Factors affecting the implementation of inclusive education in Ekurhuleni District : primary school teachers’ experiences

Abstract

The globalisation of inclusive education mandated nations, including South Africa, to transform their education systems. Taking into account the previous studies that paint a bleak picture of inclusive education, this study sought to investigate factors affecting the implementation of inclusive education in four primary schools in Ekurhuleni District, Gauteng, South Africa. Inclusive education is an endless process that needs refining to improve the strategies teachers employ to reach every child’s educational needs. The current study was aimed at understanding the context in which teachers implement inclusive education, and how they address barriers to learning in diverse classrooms in a bid to include all learners. This aim was achieved by highlighting both the positive and negative factors involved. On the one hand, the research report can help teachers to think about the benefits of inclusive education by focusing on those factors which support them as they try to implement this policy, and capitalize on them. On the other hand, highlighting factors constraining the process will help to uproot them and suggest ways of eliminating or mitigating the impact they may cause. Social constructivism and Bronfenbrenner’s systems theory provided a scheme for selecting and prioritising variables that are of importance to the study. The theory regards the context and interaction of structures and systems as vital aspects to a developing individual. Qualitative data collected through interviews, observations, and questionnaires from the four purposively selected primary school teachers in Ekurhuleni District showed that teachers have scant knowledge about inclusive education and the current discourse on the topic. Consequently, they find it stressful to implement inclusive practice. Their knowledge has not yet shifted from the medical model of “special education”, to the extent that they want certain learners to be in support classes - which would also allow them to reduce the high number of children in their classes. Additionally, there is a mismatch between the teacher and the standards stipulated in the SACE Code of Professional Ethics document. Nevertheless, there is a great benefit in having a single national curriculum, which is often taken for granted, and some measure of progress from the teachers’ side that ought to be celebrated. The process of adopting inclusive education is being hampered by the inadequate skills of teachers who find it difficult to adapt to the current discourse and the contexts in which they are working.