Graduate pre-service primary school teacher preparation for inclusion in education in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Proficient and appropriate preparation of pre-service teachers is a decisive milestone in guaranteeing inclusion in education in addressing Zimbabwe’s teacher education challenges as pitfalls in this service by its universities contribute to exclusion of the traditionally marginalised learners. These institutions have been mandated by the Zimbabwean government to promote educational equity as a social justice issue. Entrenched in an interpretivist research paradigm, this qualitative single case study examined the university graduate pre-service primary school teachers’ professional preparation for inclusion in education in Zimbabwe as the context for proposing strategies to enhance their professional preparation. A sample of sixteen university graduate pre-service primary school teachers was purposively drawn from the Masvingo Province of Zimbabwe. Semi-structured individual interviews, non-participant observations, document analysis and follow-up discussions were used to collect data. Braun and Clarke’s (2006) qualitative thematic approach was used to analyse the data. The study found that university graduate pre-service primary school teachers had divergent and limited understandings of inclusion in education that resulted in them engaging in various practices. University graduate pre-service primary school teachers also engaged in various individual and collaborative practices that were grounded in the social, cultural and religious space and the niche area of the university in inclusion in education which is preservation of African culture and heritage. Individual and institutional capacity building, including the training of university pre-service teachers on comprehensive theory and practice of inclusion in education coupled with adequate financial, technological and materials resources as well as sufficient time in schools could enhance their professional preparation for inclusive practice. The current study provides a rich description of the lived experiences of graduate pre-service primary school teachers and thus serves as a basis for further studies on university graduate pre-service primary school teacher professional preparation for inclusion in education. Data analysed in this qualitative single case study was gathered from only graduate pre-service primary school teachers. A multiple-case study with a broad spectrum of stakeholders as research participants would provide a collection of multiple perceptions of inclusion in education regarding the professional preparation of graduate pre-service primary school teachers for the philosophy.