While there have been extensive teacher development workshops offered by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education, these workshops have the opportunity to provide teachers with meaningful insights on how to implement inclusive teaching practices in their classroom. This research studies the state of inclusive education in 6 affluent schools, both public and independent, in the Durban area in relation to the teacher development that has taken place and the level of confidence among teachers to provide support for students with barriers to learning. especially those students who have learning difficulties.
INTRODUCTION AND STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
In her written response, the Minister says that "in 2008, the Expansion of Inclusive Education was recognized as a national priority program." (National Council of Provinces, 2010: p.4). To date, there is a scarcity of research that studies the correlation between the theory of inclusive education and the actual practice of inclusive education, especially in the South African context.
AIMS OF THE STUDY
This highlights the importance of teacher professional development in inclusive education issues as a means of improving teachers' attitudes towards inclusion. What do educators understand by the terms "inclusive teaching" and "inclusive learning environment" and how did they come to this understanding.
THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS
The philosophy of inclusion
The philosophy of phenomenology
As Higgs and Smith (2006: p.58) state, phenomenology as philosophy "insists on an account of observable reality as opposed to vague accusations". In this study, the researcher aims to explore the realities of implementing inclusive education through the professional development of educators as opposed to the politically clouded reporting of implementation and educator training.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
- Literature review
- Empirical research
- The interpretivist paradigm
- The multiple method design
- Survey
- Interviews
The data collected in this part of the study was used for statistical purposes to identify any central tendencies (McMillan & Schumacher, 2006; Walliman, 2011). To ensure that there was agreement between the researcher and the participants, the researcher ensured that the verbatim accounts of the interview were recorded using a portable recording device.
SAMPLING
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
This could mean that there are schools that have chosen to focus on their academic standards rather than the practices of inclusive education; which could be limiting within this study. If schools are aware that they are not committed to implementing inclusion, they may not be willing to participate in this study and there is a chance that this study will only reflect schools that are committed to inclusive practices.
CLARIFICATION OF CONCEPTS
- Inclusive education
- Barriers to learning
- Learning disabilities
- Teacher development
- Inter-changeable terms
In the context of this study, the focus was on inclusive practices that relate specifically to learning disabilities. In the South African context, such difficulties are interchangeably referred to as "learning difficulties" and "learning disabilities".
LIMITATIONS
Teacher development refers to training that educators can receive after completing their initial training. Such teacher development is usually in response to changes in the education system or in curricula, or purely to meet the requirements of the Norms and Standards for Educators which call on educators to be lifelong learners themselves.
CONCLUSION
INTRODUCTION …
The philosophy of inclusion, as the name suggests, underpins all research in inclusive education through an emphasis on equality for all people. The philosophy of phenomenology recognizes that in order to discover the truth, a study does not necessarily have to conform to a specific methodology.
THE META-APPROACH
- The medical model
- Ecological models
- Grounded theory
There is a clear focus on the child and the child's experience of education is exclusively based on the standard of inclusive education in the school. The macrosystem deals with the beliefs and philosophies that are embedded in the larger society in which the child lives.
CONCLUSION
As part of the pilot study, materials were developed that could help with the implementation of inclusive education in schools. The general ethos of the school has given me an understanding of what inclusive education is.
INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE REVIEW
THE INTERNATIONAL EVOLUTION OF EDUCATION – TOWARDS INCLUSION 24
Towards inclusive education – the history and development of
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- Mills vs. Board of Education
- UN Convention of the Rights of the Child
- World Declaration on Education for All
- Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for
- The UNESCO Salamanca Statement
The World Declaration on Education for All (UNESCO, 1990) is part of UNESCO's broader movement known as the 'Education for All' movement. The infamous “Millennium Development Goals” are a product of this movement, which aims to provide equal access to education to all citizens of the world by 2015.
THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION INTERNATIONALLY
An international study of inclusion in education
- United States of America
- United Kingdom
- Italy
Finally, the third characteristic identified in the successful implementation of inclusion is that "the role of the special education teacher is crucial to successful inclusive schools for students with LD" (Zigmond &. Rayner (2007: . p. 145) goes on to describe the role of the SENCO as "key to a whole-school approach to effectively managing diversity and difference in the school community".
What can South Africa learn?
The primary role of the SENCO in the early stages of implementing inclusive education is to provide "ongoing technical assistance" (Rayner, 2007: p.146) and to "investigate and adopt effective teaching approaches" (Rayner, 2007 : p. 146). While they specifically referred to the implementation of inclusive education for students, South Africa can also take note of this in terms of teacher development.
Inclusive education in secondary schools
- The gap between policy and school cultures
Within the school one will be aware of a shift in the understanding of what constitutes a good academic standard. The proof of this is in the way staff development opportunities are handled.
INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICA
- The framework for establishing inclusive education
- The South African Constitution
- South African Schools Act
- Education White Paper 6
- Implementing inclusive education – the pilot study
- Creating reflective practitioners
- The effect of training in schools
- What have we learnt?
- Key challenges of implementing inclusive education
- Vision, capacity and resources
- Challenges experienced by educators
- Educators’ experience of inclusive education
- Inclusive education in independent schools
Finally, an inclusive education system is one that focuses on overcoming and removing barriers in the system (National Department of Education, 2002: p.9-10). Ladbrook (2009) conducted research into the challenges that teachers experienced when implementing inclusive education in primary schools.
