INED7211 Module Reader 2023

CHAPTER 1:
INCLUSIVE EDUCATION AS AN INTERNATIONAL
HUMAN RIGHT’S ISSUE

Inclusive education is a process of developing an education system that realises the education rights
of every child: ‘Every learner matters and matters equally’ (UNESCO, 2017). This module adopts a
broad social justice and human rights-based approach and places you, the teacher, as a key change
agent in developing an inclusive and equitable education system by becoming a teacher who teaches
inclusively.

1.1 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

A rights-based approach to education is closely tied to human rights principles, as defined in the
international declarations that many countries, including South Africa, have signed or ratified. The
‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ of 1948, drafted by representatives with different legal and
cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, was proclaimed by the United Nations General
Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 (General Assembly resolution 217 A), as a common standard
of achievements for all peoples and all nations. It sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights
to be universally protected. Education, as a fundamental human right, is enshrined in the ‘Universal
Declaration of Human Rights’ of 1948.

Over the last fifty years, the idea of human rights has developed from words on a page to become a
global movement, driven by people from all walks of life and communities. Human rights policies in
education aim to:

• Promote, respect and protect the universal right of all children to inclusive, quality education
• Recognise that every learner and teacher is free to explore, discover, develop and express
their potential, with dignity, with equal opportunity and without discrimination

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 1 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

1.2 International policy documents – Paving the way for Inclusive

Education

In the table below we have listed, in chronological order, some of the most significant international
conventions on inclusive education, and a brief summary of how these have paved the way for
inclusive education, across the globe.

Table 1: International Conventions on Inclusive Education

YEAR DOCUMENT TITLE HOW IT IMPACTS ON INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

1948 The Universal Education is a right. Primary school should be free. We should
Declaration of learn about the UN and how to get on with others. Our parents
Human Rights can choose what we learn. Children should not be discriminated
(Article 26) against. The best interests of the child and the child’s view should
be considered.

1965 International Condemns apartheid and racial segregation and obliges parties to
Convention on the "prevent, prohibit and eradicate" these practices in territories
Elimination of All under their jurisdiction. Combats racial prejudice and encourage
Forms of Racial understanding and tolerance between different racial, ethnic and
Discrimination national groups.

1982 The World A strategy to enhance disability prevention, rehabilitation and

Programme of equalisation of opportunities, which pertains to full participation
Action Concerning of persons with disabilities in social life and national development.
Disabled Persons Emphasises the need to approach disability from a human rights
perspective.

1989 The Convention on Protects the rights of children in all areas of their life.
the Rights of the Governments have a responsibility to take all available measures
Child to make sure children’s rights are respected, protected and
fulfilled, and agree to review their laws relating to children. This
involves assessing their social services, legal, health and
educational systems, as well as levels of funding for these services.

1990 The Jomtien World The Jomtien Conference was a major milestone in the
Conference on international dialogue on the place of education in human
Education for All development policy,
(EFA)

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 2 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

YEAR DOCUMENT TITLE HOW IT IMPACTS ON INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

1993 Standard Rules on Among the major outcomes of the Decade of Disabled Persons
the Equalisation of was the adoption of the Standard Rules on the Equalisation of
Opportunities for Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities by the General
Persons with Assembly on 20 December 1993 (resolution 48/96 annex).
Disabilities Although not a legally binding instrument, the Standard Rules
represent a strong moral and political commitment of
Governments to take action to attain equalisation of opportunities
for persons with disabilities. The rules serve as an instrument for
policy-making and as a basis for technical and economic
cooperation.

1994 The Salamanca Calls for major reform of the ordinary school and recognises the
Statement and necessity and urgency of providing education for all children,
Framework for young people and adults “within the regular education system”.
Action on Special Children with special educational needs must have access to
Needs Education regular schools with inclusive orientation as the most effective
means of combating discriminatory attitudes, creating welcoming
communities, building an inclusive society and achieving
education for all.

2000 The World Education is a fundamental right enshrined in the 1948 Universal
Education Forum, Declaration of Human Rights. Yet, today, millions of individuals
Dakar deprived of basic education are still unaware that this is a right
they can demand. The World Education Forum, held in Dakar from
26 to 28 April 2000, was about making this right a reality.

2000 The Millennium The eight Millennium Development Goals included halving the
Development Goals extreme poverty rate, halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and
providing universal primary education, all by the target date of
2015.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 3 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

YEAR DOCUMENT TITLE HOW IT IMPACTS ON INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

2006 The UN Convention The Convention follows decades of work by the UN to

on the Rights of change attitudes and approaches to persons with disabilities.
Persons with Moves from viewing persons with disabilities as “objects” of
Disabilities charity, medical treatment and social protection towards viewing
persons with disabilities as “subjects” with rights, who are capable
of claiming those rights and making decisions for their lives based
on their free and informed consent as well as being active
members of society. Recognises that "disability is an evolving
concept and that disability results from the interaction between
persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental
barriers that hinders their full and effective participation in society
on an equal basis with others".

2016 Sustainable Sustainable Development Goal 4 ensures inclusive and equitable

Development Goals quality education and promotes lifelong learning opportunities for
all. Sustainable Development Goal 4 targets a reduction in
inequality within and among countries

1.3 The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on

Special Needs Education

In June 1994 representatives of 92 governments and 25 international organisations formed the World
Conference on Special Needs Education, held in Salamanca, Spain. Out of this conference came the
one of the most influential documents to support inclusive education worldwide, The Salamanca
Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education (UNESCO, 1994). A closer look at
the definition of inclusive education adopted during the Salamanca Conference (UNESCO, 1994)
indicates that every learner is at risk of experiencing exclusion in education. The Salamanca Statement
and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education (UNESCO, 1994) acknowledges the following:

• Every child has a fundamental right to education, and must be given the opportunity to
achieve and maintain an acceptable level of learning;
• Every child has unique characteristics, interests, abilities and learning needs;
• Education systems should be designed, and educational programmes implemented to take
into account the wide diversity of these characteristics and needs;
• Those with special educational needs must have access to regular schools which should
accommodate them within a child-centred pedagogy capable of meeting these needs;

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 4 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

• Regular schools with this inclusive orientation are the most effective means of combating
discriminatory attitudes, creating welcoming communities, building an inclusive society and
achieving education for all; moreover, they provide an effective education to the majority of
children and improve the efficiency and ultimately the cost-effectiveness of the entire
education system.
In summary, education should be seen across all countries and all contexts as a basic human right.
Inclusive Education recognises the right of ALL children to feel welcomed into a supportive educational
environment in their own community. It refers to the capacity of ordinary local schools and ECD
Centres to respond to the needs of ALL learners, including those requiring extra support because of
learning or physical disability, social disadvantage, cultural difference or other barriers to learning. In
the next chapter we will look at how inclusive education relates to the South African context.

CHAPTER 2:
From Specialised Education to Education for
all in South Africa

This chapter will provide a brief history of education in South Africa, for you to understand the origins
of the exclusionary practices that exist in our current education system. Such a discussion will deepen
your understanding of inclusion within the South African context. Further to this, we will look at access
to education in South Africa, post-1994 and introduce the policy documents that have paved the way
for education for all in South Africa. Knowledge of some of these documents can be empowering and
enabling as you work throughout your career to counter the exclusion of children from the education
system and promote an inclusive culture in your classroom and school.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 5 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

2.1 A History of Exclusion in South Africa

2.1.1 The Early Years

The first formal schools in South Africa were established during the period of the Dutch colonisation
(1652-1795). These schools were under the direct control of the church with the purpose of teaching
people to read the Bible. Under the British occupation from 1806, a formal schooling system was
established, with state schools providing free and compulsory education for white learners only.

According to Graaf and Gordon (1992:209) “African education was mission education”. When the
missionaries took over the education of black people in the 19th century, funding was limited, and the
standard of teaching was low. Christie (1991) describes how mission schools imposed Western
cultures and undermined the African way of life. Mission schools also contributed to creating class
differences through their curricula. Some schools offered well-resourced academic education based
on European-type curricula, emphasised Christian values, and included technical training. Others had
limited funds, poor facilities and poorly trained teachers, which contributed to low educational
outcomes. Furthermore, education at the time offered different experiences of the curriculum as its
prepared females for domestic life and males for jobs in religion and teaching. For many South African
children, opportunities for schooling during this time were limited or non-existent.

In the early 1900’s the education department became involved in specialised education for the first
time and put forward the Vocational Education and Special Education Act 29 of 1928. This meant that
the Union Education Department could establish ‘special schools’ for white learners with physical
impairments. Since there was still no compulsory education of black learners at this stage, there were
no schools for black learners with physical impairments.

2.1.2. Bantu Education

In 1948 the National Party came to power, with the segregation of the South African population into
four race groups and the establishment of ten separate homelands. In 1953, the Nationalist
government passed the Bantu Education Act. This act formalised, legalised and deepened the
structures around exclusion and segregation. It created racially separate education departments for
each of the South African population groups, at the time termed Whites, Indians, Coloureds and
Blacks. The education for blacks was controlled by the Department of Bantu Education and was
further separated along the lines of ethnicity. Segregation, discrimination and exclusion were
evident in the following:

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 6 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

• Gross neglect of education for blacks, which denied black people access to the same
educational opportunities and resources enjoyed by white South Africans;
• Denial of black people’s history, culture and identity, by promoting myths and racial
stereotypes in its curricula and textbooks;
• Limited educational funding for black learners’ education; education for blacks was funded by
tax collected from them, whereas education for white learners was funded from the
government’s General Revenue account;
• Shortages of resources in schools for blacks, especially in rural areas; shortages of classrooms
and teachers;
• Inadequate facilities such as laboratories, textbooks and libraries;
• Overcrowded classrooms, high teacher–student ratios, and poor teacher training, which
negatively affected the quality of teaching and learning;
• Creation of private schools to cater for learners from affluent and/or religious backgrounds;
• Different educational experiences organised along gender lines: girls, for example, were
trained in domestic science, history and typing, while boys did woodwork, physics and
chemistry.

Children with special needs or disabilities were also labelled, segregated, stereotyped and given an
inferior education. Those within the Bantu Education System were even worse off than their white
counterparts who, while they were marginalised, still had more resources made available to them
(Naicker, 2000). White children received financial resources through a separate education system for
learners with disabilities, often being educated in “special schools” (Phasha, 2010). On the other
hand, black children with disabilities were not
allocated any resources or support. As a result, most black communities resorted to sending their
learners with disabilities to mainstream schools where they received no support (Gwala-Ogisi, 1990;
Phasha, 2010). The provision of education for learners with special needs consisted of two systems:
special education and remedial education. Learners were rigidly categorised as having, for example:
slight specific learning disabilities; moderate specific disabilities; and severe learning disabilities
(Gwala-Ogisi, 1990). This labelling deepened segregation and discrimination.

2.1.3. Post-1994
Post-1994 many children and young people in South Africa remain excluded from education because
they cannot receive education in their home language, and/or are not receiving the specific support
they need to overcome the challenges preventing them from developing their potential. Learners

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 7 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

continue to be marginalised because of economic inequality; an inability to access quality education;

the daily challenges of living in communities that are deeply affected by substance abuse and violence;
and school cultures that are still burdened by sexism, racism, homophobia and xenophobia. Many
learners are further held back by low expectations due to labelling, and the cultural assumptions and
stereotypes attached to these labels.

Exclusion from quality education violates children’s constitutional rights and reinforces existing
structural injustices. This in turn leads to marginalised groups being excluded from full participation in
social, economic and political life as adults. They remain trapped in inter-generational cycles of
poverty and exclusion, thereby increasing inequality. This situation exacerbates South Africa’s two key
development challenges: redressing the high levels of poverty, and inequality (DBE, 2015: 3). Inclusive
education needs to be understood against this background of social oppression and educational
exclusion. For this reason, education policies and Acts consistently acknowledge the role of teachers
in building an inclusive education system. They call for teachers to advocate for social justice, human
rights and inclusivity. This call means that you, as a teacher, are expected to focus on learner well-
being, classroom pedagogies and educational practices that strongly and clearly challenge exclusion
and all forms of oppression and discrimination.

2.2. Policy Documents that support Inclusive Education in South

Africa
South Africa has been committed to building an inclusive education and training system since 1994.
The Constitution was the country’s first policy document to reflect a commitment to equity and
equality. It embraced the international principles of human rights and committed itself to building an
inclusive education and training system. South Africa has developed education laws and policies
based on the Constitution that promote a just, equitable, safe and productive society for the benefit
of everyone. In the table below we have listed some of the most significant South African and
African policies in chronological order, and a brief summary of some of the ways the mandate
informs inclusive education.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 8 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

Table 2: South African and African Inclusive Education policy

development

YEAR DOCUMENT TITLE HOW IT IMPACTS ON INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

1990 African Union: African Children face socio-cultural and economic realities particular to
Charter on the Rights Africa. Emphasises the need to include African cultural values
and Welfare of the Child and experiences when dealing with the rights of the child. Any
custom, tradition, cultural or religious practice that is
inconsistent with these rights is discouraged.

1996 The South African Supports the rights to basic education, to a safe environment
Constitution and Bill of and to act in the best interest of the child
Rights

1996 The South African Articulates the roles and responsibilities of public schools.
Schools Act Ended the system of separate schooling on the basis of race and
created a single system for all learners. Right of equal access to
basic and quality education for all learners without
discrimination of any sort. No learner may therefore be denied
admission to an ordinary school on any grounds, including
grounds of disability, language, learning difficulty or pregnancy.
This is the first step towards a single inclusive education system
for South Africa.

2001 DBE: Education White Suggests structural and programme changes to education
Paper 6: Special Needs infrastructure of South Africa so that diverse learners can be
Education — Building embraced by the mainstream. Outlines an inclusionary
an inclusive education system in which all learners have equal access to
quality educational opportunities. Recognises the importance of
education and training
developing learners’ strengths and of empowering and enabling
system
learners to participate actively and critically in the learning
process.

2005 The South African Ensures children are able to grow up safely and develop well,
Children’s Act and where they are abused or neglected, that they will be
helped to recover. Children are allowed to have their say and
participate in decisions that affect their lives. Values and
protects families. Ensures proper and safe after-care, crèches,
drop-in centres, and child and youth care centres.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 9 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

YEAR DOCUMENT TITLE HOW IT IMPACTS ON INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

2010 DHET (Department of Emphasise the critical need for all teachers to be conversant
Higher Education and with the requirements of implementing Inclusive Education
Training): Minimum practices
Requirements for
Teacher Education
Qualifications

2011 DBE: Policy on Provides a policy framework for the standardisation of the
Screening Identification, procedures to identify, assess and provide programmes for all
Assessment and learners who require additional support to enhance their
Support (SIAS) participation and inclusion in school.

