching strategies applied by teachers
163 as a school when they attended community meetings. The integration of school activities with community activities helped in the implementation of Inclusive Education policy.
In our traditional authority, they have different structures which include education desk. When the community have gatherings, we as schools are given an opportunity to present challenges and success we have as schools in the community. It is where we talk about challenges we as schools have in the involvement of parents in their children education (Ms Dawn, Principal of Lilly Rose Primary School).
Drawing from the above extracts and also from literature, one can argue that when parents are involved in learner education then implementation of Inclusive Education will succeed.
Parent involvement was confirmed by teachers and SMT in the study. Some parents attended church. It must be the concern of everyone that chances is given to education desk to address the congregation on the education of learners. This also is indicative of the view that society is organised into various spheres and there are relationships between such spheres. As the child grows, she or she is influenced by all these societal structures such as home; the church;
the school and also the broader society. That is the hallmark of Bronfenbrenner‟s ecological theory that was discussed in detail in Chapter Three.
164 is actually preparing an environment where inclusive education can succeed and thus promote effective implementation of this policy. Ms Ant, teacher from Impala PrimarySchool understood this as curriculum differentiation, and she maintained that she adopted that strategy as part of encouraging successful Inclusive Education policy implementation. This is what she had to say in this regard:
Understanding my learners, I apply curriculum differentiation in my teaching. This helps me to accommodate all my learners in a subject understanding that they differ in their learning. I have to break my lesson into smaller pieces and I found that the majority of the class understands.
If the curriculum presented to the learners is not suitable for them, they cannot engage in it;
thus they cannot learn from it (Kalenga, 2010). Sometimes teachers are found to have difficulties adapting and modifying the curriculum to suite the learners‟ individual needs. To have the curriculum modified helps the learners understand the subject because it has been simplified for their understanding. This calls for teachers to be trained on the implementing the policy so that they understand terms used. One teacher commented that if they see that they face challenges in their teaching, they do not know how to modify the curriculum.
I do not know how to modify the curriculum, then how will I know what each learner’s needs are in the classroom. I am not properly trained. More training will assist me to understand the implementation of the policy (Ms Dakalo, teacher from Lilly Rose Primary School).
This chapter is dedicated to the discussion of strategies that were used by the members of the SMT and the teachers in ensuring that Inclusive Education policy was effectively implemented. However, it has emerged in the previous section of this chapter, not all the strategies utilised were successful. The two extracts above tell us two different stories that are also closely related. One story tells us that curriculum differentiation was a strategy that was employed by some participants because they understood its benefits. The other story tells us that some teachers experienced difficulties in using differentiation, yet they were aware that
165 they needed to use it but lacked skills to do so. Participants highlighted the need to have the Department of Education developing the curriculum that suits the diversity of learning needs in their classrooms. Their concern was that they were not trained on how to develop such a curriculum and their lack of understanding and skill deficit resulted in the learners being excluded from effective learning. This is what one of the participants had to say in this regard:
Learners with barriers and those without are all treated them the same. People must understand that I cannot teach something that I do not understand. I suggest that if we as teachers have training on how to develop the curriculum then we can be able to accommodate all learners in our teaching (Ms Molly, teacher from Lwandle Primary School).
What teacher says raised the concern on curriculum modification where teachers will have to use a variety of methods in their teaching. While teachers were struggling to employ different learning styles, Armstrong and Spandagou (2010) emphasise that teachers in the mainstream schools are required to modify their teaching strategies and to tackle the diverse needs of learners. The findings from the study indicated that teachers seldom applied a variety of teaching techniques to accommodate diverse learning styles of learners and to provide equal development opportunities for all learners or even use alternative modes of assessment.
Sigafoos and Elkons (1994) argue that teachers in mainstream schools lack confidence even if they try to include learners with disabilities because they lack proficiency on modifying the regular education curriculum to suit learners with learning needs. Rose and Howley (2007) on the other hand underline the need for dedicated teachers to empower and equip themselves professionally so that they deliver quality education. Training on the implementation of Inclusive Education policy will assist such teachers.
Participants in the study believed that the language of teaching and learning can have an impact on the implementation of Inclusive Education policy. It is understood that learners in Grade R to Grade 3, their language of learning and teaching is mostly in mother tongue and in our schools, it is isiZulu. Little is taught in English. When they moved to another phase they have to adapt to all subjects being taught in English. These learners were found to be
166 struggling to understand instruction from the teacher. At the end these learners were labelled as learners with challenges in learning when, actually, it was not. One teacher had the following to say:
I am teaching Natural Sciences and Technology in Grade 4. I have a group of learners who cannot utter even a word in English. Once you move to IsiZulu, all hands are up because they have answers but they could not understand the question (Ms Judith, principal of Impala Primary School).
This indicates the challenge that the learners encountered when teaching and learning took place in another language which was different from their mother tongue. Teachers needed to understand this and needed not to group these learners to learners with challenges to their learning because these were just disadvantaged. Arguably such teachers needed to provide resources where learners could be familiarised with terms in English because like in Grade 4;
all learners are expected to use English as their language of teaching and learning. One teacher raised a challenge where learners could not understand the language of teaching and learning. What she said was that she prepared flashcards and charts where common or daily used vocabulary is written and displayed in the classroom. This is what this participant had to say:
I prepare flashcards with simple words that are used on daily basis. I have words such as what; where; when; with meanings in isiZulu. This I find working for me to have my learners understanding the language. I also have charts written and have short sentences constructed for their understanding (Ms Elephant, the HOD from Impala Primary School).
This is part of support programme to have learners trained on the use of English as their first additional language. Teachers need to provide resources for the support in the implementation of Inclusive Education policy.
167 7.2.7 Development of Assessment strategies
Assessment in inclusive class needs to be developed to cater for all learners. The challenges that each learner has must be considered. There are learners who are slow in writing and that may be due to the fact that they cannot see clearly. Concession must be applied for such learners. This help the learners to be allow extra time when writing assessment. If it is about poor eye sight, such learners have their scripts prepared in big fonts (KZNDOE, 2014). The same considerations have to be applied to the left handed learners; they have to sit in positions where they are comfortable. Such considerations need to be applicable to other learners who are not necessarily left handed; the main message is that the needs of the learners are of paramount importance. Assessment tasks as mentioned earlier need to be simplified for a learner to understand (Mahlo, 2011).