Teachers’ perspectives on supporting learners experiencing barriers to learning in a public mainstream primary school in Lesotho

Abstract

Limited research has been conducted in Lesotho about teachers’ perspectives on supporting learners experiencing barriers to learning in public mainstream primary schools. In the current research, the main aim was to explore teachers’ perspectives on supporting learners experiencing barriers to learning in a public mainstream primary school in Lesotho. The study adopted a qualitative approach and data was collected using semi-structured telephonic interviews and document analysis with 12 teachers in the school. The findings of this study revealed that teachers use formal and informal assessments and observations of learner's behaviour to identify learners experiencing barriers to learning as they do not have access to the 'assessment form' developed by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) that help them identify the learners with diverse needs. Furthermore, the results showed that a few teachers differentiate the curriculum, but only a few of the teachers differentiated the learners' learning environments when responding to their diverse needs. In addition, the findings of this study suggest that teachers encounter many challenges when supporting learners experiencing barriers to learning. The challenges included lack of training on inclusive education, lack of parental involvement, lack of appropriate learning materials, difficulty managing learners with diverse needs in the same classroom, time constraints, and lack of support from the MOET. Lastly, teachers reported that in order for them to be able to implement inclusive education successfully they require diverse learning materials, additional training on inclusive education from the school and/or the MOET, involvement of parents in their children's education, and teaching assistants in the classroom. In conclusion, teachers in the current study require more support from various stakeholders such as parents, school management, and the MOET to effectively include learners with barriers to learning in mainstream classrooms. Future research should be conducted on the level of alignment between the national inclusive education policy in Lesotho and the curriculum followed by the public mainstream schools.