2011 DBE: Guidelines for Proposes strategies for differentiation in curriculum delivery to
Responding to Learner meet the diversity of learner needs
Diversity in the
Classroom

2011 South African Council Draft Professional Teaching Standards which have been
for Educators (SACE): clustered into ten (10) principles for professional teaching.
Draft Professional
Teacher Standards

2012 DBE: The National Demonstrates sensitivity to issues of diversity such as poverty,
Curriculum and inequality, race, gender, language, age, disability and other
Assessment and Policy factors
Statement Grades R–12

2012 The South African Advocates nation building as a key element within social
National Development cohesion initiatives and identifies 31 actions that will assist in
Plan 2030 achieving this. These include fostering constitutional values,
equal opportunities, inclusion and redress, promoting social
cohesion across society through increased interaction across
race and class, promoting active citizenry and leadership, and
fostering a social compact.

2013 African Union: Agenda Strategic framework for the socio-economic transformation of
2063—Africa’s Agenda the continent over the next 50 years. Emphasises the
for Children importance of education and children’s civil and political rights
as the foundations of sustainable, rights-based development.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 10 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

YEAR DOCUMENT TITLE HOW IT IMPACTS ON INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

2014 Southern African Aims to realise the educational rights of all children, including
Development those who are most vulnerable, through schools becoming
Community (SADC) : inclusive centres of teaching, learning, care and support.
Care and Support for
Teaching and Learning
(CSTL) framework

2018 DBE: Draft Norms and Addresses how an inclusive education system will be funded
Standards for Funding and resourced.

2018 DHET: Standards for Identifies standards for the development of inclusive teachers
Inclusive teaching in five key areas: valuing and understanding learner diversity;
agency for social justice and inclusion; collaborating to enable
inclusive teaching and learning; developing professionally as an
inclusive teacher; employing classroom practices that promote
learning for all.

2.3 The Education White Paper 6 - Vision and goals for an

inclusive system
In 2001, the Department of Education issued a framework policy document called White Paper 6:
Special Needs Education, Building an Inclusive Education and Training System. The Education White
Paper 6 (2001) is a key policy document for Inclusive Education in South Africa and outlines an
inclusionary education system in which all learners have equal access to quality educational
opportunities. The principles of this policy are framed by the Constitution of South Africa with a
focus on the following:

• human rights and social justice for all learners;

• optimal participation and social integration of all learners;
• equal access for all learners to a single, inclusive education system;
• access of all learners to the curriculum so they can engage meaningfully with the teaching and
learning process;
• equity and redress of past inequalities;
• sensitivity to and involvement of the community;
• cost-effectiveness of services provided.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 11 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

According to the White Paper 6 (DoE, 2001: 16) inclusive education and training:

• Are about acknowledging that all children and youth can learn and that all children and youth
need support.
• Are accepting and respecting the fact that all learners are different in some way and have
different learning needs which are equally valued and an ordinary part of our human
experience.
• Are about enabling education structures, systems and learning methodologies to meet the
needs of all learners.
• Acknowledge and respect differences in learners, whether due to age, gender, ethnicity,
language, class, disability or HIV status.
• Are broader than formal schooling and acknowledge that learning also occurs in the home and
community, and within formal and informal modes and structures.
• Are about changing attitudes, behaviour, teaching methodologies, curricula and the
environment to meet the needs of all learners.
• Are about maximising the participation of all learners in the culture and the curricula of
educational institutions and uncovering and minimising barriers to learning.
• Are about empowering learners by developing their individual strengths and enabling them to
participate critically in the process of learning.

Within the context of the principles of the Constitution of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996) and the
overall policies and legislation in education in South Africa that have been developed since the first,
over-arching White Paper on Education (1995), the Department of Education has committed itself to
the following vision and goals: “Our vision is of a South Africa in which all our people have access to
lifelong education and training opportunities, which will in turn contribute towards improving the
quality of life and building a peaceful, prosperous and democratic society” (DoE, 2001: 5). Flowing
from this, White Paper 6 reflects a commitment to the development of an “education and training
system which will promote education for all and foster the development of inclusive and supportive
centres of learning that would enable all learners to participate actively in the education process so
that they could develop and extend their potential and participate as equal members of society”
(DoE, 2001: 5).

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 12 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

CHAPTER 3:
THEORIES AND MODELS OF UNDERSTANDING IN
INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

The theories and models discussed in this chapter help illustrate different understandings of inclusion
and provide the theoretical underpinning of the Education White Paper 6 (2001), the policy and
framework for inclusive education put forward in South Africa. The following models and theories will
be discussed, the medical deficit model, the social model and ecological systems theory.

3.1 MEDICAL DEFICIT MODEL

Medical deficit theories focus on what is “wrong” with a person—their “sickness” or “deficit”—and
the causes of this problem (Swart & Pettipher, 2016). This focus has led to the view of people with a
huge range of differences as having an individual condition. This condition is seen as being outside
what is considered “normal” and therefore thought to be at a social disadvantage. Medical deficit
theories have had a major influence in the fields of psychology and special education. This has had a
profound effect on the education of learners seen as having “deficits”, including those viewed as
having disabilities or learning difficulties, which are often referred to as “special educational needs”
(SEN).

Figure 1: Traditional medical model view

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 13 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

Within the medical deficit model, the view is that the person is the problem, and that it is therefore
the person who needs “fixing” to fit in with everyone else. Some defining characteristics of the medical
deficit model can be summarised as follows;

• Where possible, a diagnosis is made;

• The learner is then categorised and labelled;
• Learners with diagnosed “deficiencies” are viewed as
qualitatively different—i.e. of a different nature and/or
standard—to other learners;
• Often, these learners are educated separately from
their peers;
• Specialist support staff intervene to try to improve or
even remove the “deficiencies” within the learner; they
do this by using specific educational responses Figure 2: The medical model
developed for this “deficiency”.

Despite the general emphasis on inclusion and the creation of accepting inclusive school
communities, the medical model described above is still deeply embedded in most countries,
including South Africa. There are still widely held medical deficit assumptions about the nature and
distribution of abilities (Florian, 2015). Research indicates, for example, that despite the fact that
most teachers support the rights of all learners to be in their classrooms, they still describe them in
medical deficit ways and prefer them to be moved to separate classrooms or special schools
(Engelbrecht et al., 2015).

3.2 THE SOCIAL MODEL

In reaction to the medical deficit model, a contrasting view of ability/disability and special educational
needs—the social model—was developed by people with disabilities. It counteracts the medical deficit
model with a view that comes from, according to Terzi (2008: 44), the direct experience of disability,
by people with disabilities.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 14 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

The social model perspective does not deny challenges caused by diverse needs or the need for
medical treatment. However, it challenges the view of difference as a “deficit”. It therefore sees the
medical deficit view of “labelling” and defining individuals by their conditions as discriminatory,
constructed by an ability-oriented environment. In an education setting, the social model asks us to
shift our view away from the learner as being, or
having, the problem. Instead, it proposes that society
itself creates barriers around diversity. The issue is not
the person, it’s the world—as the diagram below
shows.

The social model proposes that, as inaccessibility is

caused by society, solutions therefore start with
society removing barriers to access. These solutions
start with what can be done, not with what can’t. As a
result, the social model stresses the full inclusion of Figure 3: Social Model of disability

people with diverse needs in society, and advocates for

diverse children to be educated and participate fully in mainstream schools. In South Africa, the social
model underpinned the development of Education White Paper 6 (DoE, 2001).

3.3 Ecological systems theory and Bronfenbrenner’s model

Ecological systems theory aims to show how individual people and groups at different levels of society
are linked in active, interdependent and interacting relationships (Donald, Lazarus & Lolwana, 2002).
The theory evolved from combining ecological theory and systems theory. Ecological theory is based
on the interdependence between different organisms and their physical environment (Ibid.). Similar
ideas have been applied to relationships among human beings, and the interactions among groups of
people in their social contexts. The study of these relationships and interactions has led to the
development of systems theory.
At the centre of ecological systems theory is the belief that different groups of people are interactive
systems. The functioning of the whole depends on the interaction between these different groups.
For example, a school as a system, may look as if it is made up of staff and learners. However, teachers,
heads of departments, and learners in different grades, for example, are all sub-systems. Therefore,
to understand the school as a whole, you need to examine the relationships among these different
sub-systems (Engelbrecht, 2006).

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 15 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

Urie Bronfenbrenner was a Russian-born American psychologist

who developed a model of child development based on
ecological systems theory. This model suggests that there are
layers of different interacting systems that result in physical,
social and psychological change and development (Swart &
Pettipher, 2016: 11). The model explains how these systems, and
the relationships among them, affect the development of the
learner. It places the child at the centre of the systems and puts
central importance on making decisions that are in the best
interests of the child.
Figure 4: Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems
model
Bronfenbrenner defines five types of systems which consist of
roles, norms and rules that shape the development of the child: microsystem, mesosystem,
exosystem, macrosystem and chronosystem. Below are examples of each of these systems and how
they can be applied in our understanding of inclusive education in South Africa.

The microsystem is the family, classroom, neighbourhood or systems in the person’s immediate
environment. In the South African context, family is the microsystem where socialisation takes place
first may include the extended family.

The mesosystem is an interaction of two microsystems, such as the connection between a child’s
home and school, or between neighbourhood and home. In the mesosystem, all of the microsystems
interact together and contribute to the development of the child.

The exosystem is an environment that does not directly involve a child but affects them anyway. For
example, when a child’s parent’s workplace requires a lot of travelling this impacts on the child. Or
when a new community service is introduced that the child can access, this will have an impact on
their life.

The macrosystem is the larger cultural context: the circumstances, beliefs, customs and laws shared
by the community around the child. The cultural context can include, for example, socio-economic
status, poverty and ethnicity. The macrosystem evolves over time, because each generation’s
circumstances change.

Chronosystems show change over time, for example to family structure, socio-economic status,
schooling and living conditions, as well as events in the country, region and world (known as socio-
historical events) (Bronfenbrenner, 1994). These changes also impact on the child’s life.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 16 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

Bronfenbrenner places the child at the centre of all these structures. The child is therefore
continuously affected in one way or another by the continuous changes that happen in their
environment (Howard & Johnson, 2000). It is crucial that teachers know about and understand
these changes, and their impacts, so that they can understand how they affect the learners in their
classroom and respond appropriately. It is from this perspective that inclusive education is
approached in South Africa.

The ecological systems theory provides the theoretical underpinning of the Education White Paper 6
(DoE, 2001). The approach is consistent with a ‘systemic and developmental approach to
understanding problems and planning action’ (DoE, 2001: 19). Ecological systems theory provides a
means for understanding the levels of systems related to the education process, and to recognise
systemic factors, internal to the individual learner and the local community and external factors,
factors in the wider community and social system (Donald, Lazarus & Lolwana, 2002). If we look at
inclusive education in South Africa from an ecological systems perspective, we recognise that we
cannot achieve our goal of education for all, without understanding the range of barriers to learning
that exist that may prohibit a child from reaching their full learning potential. Furthermore, we
recognise that ‘interventions or strategies at different levels, such as the classroom, the school, the
district, the provincial and national departments and systems, will be essential to prevent them from
causing learning to be ineffective. Interventions or strategies will also be essential to avoid barriers
to learning from contributing to the exclusion of learners from the curriculum and/or from the
education and training system’ (DoE, 2001: 19)

In this chapter we reviewed three of the most common theories or models in inclusive education. In
the next chapter we will look at learner diversity in South Africa. As you work through the next
chapters, keep in mind the theories and models that apply to inclusive education and try to
understand how these might influence the way we think about and respond to learner diversity.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 17 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

CHAPTER 4:
Learner Diversity in the South African
Classroom

South African classrooms reflect the richly diverse communities that their learners come from. The
idea of a homogeneous classroom is simply not relevant to teaching in the 21st century. Learners
speak different languages, come from different socio-economic backgrounds, religions and cultures.
Children also learn in different ways and have different strengths and interests. In an inclusive
classroom, differences are valued so that all children can reach their full potential and feel that they
play an equal part in the classroom and school community.

4.1 What is normal?

Often, schools use a particular idea of “normal” to organise learners. This concept of normal is based
on a “bell curve”. The bell curve was originally used in the 18th century to test mathematical
concepts and astronomical measurements. The mean, or average, of whatever data is being studied
is shown at the middle point and “normal distribution” is defined from this point. More frequent,
“normal” values sit in the middle of the curve and rarer, very large or very small values, sit at either
end.

Figure 5: The Bell Curve – Normal Distribution

During the 19th century the bell curve was applied to non-mathematical concepts by sociologists, for
example, to incidence of crime and migration. This sociological use of the bell curve led to the

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 18 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

concept of the “average man”, illustrated in Figure 1 above. When applied to human beings, the bell
curve placed our most frequently occurring characteristics in the middle of the curve. These became
“normal”. Any characteristics that occurred less frequently, at the edges of the curve, became
“abnormal”. These “normal” and “abnormal” human characteristics also had a value placed on
them. They became matched with what was good, desirable or appropriate in the middle of the bell
curve, and not good, undesirable or inappropriate at its edges.

Despite some opposition because of its origins in mathematics, “normal distribution” via the bell
curve has become an accepted way of “sorting” people, as well as numbers, into categories. The
field of education is no different, as Fendler and Muffazar (2008: 64) describe: “So many people
believe that the bell curve represents the way things are in nature, the ideal of a normal distribution
has been naturalized in education.” For example, in schools we routinely talk about above-average
or below-average intelligence; high, average or low ability; or normal and abnormal—and even
extreme—behaviour. All these concepts are based on the idea of “normal distribution”, as shown by
the bell curve. They are such an embedded part of educational thinking and organisation that they
have rarely been questioned by teachers, school leaders or policymakers. The belief that intelligence
is something fixed that you are born with, and that learners can therefore be “sorted” in terms of
their intelligence via the bell curve, is still deeply entrenched in educational thinking. Despite
ongoing debates about intelligence—what it is, what forms it takes, how and when to measure it—it
is still widely used as a way of:

• Sorting learners in school settings, for example organising grouping based on test scores
and/or teachers’ judgments about learners’ intelligence.
• Trying to understand the difficulties learners meet in schools, for example, in many parts of
the world, identification of disabilities and/or special educational needs depends, at least in
part, on some form of ability test scores. These scores tend to reinforce the notion that groups
of learners can be sorted into learners with and without special educational needs, or those
who are “normal” and those who are “different” (or even considered “abnormal”).

This embedded idea of “normal”, based on a concept of what “average” is, promotes the idea that
teachers should focus their planning on “average” learners in the centre of the bell curve. But what is
“normal” or “average” in a school? And what does this concept mean for those who do not fall into
this group?

