- Title
- An evaluation of the organisational performance of members of the district based support team in inclusive education – a case study of the Grahamstown circuit
- Creator
- Dyantyi, Khona
- Subject
- Education -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Administration
- Date Issued
- 2020
- Date
- 2020
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- MBA
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/47868
- Identifier
- vital:40391
- Description
- Inclusive learning around the world takes into account both the rights of learners and how education systems can adapt in just and equitable ways to respond to learner differences. White Paper 6, launched by the Department of Education in 2001, has been praised in this regard as a groundbreaking post-Apartheid strategy that provides the vision and basis for turning the fragmented and unequal education system in South Africa into one that is inclusive. This represents a fundamental change from an academic placement process throughout the education system to an influx of educational support services. This study specifically explores how one Eastern Cape District Based Support Team perceives its roles and responsibilities. To investigate these viewpoints, a qualitative research model was used within an interpretive framework. For the choice of participants in the study, purposeful sampling methods were used. Data was collected and analysed using thematic data analysis through semi-structured individual interviews and a single focus group interview. The following key findings were revealed in the results. On the one hand, there are significant factors that allow the efficacy of District Based Support Teams as enabling agents of inclusion to be supported. These include: • A substantial degree of alignment between inclusive education theory and current inclusive education policy; • Enabling inclusive education policy and guidelines; • The interpretation of inclusive education by research participants and the goals of inclusive education are aligned with the policy they see as a framework to direct and encourage their practice; • The District Based Support Team's view of their position is basically that of support service with the primary responsibility to allow inclusive learning to be implemented. On the other hand, structural debilitating factors substantially weaken these teams ' effectiveness. These include:South African School and Administration Management System • Early identification of obstacles and admission age • Budget • Support tools/ equipment • Human Resources - human and physical resources • The unproductive inclusion of special schools as resource centres in the District Based Support Teams. • Poor infrastructure • Coordination and cooperation with the National DoE to enforce IE policies. Years after its adoption, the key challenge remains the translation of encouraging policy language into practical action at all levels of the process within the broader context of the failure of Inclusive Education Policy to have any significant impact on the education system. At the district level, it needs innovative leadership across the Specialised Education Support Unit (including District Based Teams and Special School Resource Centers) and firm management within it to allow organisational coordination and intersectoral cooperation within an integrated community context.
- Format
- xi, 103 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | Dyantyi, K 216566827 Treatise April 2020.pdf | 4 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |