Wits School of Education (ETDs)

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Browsing Wits School of Education (ETDs) by Department "Department of Inclusion education"

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    Exploring inclusive Practices, Successes and Challenges experienced by teachers in Implementation of Inclusive Education in one selected mainstream school in Ekurhuleni North district, South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-08) Mamogobo, Amogelang Mankurwane; Aloka, Peter
    The realization of inclusive education in South African schools has been controversial. Despite numerous policies enacted, numerous studies have found low levels of implementation of inclusive education in schools. The study aimed to explore inclusive practices, successes, and challenges of inclusive education implementation in the selected mainstream school. In order to explore the study, three research questions were addressed, which inclusive practices are being implemented by teachers in the selected school? What are the successes of inclusive education implementation in mainstream primary schools in Gauteng? What are the challenges affecting the implementation of inclusive education in mainstream primary schools in Gauteng? Both the inclusive pedagogical method and the social model of disability approach served as the theoretical foundation for the current investigation. The present study was conducted using a qualitative research methodology with a case study as the chosen research design within an interpretivist research paradigm. The researcher used a non-probability sampling technique more specifically the purposive sampling approach, in which the researcher used their own judgment to sample the research participants. In relation to the data collection methods. The researcher used non-participant observations and semi- structured interviews to gather data. Interviews with just six individuals and one classroom observation were conducted. The study's conclusions reaffirmed the importance of inclusivity; there were many inclusive practices that were widely used in the study; and the school had achieved a number of successes, such as the purchase of infrastructure and the successful implementation of intervention programs to improve the learning experience of students who faced barriers. The challenges in the present study were vast and categorized into three sub-sections: teacher-related, school-related, and community-related challenges. The study's findings indicate that there have been major efforts to integrate inclusive policies, some of which have been successful, but that there are still many difficulties in schools. The report suggests that the Department of Education give priority to in-service teachers' initial and ongoing training in inclusive practices for a range of learner disabilities.
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    Investigating the usefulness of careership theory for understanding career decision-making among Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) engineering students
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-09) Mamogopodi, Lesley Thuso; Tshabalala, Themba; Ramsurap, Presha
    Most of the South African research on career guidance and career decision-making is focussed in the schooling sector and towards university pathways. There is little research with regards to career decision-making in the TVET sector except for the recent research of Maluleke (2022a) who investigated student views regarding what influences their career decisions. This current research study aimed at investigating the usefulness of careership theory for understanding career decisions among TVET engineering students at a selected TVET college in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. Since the theory informing the study was conceptualised and used to understand the UK TVET context, this study sought to test its affordances for understanding career decision-making in the South African TVET context. The study firstly determined the factors that affect career decision-making and secondly investigated the usefulness of careership theory in understanding those factors. Drawing on data from semi-structured interviews, the study firstly examined the factors that influenced career decisions among first and final year engineering students. Secondly, since the study was aimed at testing careership theory in the South African TVET context, the theory was used as a conceptual framework for analysing the data. The three aspects of the careership model of career decision-making that derive from careership theory were used to interrogate the data to firstly uncover the factors at play in the career decision-making process and secondly, to investigate whether those factors can be explained in light of careership theory. Significant others were not only found to influence career decision-making but they proved to wield power of influence over respondents. Career decision making among TVET engineering students showed to be characterised by turning points. Careership theory proved to be an ideal theory in explaining career decision making in a South African TVET context. The young people proved to have a sense of urgency in their career decision-making and most of them did not receive career guidance prior to enrolling at the TVET college.
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    Teachers’ experiences of giving support and implementing inclusive education in a township school in Kimberley, Northern Cape
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-08) Yeboah, Adu; Charamba, Erasmos; Aloka, Peter
    Implementation of an inclusive education policy in South African schools was a major milestone because it corresponded with the advancement of the theory of Ubuntu, which is at the heart of South Africa's educational framework. The policy's implementation in schools was also consistent with the right to education for all, as enshrined in the Republic of South Africa's Constitution of 1996. However, despite the initiatives on inclusive education, the level of implementation is still below expected standards. The study aimed at examining the experiences of teachers in giving support and implementing inclusive education in a selected mainstream township public secondary school in the Frances Baard education district of Kimberley, Northern Cape. The study adopted a case study design within the qualitative research approach. Purposive sampling was used for the selection of 12 teacher participants from one mainstream public secondary school in the township of the Frances Baard education district of Kimberley. Semi-structured individual interviews were used to collect data from the 12 teacher participants, and the collected data was thematically analysed. Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems theory and Social Model of Disability guided the studies. According to the findings of the study, teachers implemented a variety of inclusive practises; however, teachers perceive inclusive practises differently, and how they are implemented varies. Furthermore, the findings revealed that some teachers are unable to implement the inclusive education policy due to barriers related to the teachers themselves, barriers within the school system, and barriers emanating from the community in which a school is located. It was also revealed that teachers used a variety of support strategies to assist students, such as changing seating arrangements, implementing remedial lessons, and allocating extra reading time to struggling students. In contrast, some teachers prefer to work collaboratively with learners' parents to provide needed support, whereas others prefer to work alone. The study concludes that, in terms of implementing inclusive education in South Africa, there is a mismatch between what is happening on the ground and what is supposed to happen in the classroom. Despite this, pockets of success have been recorded in the implementation process. The study recommends that the Department of Education consider retooling teachers, instituting teacher training programmes, raising awareness, investing in the policy, and adopting a collaborative approach.
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    The Prevalence of Neuromyths in Intermediate Phase Education in a South African Context
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-08) Leal, Debora; Martin, Cameron
    Teachers still endorse numerous neuroscientific misconceptions and place their instructional practice on so-called neuromyths (Pasquinelli, 2012). This is problematic as it is perpetuating misconceptions in education which can disenable epistemological access in schools. As South African education is mandated to be more inclusive in its educational practices, perpetuating falsehoods in education becomes a problem. The distance between neuroscience and education is still too great and teachers are not aware of it (Grospietsch & Mayer, 2020). There is little research to the extent of the permeation of neuromyths and the how teachers are utilising neuromyths in the South African context. This study looks is to investigate how widely known is the concept of neuromyths within intermediate phase education, and to get a sense of how neuromyths are permeating pedagogical practices. This study incorporates a design that combines both qualitative and quantitative research methods known as an embedded mixed methods approach (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011). A quantitative survey has been used to collect data on the number of teachers who implement neuromyth strategies as a classroom methodology and whether teachers have a prior understanding of neuromyths. A total of 57 teachers took part in the survey and purposeful sampling was employed in this research due to its specific focus on intermediate phase teachers. Qualitative methods by means of semi- structured interviews have been conducted to provide more depth on why teachers utilise these neuromyths, to cast light on how teachers incorporate neuromyths into their teaching practice and to find out about their thoughts on the value neuromyths adds to their practices when confronted with the point that neuromyths are not academically supported. Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis is then utilised to analyse the qualitative data to identify, analyse, select codes, construct themes and report repeated patterns. An embedded design is also used to facilitate the merging of qualitative and quantitative data. This is done by taking responses from the interviews and identifying themes and patterns. The survey responses are examined in the context of the interview themes, to find relationships and corroborating evidence. Emotional Intelligence and VAK/VARK learning styles which were the most prominent myths as indicated on the survey. The findings indicate that even when presented with contradictory information on neuromyths, teachers were highly resistant to letting the concepts go. EI has made teachers more cognisant and conscientious about managing emotions of themselves and the learners as well as using their discretion in certain situations. Learning styles has been an effective teaching strategy for variation to keep the learners captivated in the lesson and it has been an inclusive tool to support learners with different levels and abilities. So, while academically the concepts are neuromyths and inaccurate, the reality is that Teachers do value the concepts as they use it to improve their pedagogies.