Inclusive education challenges bell-curve thinking and the concept of “normal” in a number of ways.
There is an increasing understanding of the connections between different theoretical approaches to
teaching and learning, and between social, emotional and cognitive aspects of educational

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 19 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

experience. We have therefore come to understand that teaching and learning need to take account
of the role of socio-cultural contexts in which children live (as we have illustrated in
Bronfenbrenner’s multidimensional, contextualist model of human development, in the previous
chapter). Therefore, we consider an everyday classroom to be one in which the “classroom
community is inevitably diverse, consisting of individuals who differ in many ways and who may
require different forms of support at different times in their school careers” (Green & Moodley,
2018).

4.2 Recognising learner diversity

In order to value and affirm diversity in schools and classrooms, we need to understand in more detail
what diversity means in relation to learning; we will unpack this in the following section. It’s important
to understand the range of possible differences that may exist so that you can notice the differences
between your learners and get to know them well, and therefore know what they need from you in
the classroom. In the following section we will unpack nine ways in which children in your classroom
might be different and have different experience of learning.

4.2.1 Levels of learners’ access to the curriculum

In an average class of 40–50 learners you can be sure that not all learners are accessing the curriculum
at their grade level. There are generally four levels of access to the curriculum that can be identified
in any class:

• Learners who have already mastered the grade level content (these are gifted learners
requiring enhanced or more complex content)
• Learners accessing the curriculum at grade level
• Learners requiring “scaffolding” or support to access or engage the curriculum at grade level
• Learners who are “grade straddling” or engaging the curriculum at one or more grades below
grade level

The percentage of learners in each group differs from school to school, and even from grade to grade.
When viewed in this way it becomes clear that planning a lesson that only allows for grade level access
to the curriculum means that many learners in your class are excluded from meaningful participation

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 20 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

and learning. In later chapters we will look at the concept of ‘curriculum differentiation’, creating
appropriately different learning experiences for different students, based on their learning needs.

4.2.2 Ways of making meaning from learning

Each child has unique interests, likes and dislikes, and these will impact on the ways they make
meaning from learning. Take the example of a child struggling with the mathematical concept of
grouping. You know they are passionate about cars so you could ask them to go through old magazines
and newspapers, cut out pictures of cars and sort them into big/small/different colours to learn about
grouping in a way that is relevant as well as interesting to them. In addition to interests, likes and
dislikes, just as children enjoy doing different things, they are also good at different things or have
different strengths. The ability to recognise these different strengths in your learners is an important
aspect of understanding the diversity of your classroom.

4.2.3 The ways that learners behave

Children display big differences in their levels and ways of communicating, interacting, concentrating
and participating. Differences in behaviour can be linked to many different reasons, including
differences in the brain that lead to a variety of ways in which learners see and interact with their
environment, changes in circumstances at home, or psychosocial issues. Behaviour differences in
learners should be considered from a systems perspective in understanding the behaviours of
learners. In any class of learners, you will notice a wide range of behaviours.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 21 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

4.2.4 Psychosocial well-being

Psychosocial well-being is a term that is used to describe our mental, emotional and social health—
how we think and feel about ourselves, the quality of our interactions with others, and our sense of
belonging in our communities. As a teacher, it’s a challenge to get to know and understand the
psychosocial make-up of all the children in all your classes. Just as your learners will rarely know what
you have been doing between the end of school one day and the start of school the next, you can’t
assume you know what has been happening in their lives. However, acknowledging the range of
psychological well-being of your learners and their diverse experiences, in combination with
developing and showing empathy and understanding, will go a long way. Maslow’s theory on needs is
useful to understanding the psychosocial well-being of the learners in our classrooms.
Maslow’s ‘Hierarchy of Needs’, which he first developed in the 1940s but continued to refine over
several decades, is often represented as a pyramid (although Maslow never did this himself). The
broad idea of the theory is that
as humans we are motivated by
our needs. Firstly, we try to
satisfy our physiological needs
and, once these are met, then
we are motivated to move on to
meet our safety needs. Once
these basic needs are met, we
turn our attention to our
psychological needs, starting
with belongingness and love,
Figure 6: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
then move on to esteem, and
eventually to self-actualisation.
Children must have their basic needs met at levels one and two, before they can begin to strive for
fulfilment on the higher levels. In South Africa we face a vast range of socioeconomic and other
challenges. Some of these can be seen in light of Maslow’s theory (Excel & Linington, 2015)

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 22 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

4.2.5 Learners’ socio-economic circumstances

In South Africa the resources and quality of education offered in schools are still largely unequal. In
well-resourced schools, children have access to textbooks, materials, and extra-curricular and a host
of other activities, all contributing to their holistic education and development. This is in stark
contrast to learners in poorly resourced schools where access to even basic amenities like electricity,
toilets and a library are limited. The better schools charge higher school fees and are situated in
more affluent or well-off communities. It is difficult for a poor family to access these schools. The
situation is even more challenging for learners in rural areas.
The South African legacy of apartheid means that children from poor communities still perform
disproportionally worse in education than their more affluent peers. It is unfortunately also true that
poor educational outcomes mean that it is more difficult for people to escape from poverty. In
addition to families living in poverty not accessing good quality education, the effects of poverty also
have a direct impact on the ability to learn. A child who is cold, tired or hungry cannot concentrate
on learning in class (consider Maslow’s theory). It is important for you, the teacher, to be aware of
this as you may need to access support for learners to address these barriers. In the same way as
financial circumstances impact a child’s learning, so to do their family and community (social)
circumstances.
In South Africa less than 30% of children in the poorest 75% of schools have attended two years
of preschool or more, in comparison to 60% of children from the wealthiest 25% of schools
(Spaull, 2013). These early inequalities precede, and arguably cause to some degree, the large
inequalities that are evident later on in children’s schooling careers.
- SAHRC & UNICEF, 2014

Here it is argued that the attitudes and perceptions of both the family and community towards
education impacts the level of the learner‘s educational achievement. Where education is not seen as
important, or when achievement beyond a certain grade is not considered valuable, then the learner’s
motivation for and chances of success beyond this, are limited. In the same way, early childhood
intervention impacts “school readiness” and later achievement in education.

Community and family violence are also examples of socio-economic circumstances that have an
impact on learning. Children living in fear or who have been traumatised by violence struggle to
focus and learn. Child-headed households, HIV Aids and unemployment are other examples of socio-
economic circumstances that effect a large portion of the South Africa population. How well do you
know the background or socioeconomic factors impacting the life of the children you teach? How
will this contextual understanding inform the way you teach? An understanding of such diversity

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 23 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

enables us as teacher to optimise the learning opportunities our children are offered (Excel &
Linington, 2015).

4.2.6 Disability
It is crucial to recognise that children with disabilities do not themselves form one homogeneous
group. There is wide diversity in disability. Different types of disabilities and the severity of the
impairment, impact on the diversity of learning needs. The term “special educational needs” covers
many kinds of difficulties in learning and means different things to different people in different
contexts. It covers an array of problems, from those related to particular impairments to those
related to learning and behavioural difficulties experienced by some learners compared with other
similar learners. These impairments include:
• Physical: ability to move or physical functioning
• Psychosocial: thinking, mood and behaviour, social and emotional state
• Cognitive: learning, reasoning, problem-solving, everyday social and practical activities
• Communication and interaction: acquisition and expression of language and speech,
interaction with others
• Sensory: the use of the senses, most commonly, hearing and vision

Some of the terms you may be familiar with that are used to describe children perceived to have a
disability that impacts on their learning include:

• Albinism
• Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Autistic Spectrum Continuum (ASC); Asperger Syndrome
• Down Syndrome
• Dyslexia
• Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder (FASD)
• Hearing impairment
• Stress, anxiety and depression
• Visual impairment

It is important to note that not all impairments are disabilities. As we have seen above, children who
experience difficulties in learning are referred to as having “special educational needs” or SEN. The
term has become an abbreviation that teachers use to talk about all kinds of learning problems. As a
result, “SEN” covers many kinds of difficulties in learning, including those resulting from impairments

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 24 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

and those related to learning and behavioural difficulties. When teachers talk about learners’
difficulties, they judge them to be experienced by some learners compared with others. This tendency
to define differences between individual learners, or groups of learners, reinforces the idea of “most”
and “some”. This idea, in turn, reinforces difference as a problem rather than an asset. In addition,
identifying particular children in this way creates labels, which—as we have seen—can lead to
marginalisation of some learners. Teachers also tend to think of this label as a characteristic of the
learner rather than a problem of teaching and learning that they can work to solve. This thinking leads
to teachers feeling unable to help the learner.

In South Africa, children with disabilities have been, and remain, the most excluded and marginalised
group in education. Currently, between 500 000 and 600 000 children with disabilities are out of school
in South Africa.

4.2.7 Gender identity and sexual orientation

Gender discrimination has historically played a role in the equality-in-education debate. Today the
issue is still as relevant but has become more complex and multidimensional. The gender identity
diversity in your classroom could potentially be quite broad. The LGBTIQ activism movement has
ensured that the discussion about gender identity and sexual orientation is brought into the open
and given the attention and recognition it deserves. The gender identity debate is influenced by the
cultural and religious norms of the family and community where the school and learner are situated,
but the rights of people regarding their sexual orientation and gender identity are protected by the
constitution. However, it can be very difficult for a learner to openly discuss their sexual and/or
gender identity if it is considered unacceptable according to these cultural and religious norms.

As a teacher, you need to be aware of the various forms of prejudice and discrimination that is
present in society and in some school communities. Homophobia and transphobia are forms of
discrimination, just like racism and sexism. Discrimination impacts negatively on all members of a
community, not just the targets. In your classroom, you will have to teach a diverse group of learners
with varying personal experiences and it is therefore necessary to highlight that there is no one way
that people experience discrimination.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 25 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

4.2.8 Race, culture and religion

Although South Africa has come a long way from forced racial segregation in education, most
schools still comprise learners from one dominant racial group. This is largely because learners
attend the school nearest to where they live, and our social geography is still racially segregated.
Similarly, some schools are made up of learners from predominantly one religion. The risk is that this
becomes the dominant system and learners from minority religious groups are excluded. For
example, a school with predominantly Christian learners might impose Christian prayer or religious
ceremonies on the whole school, even if there are other minority religions represented at the
school. Many urban schools are made up of learners from different parts of South Africa, Africa and
the world, creating classroom environments rich in racial, cultural and religious diversity. This
creates a wonderful opportunity for learning about different cultures and experiences and how to
create an accepting classroom environment. As teachers, we need to be careful not to make
assumptions about the learners we teach, based on race, culture and religion.

4.2.9 Language

Many learners are taught in their home languages for the first three years of schooling with English
taught as a subject, and then in Grade 4 there is the switch to English as medium of instruction. The
reality is that in Grade 4 many children are taught in a language that is not their home language and
they have insufficient knowledge of English. This can pose several difficulties for the teacher. Added
to this, with the migration of families from other African countries and further afield, in many South
African classrooms there is often more than one home language represented. Moreover, in a
country with 11, soon to be 12 (the inclusion of South African Sign Language) official languages,
multilingual classes are common. In post-apartheid South Africa, English is viewed as the preferred
language of learning by many caregivers. It is seen as the global language of commerce and
communication. Caregivers believe their children will have an advantage if they are able to converse
fluently and learn in English. As a result, many send their children to English medium schools. Many
children struggle to learn in English and the teacher must find strategies to support them. The
challenge of having learners in your class whose home language is not the language of instruction
has become a common one in South Africa.

By now, you will have begun to understand the extent of diversity in the South African classroom.
Another important aspect of diversity is that these differences intersect or overlap. It is very
important in the study of inclusive education to examine not only how your learners are different

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 26 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

from one another, but also how some of these differences are shaped by power hierarchies in our
society. The dominant power hierarchies assert that their identity, belief system and values are
considered “normal” or acceptable and differing views, opinions, beliefs or identities are “abnormal”
or unacceptable. Sometimes these differences are tolerated but they are not given equal status.
Members are privileged purely by virtue of their being part of this dominant group, and others
marginalised or excluded because they are not. This dynamic has been evident in the gender
equality struggle worldwide. Even today, gender pay gaps exist in many countries, and patriarchal
thinking dictates policy and law-making.

4.3 Intersectionality

The concept of intersectionality takes this thinking a step further. It examines the ways in which
several of these systems of oppression intersect or come together in one person’s life to compound
marginalisation or exclusion. Look at the profiles of the two learners below.

While both children are marginalised by their gender and learning differences, their experience of
being girls with learning differences will not be the same due to their different socio-economic and
geographic locations. Living in more affluent socio-economic circumstances in an urban centre will
give Jane an educational advantage over Lerato as she will be able to access better schools and a
wider range of specialist services. Jane will more likely attend a poorly resourced school, far from

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 27 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

home and with little additional support. Therefore, it would be incorrect to say that they share the
same experience as girls with an intellectual disability. We need to look at how their other identities
or locations intersect with their gender and disability experiences and view their situations
holistically. To summarise, an intersectional educational lens enables us to understand the ways
differences can compound to increase discrimination, marginalisation and exclusion. In
understanding these ways, we can plan to address them in order to create equitable education
opportunities for all learners.

CHAPTER 5:
Barriers to learning

5.1 Understanding ‘barriers to learning’ in South Africa

With the paradigm shift from the old medical model of understanding inclusive education to an
ecological systems approach (discussed in Chapter 3), and the recognition of diversity in the South
African classroom, we see a change in the language we use to talk about inclusive education. A shift
away from ‘mainstreaming’ or ‘integration’ to ‘inclusion’; from ‘disability’ to ‘impairment’ and from
‘special needs’ or ‘special educational needs’ to ‘barriers to learning’.

The concept ‘learners who experience barriers to learning’ was used for the first time in South Africa
in the joint NCSNET/NCESS report of the Department of Education (1997): Quality education for all --
overcoming barriers to learning and development. The implied understanding is that we cannot view
inclusive education in South Africa as being solely about those learners with ‘special educational
needs’, but that we must recognise that in many cases it is the system that fails learners and
therefore barriers to learning, encompasses both those barriers that are intrinsic to the learner and
those that are extrinsic (influences from outside the learner). In South Africa, this concept has been
used in inclusive education policy, the White Paper 6 on Special Needs Education: Building and
inclusive education and teaching system (Department of Education 2001) and in other official
educational documents.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 28 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

Intrinsic barriers to learning imply that the cause of impairments lies within the child. If an intrinsic
factor causes impairments, it means that the child's external circumstances are adequate in all
respects but that defects in the learner's own system (such as brain injury) result in the need for high
intensity support, for example a specific learning impairment or a cognitive impairment. In contrast,
‘extrinsic barriers’ refer to those that exist outside of the learner that are obstacles in the system
that hinder the learner from reaching his/her full potential, for example, poverty and abuse.
According to the Education White Paper 6 (DOE, 2001) a broad range of barriers to learning exists
among the learner population at any point in time, where these are not met, learners may fail to
learn effectively or be excluded from the learning system. In this regard, different learning needs
arise from a range of factors, including physical, mental, sensory, neurological and developmental
impairments, psycho-social disturbances, differences in intellectual ability, particular life experiences
or socio-economic deprivation.

