Evidence on inclusion and support for learners with disabilities in mainstream schools in South Africa: off the policy radar?

Since the move towards inclusion in line with international trends and South Africa’s attempts to address issues of marginalisation and discrimination amongst all learners, including those with special needs and disabilities, it has become evident on perusal of various research studies and reviews that there is an obsession with how far we have come since the introduction of an inclusive education policy in 2001 which formalises a strategy to ensure increased access and support for all learners within the system, including those with special needs and disabilities. There is an inherent assumption that we have not arrived as yet, and research suggests a continuing scepticism and lack of confidence amongst educators in mainstream settings to support children with disabilities in their schools and classrooms. This article focuses on research which shows that learners with disabilities are in fact being successfully included within one of these mainstream schools, by default and with a range of available support, despite not being designated as a ‘full‐service school’. The study is based on interviews with students with physical disabilities in a Black rural secondary school, as well as observations and interviews with staff and non‐disabled students. Findings reveal an existence of teacher, peer and community support, including from a neighbouring special school, suggesting a notion of inclusion which was about naturally putting values into action. Such practice, I argue, remains obscure and off the policy radar in South Africa.

[1]  N. Muthukrishna,et al.  From 'Special Needs' to 'Quality Education for All': a participatory, problem-centred approach to policy development in South Africa , 2000 .

[2]  Tony Booth,et al.  Inclusion and the standards agenda: negotiating policy pressures in England , 2006 .

[3]  S. Naicker.  From Policy to Practice: A South-African Perspective on Implementing Inclusive Education Policy. , 2007 .

[4]  S. Lazarus,et al.  South Africa: First steps in the development of an inclusive education system , 2001 .

[5]  E. Swart,et al.  Parents’ Experiences of Their Rights in the Implementation of Inclusive Education in South Africa , 2005 .

[6]  H. Saloojee,et al.  Unmet health, welfare and educational needs of disabled children in an impoverished South African peri-urban township. , 2007, Child: care, health and development.

[7]  A. Greyling.  Reaching for the dream: quality education for all , 2009 .

[8]  P. Engelbrecht.  The implementation of inclusive education in South Africa after ten years of democracy , 2006 .

[9]  S. Vosloo.  The functioning of primary school learners with paraplegia/paraparesis in mainstream schools in the Western Cape, South Africa. An exploratory study , 2009, Disability and rehabilitation.

[10]  Shih-jay Tzeng.  Learning Disabilities in Taiwan: A Case of Cultural Constraints on the Education of Students with Disabilities , 2007 .

[11]  T. Good,et al.  Change and Continuity in Student Achievement from Grades 3 to 5: A Policy Dilemma , 2005 .

[12]  F. X. V. I. Moreno.  Language-in-education policy , 2011 .

[13]  J. Elkins,et al.  Comparison of a traditional and an inclusive secondary school culture , 2002 .

[14]  M. Paulsen,et al.  Teacher preparedness for inclusive education , 2001 .

[15]  E. Swart,et al.  Including Learners with Intellectual Disabilities: stressful for teachers? , 2003 .

[16]  I. Eloff,et al.  South African Teachers' Voices on Support in Inclusive Education , 2007 .

[17]  S. Ratcliffe,et al.  Developmental disabilities and behavioral problems among school children in the Western Cape of South Africa. , 2009, Research in developmental disabilities.

[18]  Dorothy G. Siegel,et al.  A Forced March for Failing Schools: Lessons from the New York City Chancellor's District. , 2005 .

[19]  Erna Alant,et al.  A comparative study of the attitudes of teachers at special and educationally inclusive schools towards learners with little or no functional speech using communication devices , 2002 .

[20]  T. Booth.  Keeping the Future Alive: Putting Inclusive Values into Action. , 2005 .

[21]  L. Monyooe.  Inclusive education and training systems: Illusion or reality? The story of Nothemba , 2005 .

[22]  C. Lloyd.  Removing barriers to achievement: A strategy for inclusion or exclusion? , 2008 .

[23]  S. Pather.  Demystifying inclusion: implications for sustainable inclusive practice , 2007 .

[24]  T. Booth.  Viewing Inclusion from aDistance: Gaining Perspective from Comparative Study , 1999 .

[25]  D. Kunje,et al.  Action research in developing African education systems: is the glass half full or half empty? , 1998 .