Against this background, the researcher has explored the challenges that teachers experience when teaching in the context of inclusive education. The focus of the study was to explore teachers' experiences of teaching students in the context of inclusive education. This study aimed to contribute to the successful implementation of inclusive education as it would shed light on teachers' experiences of teaching students who experience barriers to learning in regular classrooms.
Rationale of the study ......................................................................................................2-3
Human Rights Theory
Inclusion is a struggle to realize universal human rights, which has its roots in the international human rights movement. That is why many countries in the world, including South Africa, are moving from education systems that segregate other students to a more inclusive education system. The DoE shifted towards embracing the principle of education as a fundamental human right, as enshrined in the new Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996).
Bronfenbrenner‟s Ecological Systems Theory
Critical questions
Research design and methodology...................................................................................4-5
Semi-structured individual interviews
The main purpose of using semi-structured interviews was to explore things like similarities and differences between voices. This data-generating instrument was ideal because it provided clear instructions to participants and provided in-depth and reliable comparable data. Semi-structured interviews gave participants an opportunity to expand on their responses, provide more detail and add additional perspectives.
Open-ended questionnaire
The study focused on participants who had been working together for a long time and had similar concerns about implementing inclusive practices in their classrooms (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2011).
Selection of participants
Data analysis
Validity and reliability
Ethical issues
The Oxford Dictionary (1999) defines experience as "the practical involvement in a new activity, event, etc.; knowledge gained thereby." The American Psychological Association Dictionary of Psychology (2006) further defines experience “as the process of understanding knowledge or skills through ... the senses of the mind". Lolwana (1997). The process of inclusion requires the involvement, dedication and commitment of parents as parents share a special relationship to their children and they also understand their children's needs and are readily available to offer personal support where needed.
The Department for Education's draft guidelines for the implementation of inclusive education (2002) state that physical access and safety in the environment are social constructs that reflect our values regarding diversity (DoE, 2010). In the study conducted by Dyson and Forlin (1999, pp. 28-31), they argued in support of the Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action that "the human rights issue in education was the strongest protagonist for the development of inclusive classrooms". Whereas the term "epistemology" refers to the nature of the relationship between the researcher and it denotes "the nature of human knowledge and understanding that may be acquired through different ways of investigating and alternative methods of investigation" (Hirschheim, Klein & Lyytinen, 1995) .
Lack of training and skills are considered barriers to the successful implementation of inclusive education. Inclusive education requires that teachers pay individual attention to students who experience barriers to learning. Overcrowded classes are perceived as one of the barriers to the successful implementation of inclusive education (Van Reusen, Shoho & Barker, 2001).
According to Muthukrishna and Schoeman (2000, p. 319), an inclusive education policy places the responsibility for addressing the barriers to learning and development of students who experience barriers to learning on the school's support team. The majority of participants indicated that the district support team was unavailable, leaving their school to function without specialized advice about students experiencing barriers to learning. The findings of the survey show that the majority of teachers are willing to implement inclusive education in their classrooms. The shortage of resources was also highlighted as one of the obstacles to successful implementation of inclusive education.
Administrators' and teachers' perceptions of joint efforts for inclusive education in elementary grades. Inclusive education in S.A.: Challenges faced by teachers of children with hearing loss.
Structure of the thesis
Conclusion
An operational definition of items
Experience.....................................................................................................................9-10
The concept of inclusive education in the South African context embraces the democratic values of equality and recognition of diversity. The understanding of inclusive education is related to the recognition that children may experience barriers to learning and development in the learning process. However, there has been a paradigm shift in the conceptualization of barriers to learning in South Africa.
Learners who experience barriers to learning ...............................................................12-13
In July 2001, the DoE released Education White Paper 6: Education with special needs: Building inclusive education and training systems (DoE, 2001a). In the Education White Paper 6 (DoE, 2001a), inclusive education and training is described as support for all learners within a systemic and developmental approach. The publication of the Education White Paper 6: Education with special needs: Building an inclusive education and training system in July 2001 marked the beginning of the process of including learners with special needs in mainstream schools.
Teachers‟ understandings of inclusive education .........................................................20-23
Teachers must have a positive attitude towards students who face learning disabilities (de Boer, Pitj &. According to Avissar (2000), Avramidis et al. 2000), Hodge and Jansma (2000) and Jobe, Rust and Brissie (1996) , prior experience in teaching students with learning disabilities is a prerequisite for the successful implementation of inclusive education. However, this is not the case for mainstream schools that have students with learning disabilities.
Changing teaching methods and inadequate resources
It also emerged that a paradigm shift on the part of teachers is a prerequisite for the successful implementation of inclusive education. The main aim of this study was to explore teachers' experiences of implementing inclusive education in mainstream contexts. Using a case study approach enabled in-depth qualitative analyzes of teachers' experiences of teaching students in the context of inclusive education in a single school.
The majority of respondents believed that teachers were not sufficiently prepared to implement inclusive education in regular classrooms. The demands of the curriculum make it impossible to implement inclusive education in our classes. Some of the students who experience barriers to learning get no help from their parents.
An inflexible curriculum was identified as one of the most serious barriers to the successful implementation of inclusive education. The lack of financial resources was mentioned by all participants as one of the obstacles to the successful implementation of inclusive education. In their research, Hall and Engelbrecht (1993) identified the availability of funds as one of the main problems in the successful implementation of inclusive education.
The majority of participants see inclusive education as the Ministry of Education's attempt to take students with disabilities into regular schools. The results of the study also revealed that the implementation of inclusive education was not successful because the teachers lacked knowledge and skills. The participants indicated that they needed more training in the implementation of the inclusion policy.
The findings of the study also revealed that overcrowded classes contribute immensely to teachers' failure to implement inclusive education. The purpose of the research is to explore the experiences of teachers in teaching learners who experience barriers to learning in ordinary classrooms.
The language of teaching and learning or medium of instruction ................................30-31
The severity of a learner‟s disability
Teachers' attitudes toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in mainstream classrooms are shaped by the type and severity of the disability (Croll & Moses, 2000; Agran, Alper & Wehmeyer, 2002). Research shows that there is a concern on the part of teachers regarding the inclusion of students with severe disabilities in mainstream classrooms (Forlin, 1998; Westwood & Graham, 2003). Teachers view the inclusion of students with multiple disabilities in mainstream classrooms as impractical (Sigafoos & Elkins, 1994).
Another study by Sigafooos and Alkins (1994) found that teachers' attitudes were less favorable to including learners with multiple physical disabilities in regular classes.
Lack of parental recognition and involvement ...........................................................34-35
Therefore, it is important for teachers to work with parents if they want to gain useful information about their children. In many cases, parent groups are instrumental in moving toward inclusive programs. Active involvement of parents in the teaching and learning process is important for effective learning and development.
Lack of education is one of the reasons they do not want to get involved in educational matters. The attitude of teachers towards the involvement of parents also discourages parents from participating in the education of their children. A lack of resources to facilitate inclusion and a lack of empowerment contribute to parents not being willing to be involved in the education system.
A number of schools write correspondence letters in English and as a result, parents do not participate in the activities of their children's schools due to a communication problem. The number of students in each class at the regular school should not exceed 25, especially if there are students with disabilities. Most schools in South Africa, especially those built before the 1996 National Building Regulations, do not meet the new building standards and therefore accessibility needs to be improved (DoE, 2002, p. 53).
Accessibility should be seen from the point of view of the geographical location of the school and a school for students from a poor community should be in an area that is easily accessible to members of the community and should have all essential services within easy reach (DoE, 2002).
Teachers‟ level of confidence .....................................................................................36-37
Neuman (2006, p.52) defined a theoretical framework as a very general theoretical system containing assumptions, concepts and specific social theories. According to Henning, Van Rensburg, and Smit (2005), theoretical frameworks help the researcher make explicit assumptions about the interconnectedness of the way things in the world relate to each other. They further state that a theoretical framework is the lens through which the researcher views the world.
In this study, two theoretical frameworks were chosen, namely: the theory of human rights and the theory of Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems.
Human rights theory .....................................................................................................37-38
To carry out an analysis of the teachers' understanding of inclusive education, a literature review and present an overview of the inclusion policy.