The NCSNET/NCESS report of the Department of Education (1997), identified the following as
significant barriers to learning that needed to be addressed in the implementation of an inclusive
education framework in South Africa:
• Negative attitudes to and stereotyping of differences;
• An inflexible curriculum;
• Inappropriate languages or language of learning and teaching;
• Inappropriate communication;
• Inaccessible and unsafe built environments;
• Inappropriate and inadequate support services;
• Inadequate policies and legislation;
• The non-recognition and non-involvement of parents;
• Inadequately and inappropriately trained education managers and educators.

The implementation of the Education White Paper 6 in 2001, the changes to the national curriculum
in 2011 and the introduction of a number of supporting documentation in the screening, identification
and support of learners with barriers to learning have all contributed to addressing the barriers
identified in the NCSNET/NCESS report of 1997. However, the reality is that a number of these barriers
to learning are still prevalent in our education system. According to a more recent report from the
Department of Education in (2005), the major barriers to learning we are currently faced with in the
South African education system include:

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 29 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

• Factors relating to specific individuals (e.g. relating to specific learning needs and styles) and
educators (e.g. personal factors as well as teaching approaches and attitudes);
• Various aspects of the curriculum, such as: content, language or medium of instruction,
organisation and management in the classroom, methods and processes used in teaching, the
pace of teaching and time available, learning materials and equipment, and assessment
procedures;
• The physical and psychosocial environment within which teaching and learning occurs. This
includes physical buildings as well as management styles;
• Dynamics and conditions relating to the learner’s home environment, including issues such as
family dynamics, cultural and socio-economic background, socio-economic status, and so on;
• Community and social dynamics, which either support or hinder the teaching and learning
process.

From an ecological systems perspective (discussed in Chapter 3), it becomes clear that in any model
of inclusive education, we cannot assume barriers to learning exist only within the child. As teachers,
we must recognise that a breakdown in learning can occur due to obstacles that exist in any of the
systems of influence in a child’s development. In South Africa, we recognise that these barriers are
often related to the socioeconomic context of our learners.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 30 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

CHAPTER 6:
A Framework for Inclusive Education in
South Africa

In this chapter we will take a closer look at the framework of inclusion adopted in South Africa. The
continuum, shown below, allows us to describe different forms of inclusion that you are likely to
come across in your career, which are influenced by the theories and models you studied in Chapter
3.

Figure 7: A continuum of inclusion

6.1 Inclusion along a continuum

Below, we describe each of the four forms shown along the continuum: self-contained classrooms
(also referred to as segregation); integration; mainstreaming and full inclusion.

6.1.1. Self-contained classrooms (or segregation)

This form of inclusion means learners who have similar academic or social needs are placed together
in a classroom that is separate from the regular classrooms but within the same school. According to

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 31 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

Eredics (2018) the learners could be at different grade levels working on different concepts. The
special education teacher takes responsibility for teaching all the subjects. The traditional
justification for this arrangement is that learners need, and will receive, specialised support. The
challenge is that it limits opportunities for: learning from others with a wide range of abilities and
talents; social interaction; and everyone being able to experience natural diversity.

6.1.2 Integration
Integration is a model of inclusion that seeks to make learners with significant learning challenges part
of the regular classroom; they learn alongside their peers without significant learning challenges.
Separate special education programmes are put in place for these children. These programmes are
delivered either within the classroom or through “pull-out” services, where learners are withdrawn
from the classroom to learn in small groups (which takes us back to segregation, although on a
temporary basis). Phasha (2016) regards this model of inclusion as narrow; it views one group as
having learning challenges in the context of “all is well” with the other learners. She cites Steve Biko
(2004) as saying: “The concept of integration is full of unquestioned assumptions that embrace the
values of the dominant group.” Integration expects learners to adapt to the practices, methods,
curriculum, values and rules of the dominant group, rather than the system adapting to the learner’s
needs.

6.1.3 Mainstreaming
Mainstreaming involves placing learners with significant learning challenges in a special education
class for some of the time and mixing them with their peers without significant learning challenges for
some of the time. The belief behind this form of inclusion is that all children have the same needs and
should therefore (where it is deemed appropriate and possible) participate in the same social and
learning activities.

6.1.4 Full inclusion

The central idea of full inclusion is that ordinary schools should provide for all learners, regardless of
their differences: social; cultural; emotional; physical; sensory; cognitive; linguistic; gender; sexuality
or otherwise (Florian, 2008). Full inclusion is about creating opportunities for all learners to benefit
from this diversity and learn from each other. It requires the teacher to plan rich, differentiated,
collaborative learning experiences that use diversity in the classroom as a resource. In this way
teachers use the natural diversity in the class to encourage all learners to:

• Explore their growing knowledge and skills together, understanding and developing different
ways of making meaning from learning

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 32 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

• Travel beyond the comfort zones of their predictable personal and cultural assumptions about
themselves and others

Full inclusion is reflected in the teacher’s knowledge, attitudes, values and beliefs about learners and
learning, as well as in their actions and responses when learners experience or encounter challenges
in and outside the classroom.

6.2 Stakeholders in Inclusive Education in South Africa

For inclusive education to be successful, it must be supported at all levels. The Education White
Paper 6 (DoE, 2001) proposed the following levels of support in an inclusive education system in
South Africa:

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 33 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

6.2.1 Levels of Support

The White Paper 6 (DoE, 2001) refers to the key support functions at the different levels of support,
summarised in the table below:

Table 3: Levels of Support

Level of Support Key Support Functions

Department of Education Providing national policy and a broad

management framework for support

Provincial departments of education in the nine Coordinating implementation of national

provinces framework of support, in relation to provincial
needs

District-based support teams (including Providing integrated support to education

special/resource schools) institutions (Early Childhood Development,
schools, colleges and adult learning centres) to
(Developed within smaller geographical areas,
support the development of effective teaching
determined in different ways in the nine
and learning
provinces)

School-based support teams Identifying and addressing barriers to learning in

the local context – thereby promoting effective
(Local teams in schools, colleges, early childhood
teaching and learning
and adult learning centres)

Let us unpack the key support functions of the district-based support teams and school-based
support teams in the sections that follow.

6.2.2 District-based Support Teams

The district-based support team is a primary channel through which support to schools and learners
should be provided. According to the Department of Education (2005), the core support providers at
district level include:

• Specialist learner and educator support personnel currently employed in the Department of
Education at district, regional or provincial level. These include psychologists, therapists,
remedial/learning support teachers, special needs specialists (e.g. relating to specific
disabilities), and other health and welfare professionals employed by the Department of
Education;
• Curriculum specialists who provide general and specific curriculum support to educators and
education institutions;

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 34 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

• Institutional/management development specialists who provide support to education

institutions;
• Administrative experts who provide administrative and financial management support;
• Specialist support personnel and teachers from existing special schools.

Within each district, the designated district director should act as leader of the support team, with
major responsibility for providing leadership and management to the district, focusing on coordination
and collaboration to ensure holistic and integrated support provision.

The Education White Paper 6 (DoE, 2001) states that the key purposes and functions of the district-
based support teams are to:

• support all learners, teachers and the system as a whole so that the full range of learning
needs can be met;
• develop good teaching strategies and adapt support systems available in the classroom;
• assist teachers in creating greater flexibility in their teaching methods and the assessment of
learning;
• provide illustrative learning programmes, learning support materials and assessment
instruments;
• evaluate programmes, diagnose their effectiveness and suggest modifications;
• build the capacity of schools, early childhood and adult basic education and training centres,
colleges and higher education institutions to recognise and address severe learning difficulties
and to accommodate a range of learning needs;
• provide direct interventionist programmes to learners in a range of settings;
• serve as ‘consultant-mentors’ to school management teams, classroom educators and school
governing bodies.” (p41)

6.2.3 School-based Support Teams

Previously referred to as Institution-Based Support Teams, according to the Department of

Education (2005), the core purpose of School-based support teams is to support the
teaching and learning process. Key functions include:

• Coordinating all learner, educator, curriculum and institution development support in the
school. This includes linking this support team to other school-based management structures
and processes, or even integrating them for better coordination of activities and to avoid
duplication;

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 35 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

• Collectively identifying institutional needs and barriers to learning at learner, educator,

curriculum and institutional levels;
• Collectively developing strategies to address these needs and barriers to learning. This should
include major focuses on educator development, parent consultation and support;
• Drawing in the resources needed, from within and outside of the institution, to address these
challenges;
• Monitoring and evaluating the work of the team within an ‘action-reflection’ framework.

The functions of the School-Based support team should provide the basis for determining who
should be members. It is suggested, however, that the following people make up the core
members of this team:

• educators with specialised skills and knowledge in areas such as learning support, life
skills/guidance, or counselling;
• educators from the school/institution: these could be teachers who volunteer because of their
interest, or who represent various levels of the programme e.g. Foundation Phase, etc., or
who represent various learning areas, e.g. language and communication;
• educators who are involved directly in the management of the school/institution: this could
be the principal, a deputy-principal or another member of the management team;
• educators on the staff who have particular expertise to offer around a specific need or
challenge;
• non-educators from the institution including administrative/ care-taking staff;
• learner representatives at senior, further education or higher education levels. This is an
important addition to the team if it wishes to strengthen ‘peer-support’.

In addition to the above core team who would meet on a regular basis to ‘problem-solve’ particular
concerns and challenges in the institution, the following additional people could be brought into some
of the team’s meetings and processes to assist with particular challenges:

• parents/caregivers at early childhood centre or school-levels: the inclusion of interested and

specifically skilled parents would strengthen the team;
• specific members of the district-based support team, including special/resource schools;
• members of the local community who have a contribution to make to specific challenges;
• educators from other education institutions, particularly from full-service schools and those
that may be in a ‘cluster’ relationship with the school/institution concerned.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 36 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

6.3 Three Types of Schools in South Africa

Section 12 (4) of the South African Schools Act states, ‘The Member of the Executive Council must,
where reasonably practical, provide education for learners with special education needs at ordinary
public schools and provide relevant educational support services for such learners. The policy for
inclusive education in South Africa, the White Paper 6 (DOE, 2001), proposed three types of schools
to accommodate all learners in South Africa: ordinary schools; special schools; and full-service schools.
The difference among these types of schools is that, through Departmental provisioning, some schools
have more facilities and specialised services enabling them to offer higher and more intensive levels
of support.

Ordinary schools must admit all learners in their area—regardless of their difficulties—and take all
possible measures to offer reasonable accommodation to learners with additional support needs and
disabilities. While the school might not immediately be able to offer the required levels of support to
every learner they admit, the aim is to mobilise support through outreach services delivered by the
District-Based Support Teams (DBST), full-service schools and special schools within the district. Out-
placement of learners to full-service schools or special schools should be a last resort. (DoE, 2001) Full-
service schools are ordinary/mainstream schools that are equipped with additional support
provisioning, so that they can respond to a broader range of learning needs. These include specialised
support staff (Learning Support Educator [LSE] and counsellor), specialised infrastructure (e.g.
counselling room, disability friendly toilets) and specialised Learning and Teaching Support Materials
(LTSM) and assistive devices (e.g. braille typewriters and textbooks). These full-service schools also
serve as hubs and share their additional resources with neighbouring schools. (DoE, 2001) Special
schools and Special School Resource Centres (SSRCs) are ordinary schools that are equipped with even
greater support provisioning to cater for the needs of learners requiring specialised, high-intensity
support. Special schools and SSRCs are able to provide site-based, specialised programmes to learners
requiring high to very high levels of support, SSRCs are also able to provide support (specialist skills
and resources) to a cluster consisting of ordinary schools and a full-service school (DoE, 2001).

It is important that you understand how each of these types of school play an important role in
realising the goals of inclusive education in South Africa. The functions of each type of school are
outlined in the IESA Factsheet available in your prescribed reading list.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 37 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

CHAPTER 7:
Building Inclusive School Communities

7 . 1 W h a t i s a n I n c l u s i ve S c h o o l C o m m u n i t y

Central to inclusive education is the idea of inclusive school communities—schools as inclusive centres
of learning, care and support that are embedded within their communities. South African legislation
and policy aims to develop democracy and active citizenship, based on principles of human rights and
inclusivity, where citizens take responsibility for what happens in their communities. Full participation
of the following stakeholders is essential for school communities to be inclusive and effective.

1. The learner is at the centre of the school community. Learners are recognised, respected and
enabled to exercise their rights and to participate in all decisions that affect them.

2. Teachers are at the heart of the strategy to build an inclusive education system.

3. Parents and caregivers are equal partners in their children’s education.

4. School structures are functional and play their mandated roles: the School Management Team
(SMT); School-Based Support Team (SBST), the School Governing Body (SGB) and the Representative
Council of Learners (RCL)

5. Department of Basic Education structures support school structures: the Circuit-Based Support
Team (CBST) and the District-Based Support Team (DBST).

6. Education is everybody’s business: government departments, the private sector, faith-based

organisations (FBOs), NGOs and CBOs are all essential partners toward the realisation of quality
education for all.

The South African Schools Act 1996 sets out the roles and responsibilities of core structures in school
communities. All of the above stakeholders have a role to play in building inclusive school
communities. Rather than understanding school systems as fixed and separate, we must see them as
inter-connected, dynamic, continuously changing, open to their surroundings and engaging in
feedback. Feedback through communication and collaboration means schools continuously
transform (Cunningham, 2003). Within an inclusive school community this is achieved through
purpose-driven actions—e.g. teaching, interactions among individuals and members, decision

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 38 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

making and participation, which are all focused around creating a climate of mutual respect and
inclusivity.

