Enhancing Teacher Support for the Effective Implementation of Inclusive Education: A Case of Selected Districts in South Africa
- Authors: PATEKA PAMELLA JAMA
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: Doctor
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/2751 , vital:42858
- Description: This study was conducted in three education districts of the Eastern Cape Province. This province has been characterised by a high failure rate in Grade 12 for many years now and it is known to be the poorest province. The South African Alternate Report (2015) found that learners with learning barriers were not reaching their full potential because of “poor curriculum delivery, unskilled educators, inflexible curriculum and the lack of commitment to inclusive education”. Equal Education (The Citizen, January, 2019) complains of a situation where 78% of Grade 4 learners in South African rural schools cannot read for meaning in any language. This is a serious situation as ‘weak foundation leads to weak academic outcomes in high school’. This study sought to ascertain the need to enhance teacher support in schools for the effective implementation of inclusive education. A qualitative research approach was used with a case study as the research design. In this study, 5 principals, 10 teachers (5 out of 10 teachers were SBST members and the other 5 class teachers), 7 DBST members (3 DCES, 3 LSFs and 1 Psychologist) and 5 local university representatives (3 HODs and 2 lecturers in the Faculty of Educational Sciences) were purposively selected. This study reveals that teaching and learning remains a challenge in diverse classes as teachers feel incapable of catering for educational needs of the heterogeneous mix of learners in their classes. Insufficient support provided to teachers for diverse classes negatively impacts on the quality of education delivered in the classroom. The researcher recommends that the Department of Basic Education should empower school principals and teachers so as to provide quality education in these diverse classes. It is also recommended that Higher Education Institutions should better prepare teacher trainees to be well equipped for diverse educational needs found in mainstream schools as well as teachers now in the field. Schools also need to be better resourced and class numbers reduced in order to alleviate teachers’ workload. The study concludes by suggesting that collaborative teacher informed workshops (CTIW) model in which content used in inclusive education workshops are informed by teachers. ii KEYWORDS: Teacher support, effective implementation, inclusive education, workload, workshops and quality education.
- Full Text:
Perceptions Of School Based Support Teams About Providing Support To Foundation Phase Teachers In Two Butterworth Primary Schools, Eastern Cape
- Authors: MZIWONKE LUNINGO
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Doctor
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/2759 , vital:42859
- Description: The policy on Inclusive Education acknowledges that all children can learn if they are given the necessary support. In order to achieve this goal, the Department of Education (DoE) introduced the establishment of SBSTs whose main function is to support teaching and learning in schools. This study used interpretive paradigmto explore perceptions of SBST about providing support to foundation phase (FP) teachers and to interpret what they said. Nonetheless, there seemed to be challenges on how to support learners experiencing barriers to learning among the members of the SBST. The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of the school-Based Support Teams (SBSTs) about providing support to the foundation phase teachers in two Butterworth Primary Schools in the Eastern Cape. This study used the qualitative mode of inquiry and a case study as a research design. Semi-structured interviews using one on one, observations and document analysis were used to collect the data from the SBSTs about their perceptions of providing support to the FP teachers. Purposeful sampling was used where two mainstream primary schools were conveniently selected with six SBST participants from each school, making a total of six participants. Twelve SBST members were interviewed. Data were analysed and common themes emerged. The findings revealed that the SBSTs did not have enough knowledge and skills to support the FP teachers. Some of the challenges they cited included inadequate training, lack of communication, overcrowding and lack of support from the parents. In an attempt to alleviate the above-raised challenges, a model was proposed. These are some of the recommendations that resulted from the findings: all schools should have SBSTs, they should be composed of all the important stakeholders as proposed by the DoE, frequent SBST meetings should be held and further recommendations are made. Key words: School-Based Support Teams, Education support, Foundation Phase.
- Full Text: