Wits School of Education (ETDs)

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Conceptualisation of Inclusive Education: Impact on primary school principals and Foundation Phase teachers
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-09) Dewa, Nokuthula Ntombiyelizwe; Bekker, Tanya
This study investigated how the conceptualisations of Inclusive Education (IE) by primary school principals and Foundation Phase teachers impact teaching practices. The study places a high value on participants' IE conceptualisations because they have an impact on teachers' actions in their classrooms, which can either support or limit teachers' inclusive practices in granting epistemic access to learning to all learners. The study addressed the question of how primary school principals and Foundation Phase teachers conceptualise IE and considered the implications of these conceptualisations on their practice. Conceptualisations inform pedagogical practice, and I argue that a pedagogical shift that takes accountability for providing learning opportunities for all learners regardless of difference is necessary. A qualitative transformational research method was used to collect data, and thirteen Foundation Phase (FP) teachers and three school principals were conveniently and purposefully chosen from three Government primary schools, in Johannesburg South. Individual semi-structured interviews and focus group interviews were used to collect data, which was then thematically analysed using both inductive and deductive methods. With some extensions and adjustments, two theoretical frameworks were used for this study: the Inclusive Pedagogical Approach (IPA) and Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory. Although Black-Hawkins (2017) argues for three required inclusive pedagogical shifts for teachers to teach inclusively, this study’s findings reveal that teachers in South Africa are currently at three different levels of development toward the required pedagogical shift, which is why IE implementation is hampered despite the numerous IE issues raised by previous studies. According to the findings of this study, there are teachers who have little to no pedagogical shift toward inclusive practices, teachers who have an emerging shift, and teachers who have an established shift. These stages of the pedagogical shift are supported by various conceptualisations that influence teachers' actions, leading to a variety of teaching strategies, some of which do not involve all learners in teaching and learning. The study recommended that the actual stage of shift be considered to support continued progress toward inclusive practice. Teachers who have made little or no pedagogical shift toward inclusivity should be made aware of IE policies and practices, while those who have made an emerging pedagogical shift should be encouraged and assisted in including everyone in their teaching and learning, and those who have made an established pedagogical shift should be developed further in maintaining and improving inclusive practices.
The challenges faced by school-based role-players in the implementation of SIAS: A comparative study
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Iturralde, Inge; Bekker, Tanya
The policy on Screening, Identification, Assessment and Support (SIAS) (DoE, 2014) is an inclusive policy enacted at school level which is designed to support inclusive education imperatives of Education White Paper 6 (DoE, 2001). The effective implementation of SIAS correlates with successful provisioning for learner support to enable access to quality education for all. However, it appears that there are multiple challenges experienced by school-based role-players to the implementation of the SIAS policy in schools, hindering it from achieving intended outcomes. Although limited research on challenges to SIAS implementation is available, a disjunct between policy and policy implementation is evident in literature regarding other inclusive education policy implementation in South Africa, setting the expectation that the SIAS policy is no different. This qualitative research study used a comparative case study design to determine the challenges to SIAS policy implementation experienced by school-based role- players at one mainstream school and one Learners with Special Educational Needs (LSEN) school in Gauteng. Participant perceptions, collected through the use of focus group interviews and open-ended questionnaires, were analysed using thematic content analysis in order to understand common challenges, as well as to identify challenges that were unique within each school context. The theoretical framework used the medical model of disability and the social model of disability as a lens through which to view the SIAS policy. The study findings demonstrate a complex interplay between the social and medical models of disability in how they inform teachers perceptions- and subsequent implementation- of the SIAS policy as a challenge to its enactment. Additionally, findings highlighted challenges with teacher perspectives and understandings of inclusion and the purpose of the SIAS policy, training and support of teachers and School Based Support Teams (SBSTs), communication and support amongst stakeholders, relationships and collaboration amongst stakeholders, form completion and documentation, variations in implementation procedures, class sizes and human resources, and policy incongruence with other policies. iv At present, there is a gap in available literature on the implementation of the SIAS policy as current literature tends to focus on the challenges experienced by District Based Support Teams (DBSTs). This study positions itself to address this gap by focussing on challenges faced by SBSTs and teachers themselves. Furthermore, this study expands on understandings of challenges to inclusive policy implementation. In doing so, the recommendations made intend to improve aspects of SIAS policy implementation in order to better support inclusive education imperatives and to secure more efficient and effective support for learners at the school level to ensure quality and equitable education is an accessible reality.