An ideal inclusive school community is one where all the learners in the vicinity of a school attend that
school, and where all stakeholders are involved in the school and share the vision of realising quality
education for all. Stakeholders include learners, teachers, caregivers, school management and
leadership teams, as well as other local schools, government departments, businesses, faith-based,
community-based and nongovernmental organisations. In terms of culture and climate, inclusive
school communities are about creating communities of learning where difference is welcomed
(Phasha et al., 2017). All forms of exclusion and marginalisation and inequalities in access, acceptance,
participation and learning outcomes should be rejected. “Differences in classrooms” should be
understood as a normal aspect of human development. This entails understanding inclusive school
communities as spaces that ensure that everyone has access to quality education and no learners are
marginalised due to pre-determined exclusionary judgements about who they are and what they can
learn (Florian, 2017: 10–11; Phasha et al., 2017). Inclusive schools adopt a social model approach
within which human rights and participation of all role-players are respected. It is essential that all
relevant government departments are involved. Enshrined in such a community is a commitment to
constitutional values and the spirit of ubuntu, which refers to “being compassionate, welcoming,
hospitable, warm and generous, willing to share, open, available, as well as affirming others” (Phasha,
2016).

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 39 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

7 . 2 C o l l a b o r a t i o n i n i n c l u s i ve s c h o o l c o m m u n i t i e s

It has been suggested that inclusive school communities should be an outcome of social justice, equity
and diversity within an education system based on human rights. Inclusive school communities should
be places where everyone has access, is accepted and can fully participate. To achieve this, members
of the school community should interact and share, as co-equal partners, networks and partnerships
to achieve the goal of providing all learners with equal opportunities to achieve their full potential
(Engelbrecht, 2007; Phasha et al., 2017).

The term “collaboration” is usually used to describe the participatory and co-equal interaction among
members of school communities (Engelbrecht & Hay, 2018). Collaboration can therefore act as an
‘adhesive’ by fostering community, a sense of belonging and participation among all the role players
within an inclusive school community. The types of resources contributed depend on the roles and
activities of the different participants; be it parents, teachers, support professionals, learners or
community members (Oswald, 2010). Learners’ interests, needs and goals become the focus of
collaborative decision making, creative problem solving and shared responsibility and accountability
(Engelbrecht & Hay, 2018).

In inclusive school communities, collaboration is a style of direct interaction among people who are
engaged in working towards achieving a shared goal. This often includes shared resources, problem-
solving, and decision making. Each person brings their own unique views, experiences and knowledge
into the process. These receive equal respect and are seen as having equal value. Every member of
the group has a role and is regarded as crucial to the process. Sands et al. (2002: 121, in Engelbrecht
& Hay, 2018) identified the following characteristics of effective collaboration:

• Co-equal parties (stakeholders have equal voice and authority)

• Voluntary participation*
• Shared responsibility
• Shared accountability
• Joint decision making
• Trusting respectful relationships
• Mutual support and benefits
• Converging values

Various researchers indicate that collaboration and meaningful collaborative partnerships—not only
among learning support professionals (inclusive of teachers), but also among school and district
support teams, caregivers, teachers, learners, and community members—have been identified as

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 40 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

critical elements in the development of inclusive school communities in South Africa (Engelbrecht,
2004; Engelbrecht & Hay, 2018; Nel et al., 2013; Walton, 2011). Research on the benefits of
collaboration shows that the following aspects are important:

• At teacher level: Teachers are more motivated and experience a decreased workload; they
report higher levels of competence, better relationships with colleagues and feeling less
isolated;
• At school level: Benefits include supportive school cultures, a cultural shift towards an
acceptance of diversity, a wider acknowledgement within schools of the needs of learners and
a more participatory approach to school leadership;
• At learner level: Improved learner performances and greater participation in decision-making;
• At caregiver and community levels: Positive involvement of caregivers and other interested
community members as vital sources of information and support (Engelbrecht & Hay, 2018;
Sands et al., 2000; Vangrieken et al., 2015).

7 . 2 . 1 B u i l d i n g c o l l a b o r a t i ve R e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h C a r e g i ve r s

Caregivers should be seen as informed partners in collaboration. They can give input on their child’s
behaviour at home, what makes them happy or unhappy, and home circumstances that may affect
their school performance. In turn, a teacher can make suggestions about how caregivers can assist
their children with homework and make the environment more conducive to learning. A successful
caregiver–teacher meeting means a sharing of ideas, drawing on the strengths and assets of the
collaborators, while building their understanding and skills as they share ideas. For every commitment
a teacher makes, the caregivers should make a counter commitment. This should result in a
documented collaboration framework with a manageable number of strategies to be tried at home,
and at school, and a date set for a follow-up meeting. If caregivers find the school environment
intimidating, or are unable to get to the school, you could make a home visit once a term. This will
enable you to see the home environment first-hand which will help you to understand your learner
better. Involving caregivers in school activities, where their views are heard, and decision-making is
shared, will result in stronger school–family partnerships, which will benefit your learners. As teacher,
you play an important role in encouraging caregiver involvement at the classroom level.

Schools can strengthen links with caregivers by, for example:

• Ensuring that the SGB meets regularly, and that all caregivers are invited
• Making caregivers feel welcome when they visit the school

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 41 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

• Encouraging caregivers to participate in discussions and decision-making on school policies and

activities, where their opinions are valued, and that they are kept up to date with news and
changes
• Setting homework exercises that require learners to involve caregivers and elicit their opinions
and experiences
• Encouraging caregivers to discuss concerns about their children with you, and providing regular
opportunities for them to inform the school authorities about events at home or in the
community
• Hosting events that involve the learners’ families, such as inviting them to for events that
showcase their children’s work
• Encouraging volunteering among caregivers (but not just for cooking, cleaning and gardening),
for example: listening to learners’ reading; running a homework club; coaching sports

7.2.2 Building community relationships

All communities value education for their children and all community role players, and stakeholders
have a role to play in helping to develop and support inclusive school communities. Schools can
strengthen links with the local community by, for example:

• Using expertise in the community to support learning (e.g. nurses could teach learners about
health issues; police officers could teach about keeping safe; social services could give
information about applying for grants)
• Inviting community leadership to awards ceremonies and acknowledging parents
• Offering capacity-building workshops or courses from the school (e.g. adult basic education and
training courses, parenting courses, small-business courses
• Investigating businesses, institutions or individuals in the community that could help the
families of the poorest learners Using public spaces like community libraries, halls and sports
fields Inviting community members to use the school buildings for community functions
• Running a homework club so that children who live in homes where there is no adult who can
help them with their homework get the help they need
• Helping families apply for grants
• Becoming involved in community functions and events
• Developing an asset map and network of local resources

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 42 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

7.3 The Care and Support for Teaching and Learning approach
t o b u i l d i n g c o l l a b o r a t i ve r e l a t i o n s h i p s

Figure 8: The CSTL Framework

The Care and Support for Teaching and Learning (CSTL) approach is a dynamic and flexible
framework that responds to the needs of children and youth to ensure their full access, participation
and achievement by creating an enabling environment to improve their learning experiences and
outcomes. The CSTL framework applies a social-ecological model. There is a recognition of the
influence of direct (individual beliefs and attitudes) and indirect (socio-economic and public policy)
factors on a child’s well-being and achievement at school. These factors can work together to impact
a child’s vulnerability. Children are made vulnerable by their environment, community and
circumstances. They may experience:

• Needs related to basic survival (food, healthcare, clothing, shelter)

• Lack of parental care / burden of heading a household
• Educational challenges
• Family and community abuse and mistreatment

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 43 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

This resulted in the Department of Basic Education identifying ten priority action areas necessary to
respond to the needs of children in the country.

Figure 9: Education Mandate for Care and Support

7.3.1 The Ten Priority Action Areas

A rights-based and socially inclusive and cohesive school: This priority area aims to ensure that all
school community members view education through a human rights lens—that is, they know,
respect, protect and promote all children’s rights, including their right to education and rights in
education including equality, dignity, equity and freedom from discrimination and violence. A
human-rights-based approach to education is based on the principle of ubuntu/botho—a
recognition of the value of each child’s life in our community and our obligation to care and protect
them equally. Strongly linked with this are the values underpinning South Africa’s inclusive
education system, which recognises the right of every child to receive the support they need to
participate meaningfully and achieve success in education in their local community school.

Safety and protection: This encompasses both the physical and psychological safety of learners and
teachers. Schools should be free from all forms of violence, abuse, harassment and bullying.
Learners should feel safe to ask questions, enquire and learn without the fear of ridicule. Safety and

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 44 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

protection also includes the physical infrastructure of the school such as fencing, gates, and
accessibility ramps.

Psycho-social support: Schools should meet the social and emotional needs of learners and
teachers. Many children have not learnt appropriate ways of behaving or the necessary social skills
to form functioning relationships. Some learners may also need support to deal with trauma, abuse,
domestic violence or other issues that affect their emotional well-being. Schools should actively
teach appropriate social behaviour and provide counselling support for learners.

Curriculum support: All teachers require the knowledge, attitude and skills to teach inclusively. This
means they should be able to adapt their teaching, classroom environment and the curriculum to
meet the learning needs of a very diverse learner population. To do this, teachers should have the
resources and support to effectively and efficiently teach ALL children in their class.

Co-curricular support: Schools need to develop in-school or after-school enrichment activities to

promote the holistic development and well-being of a child. These could include opportunities for
free play, participation in sport, arts and culture, life skills and extra homework support.

Material support: This area includes assistance with school fees, uniforms and school transport. No
child should be excluded from participating in any school activity because they do not have the
money to pay for school-related costs.

Social welfare services: This area refers to the role of the school and duty-bearers in facilitating
access to child support grants, acquiring documentation (birth certificates and identity documents)
and the enforcement of childcare and protection legislation.

Nutritional support: The National School Nutrition Programme, food garden schemes and other
initiatives ensure that no child goes hungry at school.

Infrastructure, water and sanitation: This is a commitment to ensure human dignity through access
to clean, safe and habitable schools.

Health promotion: This priority area focuses on early identification and intervention in improving
and promoting the overall health and well-being of children and teachers. This is achieved through
health screening and education about health-related matters. (DBE, 2014b)

With these 10 priority areas in mind, a school as a centre for care and support should:

• Ensure availability of nutritious food through the National School Nutrition Programme

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 45 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

• Reduce the financial burden on poor parents by facilitating the application for exemption from
school fees
• Promote parental involvement in the lives of children
• Offer skills development for parents
• Conduct regular home visits
• Provide a range of recreational activities
• Offer an aftercare programme
• Ensure school safety for learners
• Be a local network for care and support
• Engage with community stakeholders to offer support services at the school These are all
protective factors that improve a child’s well-being.

Focusing on these policy-mandated priorities has been shown to effectively address barriers to
learning and participation and improve children’s educational outcomes. Thus, schools are required
to implement all ten of the CSTL areas in ways that complement related policy directives.

7.3.2 Collaboration through the CSTL

Given the various types of support that are required for children to realise their constitutional rights,
it is clear that no government agency or other stakeholder can, alone, address the needs of vulnerable
children. Rather, coordinated collaboration among all stakeholders, with CSTL as the over-arching
framework, is the approach that will best promote learner well-being and achievement. Schools need
to build and maintain close collaborative relationships with local government stakeholders by inviting
representatives from local organisations, such as the police station and the clinic, to become ad hoc
members of the SBST. Table 4 summarises the main government and external stakeholders for each
of the CSTL Priority Action Areas. The tables provided on the next page provides a clear indication of
how school communities, government departments and external stakeholders should come together
to support learners in each of the ten priority areas.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 46 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

Table 4: Stakeholders schools can liaise with to deliver on the 10

Priority Action Areas

Priority Action Area Government department Other external stakeholder

A Rights-based, Socially Inclusive Department of Labour NGOswithafocusonequity,sports,

and Cohesive School recreation activities and peer education
Department of Home Affairs
Local business for sponsorship
Department of Health
DepartmentofSocialDevelopment(DSD)
Chapter 9Institutions

Nutritional Support Department of Agriculture NGO witha focus onfoodgardens Local

Department of Health business for sponsorship

Health Promotion Department of Health NGO with a focus on HIV and AIDS
and/or other
Department of Social Development
health and wellness areas

Infrastructure, Water Department of Public Works Local business for sponsorship

and Sanitation
Local Municipality

Social Welfare Services Department of Home Affairs DSD NGO with a focus on child protection
/ South African Social Services
Agency (SASSA)

Psychosocial Support Department of Social Development Department NGOwithafocusoncounsellingfor young

people
of Health
FBOofferingcounsellingforyoungpeople

Safety and Protection SAPS (for alcohol and drug use) Department of NGOs witha focus on crimeand
violence and
Social Development
alcohol and drug use

Curriculum Support Department of Higher Education and NGOswithafocusonsubjectteaching such as

Training maths and science or reading
South African Council for Educators (SACE) Tertiary institutions providing leadership,
governance and professional development
courses

Co-curricular Support Department of Sports and Recreation NGOswithafocusonsports,recreation

activities and peer education
Department of Arts and Culture
Local business for sponsorship

Material Support Department of Social Development Local business for sponsorship and
donations

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 47 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

(Source: DBE, 2014b)

7.4 Challenges in collaboration

Collaboration is often easier to talk about than to do. Various challenges, including lack of skills, fixed
ways of doing things, teacher attitudes and power dynamics can hinder effective collaboration. As a
teacher working toward building an inclusive school community, this is something you will need to
keep working at as it forms a key part of your mandate. Let’s look at some of the challenges to
effective collaboration facing South African teachers, and explore ways of overcoming them. Here
are some challenges to effective collaboration that have been identified:

• Most teachers believe that they are not adequately trained and skilled enough in
collaboration strategies to play an equal participatory role in collaborating with parents and
professionals (Nel et al., 2013).
• Time constraints and work pressure prevent teachers from fully participating in collaborative
partnerships (Nel et al., 2013).
• Some teachers have indicated that the levels of competition and individualism in schools,
hinder teacher collaboration (Vangrieken et al., 2015).
• Teachers sometimes lack clarity about the goals of collaboration.
• Caregivers, class teachers and other support professionals have historically participated in a
system that was divided and separated, which was incompatible with the notion of shared
responsibilities. As a result, including caregivers in a support team and acknowledging their
contribution can be difficult.
• Notions of power have caused barriers to collaboration, for example where support
professionals believe that their knowledge gives them power over classroom teachers and
caregivers
• Voices missing from collaborative efforts have tended to be those of caregivers and their
children (Swain & Walker, 2003).
• Unwillingness to collaborate, personality clashes, ineffective leadership and groups that are
either too small or too big can also create barriers to effective collaboration. (Vangrieken et
al., 2015). Effective collaboration needs structure but even when we agree to rational rules for
dialogue, relationships with power can still distort and limit participation.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 48 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

CHAPTER 8:
Screening, Identification, Assessment and
Support

In this chapter we will provide you with the skills and knowledge for screening, identification,
assessments and support as per the national SIAS policy. In taking you through this process and
alerting you to the required forms and documents, we hope to provide beginner teachers with the
skills to offer the required support in their classrooms and access higher levels of support where
required. When working through this chapter it is important that you make reference to the SIAS
policy itself, accessible in your Module Outline and on Learn platform.

