Year: 2013
Type: dissertation
Abstract: ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In White Paper 6 (Special Needs Education: Building an Inclusive Education and Training System), a framework was provided to establish an inclusive education and training system in South Africa. This development followed trends similar to those in other countries. The inclusive approach emerged as a key international policy at the World Conference on Special Needs Education in Salamanca, in 1994 in Spain. One of the implications of an inclusive education (IE) policy is the provision of appropriate educational opportunities for all learners, including those with disabilities, in the general education class. Therefore school policies that support this educational environment, and that provide administrative assistance, appropriate materials and resources, as well as qualified teachers, are needed. Literature states that teachers all over the world experience difficulties on different levels of IE. High school teachers, for instance, experience unique challenges and difficulties with the implementation of inclusive principles. Asperger's syndrome (AS), the focus of this study, is one of the disorders directly affected by an inclusive policy. The number of learners diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), as well as the number attending mainstream education, has grown worldwide. The characteristics of AS lead to challenges with learning behaviour and socialisation, and cause significant difficulties for classroom teachers, who need to maintain a learning environment that is conducive to learning by all learners. Although there is an increasing flow of information available relating to support, accommodations, methods and information, this does not ensure that educators will be aware of and effectively use these sources. Since teachers are the main team players in the successful implementation of IE, this study aimed to investigate exactly how ready they are to implement IE practices, especially with regard to supporting children diagnosed with AS. The theoretical framework on which this study was based was Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model. This study's research methodology can be described as basic qualitative research embedded within an interpretive paradigm. Purposive sampling was used to select participants from three different schools in the Western Cape Province in South Africa. Three methods of data collection were employed, namely reflective questions, as well as semi-structured individual and focus group interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. With Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model as the backdrop, the research findings indicate that the readiness of the participating teachers for IE, and therefore by implication their readiness to include learners with AS in the mainstream classes, is compromised. The findings indicate that this lack of readiness comprises factors on macro-, meso-, exo- and micro-system levels. These systems do not appear to be ready for IE, and therefore, although there is willingness to learn among the teachers in this study, it seems as though they are not ready for the inclusion of learners diagnosed with AS in their classes. Support needs to be aimed at increasing teachers' understanding of the philosophical principles of IE in general, but also increasing their knowledge of AS and providing them with practical suggestions regarding best practises relating to the inclusion of learners with AS in their mainstream classes. Since teachers seem not to be specialists in the support of learners with barriers to learning, professionals who will be able to support them in this regard need to be employed in the schools.
Author: Hannalie Lehome Spies
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2112193975