TEACHER DEVELOPMENT FOR INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
- Successful in-service training
- Reforming teacher education, enhancing teacher preparedness
- The influence of educators’ attitudes
- The use of on-line professional development
- Teacher preparation for inclusive education internationally
- Thailand
- Mexico
In response to their belief that "the role of the general teacher is now recognized as an important component of the success or failure of inclusive education practice" (Forlin & Chambers, 2001: p. 17), Forlin and Chambers studied a module aimed at pre-service teachers. degree. Some staff members should be selected for further training in inclusive education.
CONCLUSION
The implication of this approach is that the researcher plays an important role in the research processes as he becomes embedded in the research through interaction with the participants. Wellington (2004: p.16) states that within the interpretivist approach “the interpretive researcher…accepts that the observer makes a difference to the observed and that reality is a human construction”.
RESEARCH DESIGN
Purpose of the research design
The purpose of research conducted in the interpretivist approach is to explore the different perspectives and shared meanings of the participants to develop insight into situations. In this case, the situation was the state of inclusive education in the schools studied, as well as the extent to which teachers are prepared to implement inclusive education (Wellington, 2004: p.16; Walliman, 2011: p. 74-75). There is a gap in the literature when it comes to bringing these topics together in an exploration of teacher development specifically focused on inclusive education in South Africa.
The process of research design
- Securing permission
- Sampling
- Research field
- Participants
- Ethical considerations
- Reliability and validity
The person in charge of learners with learning disabilities, or in the absence of such a position, the head of academics at each of the schools was then interviewed. This applies to both electronic data and data collected in hard copy form.
MIXED-METHOD RESEARCH
Quantitative research
- Data collection techniques
The additional advantage of using a questionnaire is that the anonymity of the respondent is guaranteed (McMillan & Schumacher, 2006: p.194). These questions consisted mainly of check box questions, in which respondents simply indicated the various barriers to learning or, in the case of question 5, what support was available to these students at the time of the survey (McMillan & Schumacher, 2006: p. 194- 201).
Qualitative research
- Data collection techniques
Each of the interviews was recorded in conjunction with notes during the interviews to ensure the accuracy as well as the quality of the evidence collected. In some questions, probing was used to gain a better understanding of the complexity of working with the schools under study.
DATA ANALYSIS
CONCLUSION
The next chapter deals with the research findings from the questionnaire and interviews that were conducted.
QUESTIONNAIRE
School environment
The school that achieved the highest average score on this question was the only girls' school, School GP, with an average of 4.5 and a mode of 5. Because the group achieved a mode of 3 and a relatively poor average of 3, 2, was the This question emphasizes the need for good support and training of staff.
The educator
For this question, the entire group achieved an average score of 4.0 with a range of 3 and a mode of 4. For this question, the entire group achieved an average score of 3.5 with a range of 4 and a mode of 4.
Professional development
I have received sufficient professional development in matters relating to inclusive education - while in service from the school I teach at. I have received sufficient professional development in matters relating to inclusive education - while in service from non-governmental organisations.
The learner
After the occurrence of the various learning barriers had been assessed, the teachers were then asked to indicate the occurrence of particularly varying learning difficulties. The two least prevalent conditions were dyspraxia and dyscalculia, with only 7 of the teachers from the total group of 60 indicating that they taught students with these learning difficulties.
Learner support
The majority of teachers agreed that the person responsible for this coordination handles matters for students with learning difficulties. The school's CP had the greatest agreement on this specific issue, with 90% of teachers surveyed agreeing that there is a co-ordinated approach to supporting pupils with learning difficulties in school.
Participant’s backgrounds
Forty-three teachers indicated they were familiar with this learning disability, but only 18 indicated they were confident teaching students with a specific learning disability. Nineteen of the teachers were aware of non-verbal learning disabilities, but only 14 felt confident teaching students with this specific learning disability.
INTERVIEWS
What does inclusion look like?
Each of the key informants was asked to define what they understood by the terms "inclusive education" and "inclusive learning environments". We should also look at the ethos of the school and formalize our inclusive ethos.
What does inclusion feel like?
In the schools where inclusive education has been implemented less successfully, this is not the case. The fact that both of these schools have experienced staff who take care of the implementation of inclusive education within the school shows the important role that staff development plays in inclusive education.
Where do you hear about inclusion?
This core does not often consist of the majority of the teaching staff within a school and so it is realistic to assume in the case of inclusive education that only catering for the enthusiastic few is simply the idea of one teacher looking after the needs , will continue. of all learners with learning disabilities. However, Fogarty and Pete maintain that to implement change in a school, the school must capitalize on the enthusiastic energy of a few at the beginning of the process.
CONCLUSION
Most of these teachers have completed postgraduate studies in this subject or have ensured that they are up-to-date by attending conferences and workshops related to inclusive education. Based on these findings, numerous recommendations were made as a contribution to further development in the field of inclusive education.
LESSONS FROM PAST RESEARCH
The purpose of this chapter is to summarize the findings of this study from both the literature review and the empirical study. In this regard, the limitations of this research are discussed, as well as potential areas for further research in the future.
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS FROM EMPIRICAL STUDY
RECOMMENDATIONS
At the last session of the year, teachers would be given a questionnaire about the entire staff development program to assess areas of weakness to improve for future cohorts. As part of the development process, teachers will also be encouraged to observe lessons taught by the inclusion specialist to identify strategies that this specialist uses in the classroom.
LIMITATIONS OF RESEARCH
As part of this self-study unit, the teachers will be asked to implement certain changes in their classrooms and critically reflect on these changes. The teachers who want to participate will be asked to fill in a short questionnaire.
FURTHER RESEARCH POSSIBILITIES
CONCLUSION
In matters related to inclusive education, I had enough professional training - while working at the Ministry of Education. In the field of inclusive education, I have had enough professional training - during training at the school where I teach.