8 . 1 W h a t i s t h e p u r p o s e o f t h e SI A S Po l i c y?

In providing a systemic response to identifying barriers to learning and providing support, the SIAS
policy aims to ensure the effective inclusion and full participation of all learners within the education
system. It provides standardised procedures for supporting learners to achieve to the best of their
ability. This involves screening, identification of barriers, assessment of support needs, and provision
and monitoring of support.

Chapter 3 of the SIAS policy (DBE, 2014a: 15–17) offers principles and guidelines for support provision.
Every learner has the right to receive quality basic education within their local community. This means
that, as far as is practically possible and affordable, the support must be brought to the learner with
little or no movement from their local community and home. School staff, in consultation with
parents/caregivers, should be involved in support activities that will enable learners to participate in
all learning activities. In addition, support should not emphasise diagnosis and remediation of an
individual learner’s difficulties, but should be a holistic approach, taking into consideration the
learner’s home circumstances, socio-economic status and experiences in life. Therefore, the support
programme should be designed to facilitate learning with the purpose of ensuring that all learners
succeed.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 49 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

The DBE has developed standardised procedures to:

• “Assess the level and extent of support required in schools and in classrooms to optimise
learners’ participation in the learning process”.
• “Identify individual learner needs in relation to the home and school context, to establish the
level and extent of additional support that is needed” and where needed,
• “Access to and provision of support at individual levels” (DBE, 2014a: 13).

Much depends on the way that the school, led by the SBST, responds to diversity (including attitudes
and ethos), the nature of the barriers, as well as the resources available (and effectively mobilised)
in the school and surrounding community (MIET Africa, 2016). Support could mean a variety of
things. For example, an educator planning lessons in a different way; increased action to tackle
bullying; teacher training on curriculum and assessment differentiation; building wheelchair
accessible toilets; or accessing specialist services (MIET Africa, 2016). Support involves the wider
school context as well as learners’ specific individual needs in inclusive classroom contexts. The
policy describes ways in which different stakeholders of a school community (teachers/schools,
parents, learners, school-based support teams, district-based support teams, health professionals
etc.) come together as a community to address concerns

8.2 The SIAS Process

As a teacher you need to be able to identify any challenges preventing learners from achieving,
assess their needs, and offer and monitor support. The SIAS process, summarised in the flow
diagram on the following page, aims to ensure that:

• Every learner accesses the education system and no one is denied access
• Support, and not out-placement, is the guiding principle
• Schools provide additional support to learners and are enabled to access additional support
provisioning (via the SIAS process)
• Parents/caregivers and learners are involved in the decisions taken to access additional
provisioning (DBE, 2014a: 37)

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 50 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

8.2.1 Explanation of the SIAS Process Diagram

• The teacher must screen all children at admission as well as in the beginning of each phase
and record their findings in the Learner Profile (LP) included in the SIAS documents (see
Annexure 1). Areas marked with an asterisk will indicate when a SNA1 is required.
• When a learner has been identified through the initial screening as being vulnerable or at risk
(as it was pointed out in the Learner Profile) it is the responsibility of the teacher to assume
the role of a case manager who will drive the support process.
• The parent/caregiver and the learner (in the case of older learners) must be involved
throughout in the decision-making process of the SIAS. The teacher will be guided by the SIAS
forms, starting with the completion of the Support Needs Assessment form 1 (SNA1). The
teacher captures the following information in the SNA1 in collaboration with the
parent/caregiver:
(a) The areas of concern: The teacher verifies his/her findings by discussing them with the
parent/caregiver and also determines whether there has been any earlier intervention;
(b) An inventory of the strengths and needs of the learner across a broad spectrum of areas is
put together
(c) On the basis of the information gathered, an action plan is formulated to support the
learner and a review date is set. Such plans should be reviewed at least once a term;
(d) When the support given by the teacher proves to be ineffective, he/she will involve the
SBST by making an appointment and presenting the needs of the learner to the team for
discussion.
• As soon as a learner is identified as vulnerable in the Learner Profile the SBST must be notified
and this learner would automatically go to Block C. This promotes early identification.
• The SNA 2 form guides the School-based Support Team when a learner is referred to them:
(a) A review is done of the teacher’s identification of barriers and the interventions applied;
(b) A plan of action through which the teacher/school could strengthen the support (with
the help of in-house specialists and/or teachers who have a wide range of experience) is
formulated;
(c) The support plan is captured and put into action. It must have a review date on which
progress (or the lack thereof) will be discussed. On the review date the plan is adjusted and
the SBST may decide that a higher level of support is needed in which case the DBST is asked
to assist. Such plans should be reviewed at least once a term.
• Accessing additional support is a learner’s right but is not automatic. The support must be
applied for through the SBST.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 51 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

• Every learner must be admitted at their local school. The line on the right-hand side from C
straight to R at the bottom of the page is for an “at risk” learner identified at admission in an
ordinary school, who needs DBST support. These learners take the path directly to the DBST.
• The SNA3 form guides the District Based Support Team (DBST) in their intervention strategy
to:
(a) review the action plan of the teacher and SBST and use the Guidelines for Support, the
Table to rate the level of support needed and the Checklist to help determine the decision
on how support is to be provided to the learner.
(b) The DBST put a further action plan together for the learner and or school based on the
information available. The plan will spell out a suitable support package and includes:
o Planning and budgeting for additional support programmes determined in SNA 3
o Resource and support service allocation to school and learner
o Training, counselling and mentoring of teachers and parents/legal caregivers
o Monitoring support provision
o Use the various tools attached as Annexures to the SIAS to help carry out their
decisions
• Most learners will follow the route A, B, F, H, F, H, F, H throughout their school lives. This cycle
is ongoing. Even if a learner receives support, further and different support needs can develop
The process for individual support planning summarised in the points above is outlined in the
SIAS policy document. The flow diagram below identifies the role players and documents
involved in this process.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 52 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

Figure 10: Flow diagram of SIAS process

8 . 3 R o l e - p l a ye r s i n i n d i v i d u a l s u p p o r t p l a n n i n g u s i n g SI A S

In this section we will take a closer look at the key role-players and their role in the implementation
of the SIAS process.

8.3.1 The teacher’s role in THE SIAS PROCESS

Your inclusive approach to teaching should ensure that all learners in your class are actively engaged
and learning. This should provide almost all your learners with the support they need. However,
sometimes you may have learners in your class with specific higher-level learning needs, your role is
crucial in identifying and addressing difficulties individual learners may be experiencing in class. To
do this you need to get to know them well. Here are some ways you can do this:

• Understand each learner and know about their home circumstances

• Meet their caregivers
• Talk to them about things that interest them
• Observe their behaviour and relationships with peers
• Observe their performance and how they engage with different tasks
• Observe any changes in their behaviour or performance in class

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 53 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

Identifying your learners’ needs is not a one-off event, but an ongoing process. You need to involve
your learners in the process and constantly monitor and assess their progress, both formally and
informally. You can do this by recording learners’ strengths, areas of concern and needs as part of
the normal teaching–learning process. You will need to create an Observation Book in which you
record any concerns you have about individual learners. The SBST and LSE, together with class
teachers, use this information to complete the SNA forms as per the process detailed in the section
above.

In many cases the support of a learner in class will require that the teacher draw up an Individual
Support Plan (ISP), using the SNA2 form. The ISP should provide a support plan with goals to be
achieved and strategies on how to reach these goals. Bear in mind that an ISP is not just used to
address academic needs. It looks at the holistic needs of a learner with a view to providing wide-
ranging support for these. Alternatively, depending on the level of support required, using the SNA2,
the SBST and class teacher might refer learners requiring other interventions to the SBST. Examples
would include assistance in applying for a social grant, inclusion on the school feeding scheme or
counselling support.

To summarise, when a learner is identified as being vulnerable or at risk, you discuss this with the
SBST but you drive and coordinate the support process in consultation with the learner and other
role-players, such as care-givers and parents, and document the interventions and progress. You will
involve your SBST further if you need additional help. The SBST will review the documentation and
your support strategies so far. If your initial support has been ineffective, you will work with the
SBST to develop an ISP with strengthened support. If this is still not successful, the SBST will ask the
DBST for help. Further assessment may be required and support could take the form of assistive
devices, counselling, or services attached to full-service schools. Only as a last resort will the DBST
consider moving a learner from their local school to a full service or special school (See Annexure 3 –
SNA3). Keeping good records is important, and you need to document the support given to a learner
on the SNA forms in the SIAS document.

8 . 3 . 2 T h e R o l e o f t h e SC H O O L - B A SE D S UP P O R T T E A M i n T H E
SIAS PROCESS

Where high-level support at school level cannot be organised in any practical and cost-effective way,
the DBST is the next level to provide additional support. The SBST should provide the DBST with
evidence of support provided to the learner at school level. The SBST should always involve and
inform the parent about decisions taken to support the learner. It is the responsibility of the DBST to

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 54 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

establish what kind of support is needed by the SBST, what the strength of the SBST is and explore
ways in which additional support can be obtained, and also assist the SBST to recognise further
community-based support and facilitate collaboration.

8 . 3 . 3 T h e R o l e o f P a r e n t s /C a r e g iv e r s i n T H E S I A S P R O C E SS

• Parents/caregivers need to take responsibility for the support of their children in the most
inclusive setting possible.
• Parents/caregivers should be empowered to understand how the potential of their child can be
optimally developed.
• They need access to information on the kinds of support needed by their child.
• They must know their rights in terms of accessing available support.
• Parents/caregivers must make every effort to ensure that their child has access to an
appropriate early intervention programme which is available in their area.
• Parents/caregivers who suspect that their child has additional support needs, but has not
accessed early intervention programmes prior to the child turning 3 years old, must report to
the local ordinary school as early as possible but no later than the age of 5 years.
• They must ensure that the relevant sections of the Support Needs Assessment are completed
in respect of the child’s needs.
• Documentation to be included in the application of the child can consist of any appropriate
reports such as social or medical records, the Health and Disability Assessment Form, or reports
from early intervention support providers. This refers to any person or persons primarily
responsible for the care and development of a child.
• The local school must complete the relevant forms in consultation with the parent/caregiver.
• Parents/caregivers must play a meaningful role in forming a partnership with the teacher to
ensure that the support outlined in the Individual Support Plan is successfully implemented.

Parent/caregiver participation in the SIAS process is not a matter of choice but is compulsory
component of collaboration required for the SIAS process to be a success.

In this Chapter we examined the approaches, tools and processes of SIAS and analysed its potential to
direct efforts of key agents in creating caring and supportive schools that support quality learning for
all learners. Understanding the key role teachers play in the implementation of this process is central
to reaching the goals of inclusive education in South Africa.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 55 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

CHAPTER 9:
Classroom Level Support

9 . 1 P r e p a r i n g t h e c l a s s r o o m f o r i n c l u s i ve t e a c h i n g a n d l e a r n i n g

9 . 1 . 1 A d o p t i n g a n i n c l u s i ve p e d a g o g y

Teachers who work inclusively develop a range of pedagogical strategies that offer rich learning
opportunities for all learners that enable them to participate equally in learning. They also develop
and maintain a classroom community that supports the well-being of learners. In this chapter we seek
to address the following two questions:

• What are the teaching strategies and practices that promote access?
• What are the teaching strategies and practices that reinforce or remove barriers to access?

In response to these questions, Florian and Black-Hawkins suggest that inclusive pedagogy requires us
to do the following:

• Shift our focus from individual learners who have been identified as having “additional needs”,
to learning for all. This approach needs a focus on what is to be taught and how, rather than on
who is learning. In this way it aims to avoid the problems and stigma associated with identifying
some learners as different.
• Reject deterministic beliefs about ability. Determinism is based on the belief that we are all born
biologically different and that this biology determines what we can and can’t do and learn; little
can be done to change us. These beliefs—which are sometimes so deeply rooted in our culture
that we’re not even aware of them—put limitations on what teachers expect from learners, and
therefore on learners’ expectations of themselves. They also directly influence the way curricula
are designed, teaching is carried out and achievement is assessed. As teachers, we should
always be willing to change our teaching strategies to suit the way our learners learn best.
Determinism remains deeply ingrained in education practices worldwide. Teachers working
inclusively also reject the idea that the presence of learners who are labelled “slow” or “learning
disabled” holds back the progress of others. If learning is planned to be inclusive, everybody

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 56 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

progresses at their own rate in different areas, depending on their unique combination of
strengths, challenges and needs. Therefore, there cannot be one fixed group that is “held back”
by another fixed group.
• Base your practice on transformative beliefs about ability, focusing teaching and learning on
what learners can do rather than on what they cannot do.
• Use a variety of grouping strategies to support everyone’s learning. This is important because
relying on ability grouping to separate “able” from “less able” learners is a way of labelling
learners and reinforces their “weaknesses” without considering and encouraging their
strengths.
• Use formative assessment to support learning. Assessment for learning is an ongoing process
through which teachers gather data before, during, and after instruction from multiple sources
to determine learners’ progress. It is the way that learners demonstrate what they are learning,
or have learnt, and how their learning will be assessed.
• See difficulties in learning not as deficits in learners but as professional challenges for teachers.
Seeing difficulties in learning as a professional challenge rather than a deficit in learners,
requires a shift in thinking. This shift moves teachers from viewing planning and affirmation of
diversity as “extra work” to seeing it as “the work” of the teacher. It is the teacher’s job to
develop new ways of working to ensure that all learners are actively engaged, achieving success
and being supported in learning. It is not for learners to somehow fit themselves into a narrowly
prescriptive “one-size-fits-all” way of learning.
• Be committed to continuing professional development as a way of developing more inclusive
practices. As a teacher, it is important to continually add to your knowledge, skills and
understanding of learners, learning and inclusive strategies by, for example, discussing with
colleagues, doing online research, and attending professional development workshops and
conferences.

9 . 1 . 2 A d j u s t i n g T h e C l a s s r o o m L A Y O UT

The physical environment of your classroom contributes greatly to your learners’ ability to learn. Even
in a full class with limited resources there are creative ways to arrange your classroom to ensure that
your learners can move around, interact and engage fully in all learning opportunities. Reflect on what
you are trying to accomplish and make your space work for you rather than against you. Also bear in
mind that learners with specific learning needs may require particular placement in the classroom to
increase visibility, improve access, or minimise distractions. For example, in a large class, a hearing-

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 57 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

impaired child or one who struggles to concentrate may find it difficult to focus in a noisy class if
seated at the back of the room.

Here are some guiding questions that can be used when planning your classroom arrangement:

Visibility: Are there areas of the classroom where learners cannot easily see the board or screen? If
so, consider using these areas for small-group work or storage. Arrange your room so you can have
eye contact with all your learners, and make sure that each learner is able to see the board.

Proximity: Can you easily reach each learner in the room to provide extra instructional support? Can
you circulate round the classroom during whole-class teaching? Keep proximity between learners in
mind as well. Can learners easily move into peer groups when necessary? One way of ensuring this is
to arrange the desks in two loops—an interior and exterior loop. This arrangement gives you proximity
to all learners and allows learners to move into peer groups easily.

In a subject-specific classroom, where learners may need to share equipment and work easily in pairs
or groups, you might consider this arrangement:

Figure 11: Seating Arrangement A

The arrangement of desks will differ, depending on the subject and grade level and also different types
of group work.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 58 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

Figure 12: Seating Arrangement B

Accessibility: Can learners easily reach materials they need and all areas of the classroom, such as
interest tables, different workstations, the mat? Consider patterns of movement in high-traffic areas,
for example are the waste basket and pencil sharpener in an area of the room that is easily accessible
to everyone?

Safety: Have you consulted the school’s safety requirements regarding fire regulations? In an

emergency can learners safely and quickly exit the classroom? Are there items that may pose a threat
to safety (e.g. science lab equipment). If so, they should be placed in a secure area.

Environment: Bear in mind that, while desks arranged in neat rows may make movement through the
class easier, this arrangement may not help to create a warm, friendly environment. Many teachers
find that using a semicircle or cluster to arrange the desks in their classrooms encourages cooperative
learning, builds a sense of community, and makes the best use of the space. Ideal desk arrangements
are an important aspect of inclusive classrooms because they create opportunities for learners to be
actively engaged in learning and to work cooperatively when appropriate.

Display: You can use walls and vertical space for displaying learners’ work and learning enrichment
materials. However, remember not to over-clutter. How you arrange your room depends on what
furniture you have at your disposal. It is unlikely you will have exactly what you would like, so an
important question is “If I don’t have exactly what I want, how can I improvise?”

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 59 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

9.1.3 Clearing the clutter

The overarching aim for teachers who work inclusively is to have enough stimuli in the classroom to
enable all learners to engage enthusiastically in, and make meaning from, a learning task—but not
so much that it detracts from learning.

In the classroom, clutter is anything that overwhelms learners and detracts from learning. It could be
connected to:

The physical space: e.g. furniture in walkways, books and paper not put away, too many displays or
displays too “busy”. Distractibility decreases with age, so for younger children in particular, too many
and/or very colourful displays can negatively affect learning.

Materials: Sometimes materials—for example posters, worksheets, signage, presentations (either on

chalk board or using technology)—can be too “busy” with text, pictures, colour, or a combination of
these. Material that distracts or leads to sensory overload can negatively impact learning.

9 . 1 . 4 T e a c h i n g a n d L e a r n i n g Su p p o r t M a t e r i a l s

We refer here to the materials your learners use that make it possible for them to access learning
equitably. Some learners may also require assistive devices and/or technology that enable them to
have equitable access to learning. These devices range from low-tech (such as pencil grips, glasses) to
high-tech (such as hearing aids, speech-to-text software). Your School-Based Support Team (SBST)
will be a good source of information and advice about assistive devices, and will be able to help you
adapt your teaching accordingly

9 . 2 P o s i t i ve D i s c i p l i n e

9.2.1 Traditional discipline Practices

Traditional discipline practices, which are still common in South African schools, begin from a negative
view of learners’ nature (and human nature). They see behavioural problems as a problem with
particular learners rather than considering larger contextual issues, such as the curriculum and
teaching methods. The use of threats, punishments and rewards might result in learners’ temporary
compliance and obedience, but these are not effective for creating a warm, caring and respectful
learning community. What is often considered to be giving learners a choice—either comply or suffer
the consequences—is in fact another way of pressuring them into obeying teachers’ demands and

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 60 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

requirements and fails to teach them responsible behaviour. Instead it teaches them how to avoid
punishment or win rewards.

In order to implement positive discipline effectively, here are some essential things you need to know
about working with challenging behaviour.

• Understand the underlying reason for behaviour

Very few learners have clinical behavioural disorders. There is an underlying reason for
challenging behaviour in the majority of learners, which cannot be attributed to innate
naughtiness. Use your knowledge of learners’ lives and learning backgrounds to consider why
they might be misbehaving. Find out what is causing the behaviour and put a plan in place to
address it. Sometimes poor behaviour is a direct result of poor teaching. If learners are
frustrated, bored or do not find the teaching relevant or interesting they may misbehave.
• All behaviour is learnt
Children learn how to behave and they learn how to react in certain circumstances. They learn
this from their families, friends, teachers and people around them. Second to their parents,
you as teachers have the most influence when it comes to teaching the behaviour you want
to see in children. If children have not learnt appropriate behaviour at home you will need to
teach it to them. Don’t assume a learner knows how to behave if no one has shown them.
• Corporal punishment is illegal
Corporal punishment was declared illegal in South Africa in 1996:
Prohibition of corporal punishment
(1) No person may administer corporal punishment at a school to a learner.
(2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction
to a sentence which could be imposed for assault. (South African Schools Act No 84 of 1996)
Furthermore, the DBE has stated that: Corporal Punishment has been abolished. Educators
and learners have to learn the importance of mediation and cooperation, to seek and
negotiate non-violent solutions to conflict and differences and to make use of due process of
law. (Protocol to deal with incidences of corporal punishment in schools, DBE, 2017)

In spite of this legislation, research shows that corporal punishment continues to be used as a form of
discipline in many South African schools. And corporal punishment is not just an abuse of human
rights. Research shows that it is not an effective means of changing behavioural patterns for the
better. In fact, punishments do little to help a learner to understand why their behaviour was
inappropriate, leading to real behaviour change. They may seem to work in the short term but they
actually lead to increased behaviour issues in the long term. Instead of learning appropriate behaviour,

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 61 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

punishment teaches avoidance, leads to aggression, humiliates learners, forces them to take a
defensive stance, and encourages an us–them mentality.

9 . 2 . 2 P o s i t i ve D i s c i p l i n e St r a t e g i e s

Positive discipline is an alternative approach that promotes learners’ self-control, teaches them
responsibility and helps them make thoughtful choices. The more effective teachers are at
encouraging appropriate learner behaviour, the less time and effort they will need to spend
correcting learners’ misbehaviour. Effective positive discipline focuses on the development of the
learner and ensures that the learner’s self-esteem and dignity are preserved. Actions that
acknowledge a learner’s efforts and progress, no matter how slow or small, are likely to encourage
healthy development and positive attitudes towards schooling. Respect for others, consideration,
efficiency, pride of accomplishment, and security in knowing what, how, when, and where to do
something, are all positive characteristics of learners who learn in well-organised classrooms.
Implementing strategies that address these areas can lead to increased academic achievement and a
sense of pride and belonging.

If you actively teach, model and reinforce positive behaviours as opposed to always focusing on
negative behaviours, your learners will learn what is expected of them, feel more valued and
connected, and learn more effectively. Let’s explore one model that enables teachers to do this in
practice.

The Positive Behavioural Interventions and Supports Programme (PBIS) developed in the US has
been effectively implemented in countries around the world, including South Africa. This model
takes into account the essential features of effective behaviour management and is based on the
beliefs that:

• Behaviour expectations need to be actively taught

• Positive reinforcement is more effective than punishment
• Behaviour interventions need to be tiered

The Positive Behavioural Interventions and Support Programme (PBIS) puts forward the following
classroom strategies for implementing positive discipline:

• Actively teach the behaviour you want to see in the classroom

• Use positive language
• Develop and teach predictable classroom routines

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 62 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

• Be consistent
• Give positive praise
• Adopt fair and predictable consequences
• Negotiate a classroom behaviour code
• Teach and practise active listening
• Create classroom rituals
• Have regular class meetings

The key to a successful positive behaviour management approach is consistency. This means not only
consistency in the way you manage behaviour in the classroom, but also consistency in the way the
whole school approaches it. The whole school should share the same values and promote the same
behaviour in all areas of the school at all times.

• Choose core values and actively promote them. Clearly display them around the school and
promote them at all times;
• Always be on the lookout for good behaviour;
• Try a strategy like “Caught in the act of being good!”, or even, “Caught in the act of being
better!” This will give a wider scope for this positive reinforcement strategy;
• Most incidents of bullying or fighting happen outside structured classroom spaces, for example
the corridors or playground. Strategic adult supervision in these areas can help to minimise
these. Peer mediators can also help resolve every day, more minor conflicts in these areas;
• On the first day of term include behaviour expectations as part of the orientation. Walking
learners around the school and explaining the appropriate behaviour for each area is very
effective. For example, “This is how we walk in these corridors, this is where you line up for tuck
shop, and this is a quiet area where we only whisper.”

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 63 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

CHAPTER 10:
Teaching and Learning Strategies

In this chapter we will discuss specific teaching and learning strategies that align to inclusive teaching
practice. There are a number of additional resources that can be accessed to support you in this
section. You are encouraged to read widely and apply what you have learnt by considering the
teaching and learning strategies you adopt in your lesson planning and teaching practice.

10.1 linking learning to “prior knowledge”

Imagine “what is already known” to a learner as being a “chunk of knowledge” that already exists.
Learners add new chunks of learning by relating them to the existing chunk.
When new knowledge is related to what is already known:
• This task is more likely to appear achievable—you may not know the information, but your prior
knowledge means you have at least some ideas about how to find out.
• Any new chunks of knowledge will be easily assimilated with the existing chunks.
As a teacher, you need to find out what your learners already know and think, because:
• You can use this information to design learning experiences that help them understand
concepts through concrete examples they are familiar with. This is likely to support learners’
motivation, engagement and working memory.
• You can help them apply the same concept to different concrete examples they understand,
so supporting transfer of knowledge.
• You can use this knowledge to help learners add new chunks of learning by relating them to
existing chunks.
• You will know at what level to pitch new learning; new learning will only “stick” if it’s added to
existing learning.
• If you discover the first chunk of learning doesn’t exist, you will know you need to fill this gap
as otherwise the subsequent chunks won’t stick either.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 64 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

• If the first chunk has been learnt wrongly, the second chunk might also become skewed. So
it’s important you pick up any misconceptions and sort these out before carrying on.
This is known as “prior learning” and is the starting point for all teaching and learning in the classroom.
The points above show how important it is for teachers to consider “prior learning” when planning for
teaching in the inclusive classroom.

1 0 . 2 Sc a f f o l d i n g

1 0 . 2. 1 W h a t i s s c a f f o l d i n g ?

If you’ve learnt to ride a bike, you’ll remember that someone probably helped you at first, by holding
on to the bike and then letting go as you became more confident. Scaffolding in teaching is similar to
this, and to the scaffolding used in building construction. Instructional scaffolds are temporary
support structures teachers put in place to help
learners in mastering new tasks and concepts they
can’t master on their own. The teacher builds support
based on what learners already know, as new skills or
concepts are introduced. As they work on tasks,
learners become less dependent on these support
structures, which can be removed gradually.

The responsibility for learning shifts from the teacher

to the learner. The scaffolding process helps guide the
learners through their “zone of proximal
Figure 13: Scaffolding
development. One of the main benefits of scaffolded
instruction is that it provides for a supportive learning
environment. Because the learning tasks are clear and manageable, as well as related to learners’
experiences, they interest learners and enable them to get involved with the learning. Using
scaffolds for concepts or skills that learners have had difficulty with, or new material that is
potentially difficult or abstract, will help increase learners’ confidence, as well as reducing their
frustration and anxiety levels. More complex content might require a number of scaffolds given at
different times to help learners master the content. Scaffolding is not about giving learners answers.
At all times the focus is on learners finding solutions themselves. Even at the beginning of the
scaffolding process it is therefore important to ask questions, rather than give the answers, if a
learner gets something wrong.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 65 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

Figure 14: Vygotsky’s Zone of

Proximal Development

1 0 . 2. 2 I m p l e m e n t i n g s c a f f o l d i n g s t r a t e g i e s

A teacher using scaffolding might break down a lesson into a series of “mini-lessons”. The first mini-
lessons might contain more scaffolded support, for example:

• Building on prior knowledge and learner experience

• Modelling what the learners need to do or achieve
• Breaking down the learning into steps (often called “chunking”)
• Giving step-by-step instructions
• Providing cue cards (reminders of key information that learners need to reach the learning
outcome, including vocabulary, sentence starters, formulae, questions for discussion)
• Encouraging use of first language in discussion or thinking processes to increase understanding
• Pre-learning vocabulary needed for later in the learning
• Using graphic organisers
• Using visual cues like gestures, pictures, diagrams
• Using short excerpts of a longer text as a basis for discussion—the longer text is introduced later
in the learning process
• Verbalising the thinking process while solving a problem (sometimes called “think-aloud”)
• Giving hints—suggestions and clues, e.g. “Maybe add the water before the acid”, “How about
starting that sentence with ‘As a result …’?”
• Giving time to practise chunks of learning before moving on to new chunks

As the “mini-lessons” progress, the teacher reduces the amount of scaffolding and gradually hands
over more independence to the learners as their confidence grows.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 66 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

10.3 Differentiated teaching and learning

Scaffolding and differentiation are often seen as the same, but as we have seen, scaffolding is an
approach with its own definition and strategies. Very simply put, the main difference is that scaffolding
is what teachers do—they put support structures in place to help learners master new tasks and
concepts that they cannot master on their own. Differentiation is what teachers and learners do.
Teachers create the conditions and environment for learners to make their differentiated choices, so
increasing their ownership of learning, agency, decision-making and independent learning skills.

As you saw from Vygotsky’s theory, learners move through a zone of proximal development as they
are learning. They begin with knowledge, understanding and skills they are already familiar with, and
move, through a guided learning process, to master a new piece of knowledge or a new skill. Learners
may encounter a range of challenges throughout the learning process; these might arise from:
curriculum content and language; classroom organisation; teaching methodologies; pace of teaching
and lack of time available to complete the curriculum; teaching and learning support materials and
assessment (DoE, 2001). The South African National Curriculum Statement (CAPS) is quite clear that,
while all schools are required to offer the same curriculum to learners, in order to support all learners
fully through the learning process they must ensure variations in modes of delivery and assessment
processes. These variations require teachers to develop strategies for differentiating teaching and
learning. These strategies are commonly referred to as “differentiation”. CAPS specifies the content
to be taught, but it is up to teachers to plan how they will teach it to different learners in their
classroom so that all learners can access learning, i.e. how they will differentiate. The CAPS Guidelines
for responding to learner diversity in the classroom (DBE, 2011) is a tool to help teachers achieve this.
This section will expand on and explain some of the important aspects of differentiated teaching and
learning as outlined in the Guidelines.

Differentiated teaching and learning starts from the premise that “information becomes knowledge
when the learner can process and apply it” (O’Brien & Guinney, 2001: 2). Teachers therefore need to
consider the different ways learners are able to process and apply information—the way they make
meaning from it—and plan teaching and learning with these in mind. In relation to the curriculum, this
is a way of thinking about how we teach our learners and how they learn, and of providing instruction
that meets their needs, abilities and interests (Global Education Digest, 2004).

Differentiation is not about having to create individual lesson plans for each child in your class. Nor is
it about thinking about your class in a way that separates them into groups of “all”, “most” and
“some”. We have seen in Chapter 3 that thinking in this way reinforces bell-curve thinking. Teaching

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 67 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

by “sorting” learners into “more” or “less” able groups marginalises some members of the class and
denies the reality and depth of diversity. In inclusive pedagogy, differentiation starts from thinking
about the class as a whole: “shaking up what goes on in the classroom, so that students have multiple
options for taking in information, making sense of ideas and expressing what they learn” (Tomlinson,
2014).

Inclusive differentiated teaching and learning involves teachers:

• Learning about practical ways of modifying, changing, adapting, extending and varying:
teaching methodologies; teaching strategies; assessment strategies; and the content of the
curriculum.
• Making decisions about which of these ways will enable all learners in a particular class and
particular learning situation to access and be fully engaged in learning. In this way, teachers
increase the choices they give to learners about their learning, so increasing their ownership
of learning, agency, decision-making and independent learning skills.

The overall aim of differentiation is equity to ensure that everyone in the classroom can equally take
part in, and succeed in, learning. A strong inclusive approach for differentiation that supports equity
is where everyone works towards the same learning outcome but learners are given choices about
how they respond, either within a given medium or by being able to choose from a variety of media.
Differentiation, therefore, is not simply “a variety of activities”. It is a process that is unique to each
context and is continually developing. There is no “how to” recipe for differentiating teaching and
learning.

However, it is possible to identify certain underlying principles and approaches to differentiation.

Firstly, as we can already see from the introduction to this section, differentiating teaching and
learning is about teachers being prepared to develop flexibility in their approaches to teaching as well
as learners’ approaches to learning.

Differentiated teaching and learning requires teachers to recognise that:

• All learners are different and are capable of some achievement.

• Every class is a mixed-ability group.
• It is essential to know individual learners well in order to be responsive, i.e. so you know which
strategy to choose at which time for which learners.
• Learners with specific learning needs, like their peers, are all on a “continuum of learning”.
This makes formative assessment even more important as we cannot assume learners will
always be operating at the same level.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 68 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

Remember, the key point is to use differentiation strategies without calling attention to difference in
a way that stigmatises or marginalises some learners. The best way to do this is to assess the range of
needs of the class as a whole and offer various options that will meet everyone’s needs.

10.4 Peer learning, cooperative learning and group work

In a traditional teacher-centred approach to learning, the teacher asserts control over what learners
learn and when, where, how, and at what pace they learn it. The teacher tends to be the most active
person in the room and do most of the talking, while learners spend most of their time sitting in desks,
listening, taking notes, giving brief answers to questions that the teacher asks, or completing
assignments and tests. Learners work individually and competitively.

This approach is out-dated and has been shown to be ineffective in diverse 21st century classrooms.
Instead, a learner-centred approach is favoured. A learner-centred approach gives learners
opportunities to lead learning activities, participate more actively in discussions, design their own
learning projects and explore topics that interest them. The teacher is the facilitator of learning in the
classroom (adapted from: https://www.edglossary.org/student-centered-learning/). Thus, learning is
connected to learners’ own experience and allows space for their voices in the process. In this section
we are going to look at peer learning, cooperative learning and group work as strategies that can be
used to achieve a more effective, learner-centred classroom.

1 0 . 4. 1 P e e r l e a r n i n g

Peer learning is where one learner leads another learner through a task or concept—that is, where
learners learn from one another, as opposed to only learning from the teacher. Peer learning benefits
not only the learner who is having something explained to them but also the peer “teacher” as
teaching a concept to someone else helps to reinforce their own learning. Peers should take turns in
the roles of learning and teaching. Peer learning promotes interpersonal skills, collaboration, increases
confidence and improves learning outcomes. The class teacher is still responsible for facilitating
learning in the classroom. You should be available to fill knowledge gaps and give learners the skills to
effectively tutor, encourage and correct their peers.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 69 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

1 0 . 4. 2 C o o p e r a t i v e l e a r n i n g

Cooperation is working together to accomplish shared goals. Within cooperative situations,

individuals seek outcomes that are beneficial to themselves and beneficial to all other group
members (Johnson & Johnson 2009). Cooperative learning is a teaching arrangement that refers to
small, heterogeneous groups of students working together to achieve a common goal (Kagan, 1994).
Learners work together to learn and are responsible for their teammates’ learning as well as their
own. It can be contrasted with competitive learning, where learners work against each other to
achieve a personal academic goal such as a particular percentage grade. Cooperative learning
requires structuring learning tasks so that learners must work together in order to be successful.
There are many ways of organising cooperative learning activities and care must be taken to ensure
they enable everyone to participate in ways that do not marginalise some.

Not all groups are cooperative. Placing people in the same room, seating them together, and telling
them they are a group, does not mean they will cooperate effectively (Johnson & Johnson, 2009).
Kagan (2011) identified four basic elements of cooperative learning. These are captured in the
acronym PIES:

• Positive interdependence: Occurs when the gains of individuals or teams are positively
correlated. (Does a gain for one learner benefit another?) Success cannot be obtained without
the contribution of everyone. Do learners feel they are on the same side? Does the task
require working together? Do learners feel they need each other?
• Individual accountability: Occurs when all learners in a group are held accountable for doing a
share of the work and for mastery of the material to be learnt.
• Equal participation: Occurs when each member of the group is afforded equal shares of
responsibility and input. Participation should be approximately equal, based on time or turns.
All learners have the opportunity to participate. Learners feel they have equal status.
• Simultaneous interaction: Occurs when class time is designed to allow many learner
interactions during the period, ensuring that most learners are overtly (visually and/or
audibly) engaged at one time.

Phipps and Phipps (2003) emphasise that a very important part of cooperative learning is the ability
of individuals to function well as a group—that is, to have a basic understanding of effective group
skills. Group skills include such things as setting common goals and norms, understanding leadership
roles in educational groups and processing progress in these areas while at the same time working
through the conflicts that may arise.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 70 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

Every group activity must accommodate individual learners’ needs and abilities, ensuring that every
learner can make a contribution and play a role. This gives a message of inclusion and creates a sense
of community and belonging because each learner is viewed as a contributing member.

The benefits of cooperative learning include the following:

• It develops a number of social skills, including listening, taking turns, conflict resolution,
empathy, leadership and teamwork.
• Learners’ engagement, self-esteem and confidence increases.
• Learners take more responsibility for their learning. They make more choices, have more input
into what and how they study, and therefore feel more accountable to each other.
• Learners learn to understand and work with others who differ from themselves.
• It leads to increased and equal participation.
• All learners benefit from peer support and peer learning.

Consider the following when implementing cooperative learning:

• You will need to create the will to work together and teach relevant group and social skills.
You can do so through structured tasks focused on building team and community, which give
learners time to practise, before you move on to academic tasks. Keep tasks tightly structured
until you are confident about groups’ functionality.
• Look out for signs of competition that need managing.
• Encourage group members to evaluate the learning experience themselves. Enabling learners
to evaluate cooperative learning is important for progress.
• Create and maintain a warm, caring classroom environment within which cooperation can
flourish.
• Involve the whole class in agreeing on group norms. (See section on Setting group norms
below)

There is a wide range of strategies you can use in your classroom to promote cooperative learning.
The table below outlines some starting points to cooperative learning.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 71 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

Table 5: Strategies for Cooperative Learning

Think–Pair–Share The teacher poses a question to the class; learners think about their response.
Then they pair with a partner to discuss their ideas. Finally, they share their
ideas with the class. You can also “snowball” Think–Pair–Share so that instead
of moving from “pair” to the whole class, learners move from a pair into a four,
then an eight, and so on.
Numbered Heads Learners in each group get a number from 1–4. The teacher poses a question
Together and the learners discuss the answer together. The teacher randomly calls a
number and from each team the learner with that number writes the answer
on a team response board/paper.
Showdown Each learner thinks about, or writes, or draws an answer to a question
individually. When everyone in the group is ready, the designated group leader
says “Showdown” and team members compare and discuss their answers.
Teammates Each learner has a copy of the same worksheet or questions. A cup is placed in
Consult the centre of each team, and everyone begins with their pencils in the cup.
They discuss their answers to the first question. When all team members are
ready, they take their pencils out of the cup and write their answers without
talking. They repeat this process with the remaining questions.
Team–Pair–Solo Learners work on problems, first in a team, then with a partner, and finally on
their own. Working first as a team and then with a partner, they progress to a
point where they can solve problems alone that at first they could only do with
help
Jigsaw learning This strategy is useful when children are learning about any topic that can be
separated into different areas or text that can be separated into chunks.
Learners start in jigsaw groups, where they choose (or are allocated) a chunk of
learning. They then move into “expert” groups with other learners who have
chosen the same chunk so that they can discuss it in depth—with relevant
stimuli and tasks to frame their learning. They then return to their jigsaw group
and teach their peers what they have learnt. In this way everyone develops an
understanding of the whole topic or text. If it helps your learners to have an
overview of the whole chunk of learning before they move into “expert”
groups, build in some time for this to happen at the beginning. What matters
here (and in all these suggested activities) is that everyone understands the
learning, not that you have to slavishly follow a set method for a piece of group
work.
Envoy Learners work in small groups on a particular chunk of learning. When they are
ready, one learner from each group acts as an “envoy” and visits other groups
in turn to share the learning from their original group. Once they return to their
original group, the learners who have been visited by envoys from other groups
then teach the returning envoy what they have learnt.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 72 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

1 0 . 4. 3 G r o u p w o r k

Using groups flexibly, creatively and with variety will enhance the learning experience in your
classroom. Different groupings can be used for different purposes and to achieve different learning
outcomes. Apart from academic learning goals, group work also promotes the development of
problem-solving, interpersonal, social and communication skills. Group work should not completely
replace individual work as it is essential for all learners to be able to work independently. In terms of
how you group learners, mixed-level groups bring
benefits for all and are more inclusive; however, there may be some occasions where same-level
grouping is more appropriate. Below are some examples of different groupings, possible uses and
points to consider. You should always vary the types of groupings you use, not just rely on one type.

Table 6: Strategies for grouping

Type Possible Uses Things to consider

Whole-Class Introducing new themes, units of work and Ensure that all learners are given
concepts through class discussions, the opportunity to make a
enabling learners to share contribution.
information/experiences.
Pairs Useful for peer tutoring, paired reading, The tutor should not always be
language learning and for those with specific the strong learner.
shared interest or talents. With peer
tutoring, the role of tutor should be rotated.

Small-groups Mixed-level (more often) or groupings of Use mixed-level groups more

similar ability (less often). Mixed-level often than same-level groups to
groups are useful for project work, problem- avoid marginalising and labelling
solving, revision of skills. A useful focus for learners.
same-ability groups is the development of a In mixed-level groups give each
specific skill or developing deeper learner a role/ responsibility
understanding of content/learning consistent with their
processes. skills/abilities.
Groups can be made up of three
to six learners. Larger than six
makes it hard for all learners to
participate.
Interest Learners who share an interest, e.g. when Include as many subject-related
groups a choice of differentiated products is skills as possible in tasks
offered. This might be a group who share
an interest in writing newspaper articles,
or doing role-plays.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 73 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

This chapter has introduced you to a few specific teaching and learning strategies that align with
inclusive teaching practice. These strategies should help inform your future lesson planning and
provide you with practical tools for supporting the learners in your classroom.

Reference List

Christie P (1991) The right to learn: the struggle for education in South Africa. Johannesburg:
SACHED/Ravan Press.

Cunningham R (2003) Complexity theory and school improvement: some possible connections.
Paper presented at the British Education Research Association conference, Edinburgh University,
September 2003.

Viewed 23 October 2018: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/00003214.htm

Department of Basic Education (DBE) (2011) Guidelines for responding to learner diversity in the
classroom. DBE

Department of Basic Education (2012) National Protocol for Assessment—Grades R–12. Viewed 20
January 2019: https://www.education.gov.za/Portals/0/Documents/Policies/NatProtAssess.pdf

Department of Basic Education (DBE) (2014a) Policy on Screening, Identification, Assessment and
Support. Pretoria. Government Printers. Viewed 7 June 2019: http://bit.ly/2X4iHVA

Department of Basic Education (DBE) (2014b) Handbook for the provision of an Integrated Package
of Care and Support for learners in South African schools. Pretoria: Department of Basic Education.
Viewed 18 June 2019: http://bit.ly/2XoOqUI

Department of Basic Education & MIET Africa (2015) Care and Support for Teaching and Learning
Programme National Support Pack: Addendum to the Conceptual Framework. Durban: MIET Africa.
(DoE, 2001: 5)

Department of Education (DoE) (2001) Education White Paper 6: special needs education: building an
inclusive education and training system. Pretoria: Government Printer.

Donald D, Lazarus S & Lolwana P (2002) Educational psychology in social context. Cape Town: Oxford
University Press.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 74 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

Donald D, Lazarus S & Lolwana P (2010) Educational psychology in social context: ecosystemic
applications in southern Africa (4th edition). Cape Town: Oxford University Press.
Engelbrecht P (2006) The implementation of inclusive education in South Africa after ten years of
democracy. European journal of psychology in education, 21(3): 253–264.

Engelbrecht P, Nel M, Nel N & Tlale D (2015) Enacting understanding of inclusion in complex
contexts: classroom practices of South African teachers. South African journal of education, 35(3): 1–
10.

Engelbrecht P & Hay J (2018) Creating collaborative partnerships in inclusive schools. In Engelbrecht
P & Green, L (eds) Responding to the challenges of inclusive education in Southern Africa (2nd
edition). Pretoria: Van Schaik.

Eredics N (2018) Inclusion in action. Brookes Publishing:

https://products.brookespublishing.com/Inclusionin-Action-P1050.aspx

Excell L. and Linington, V. 2015. Teaching Grade R. Cape Town: Juta.

Florian L (2017) Teacher education for the changing demographics of schooling: inclusive education
for each and every learner. In Florian L & Pantic N (eds) Teacher education for the changing
demographics of schooling. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing AG.

Florian L (2015) What counts as inclusive education? European journal of special needs education,
29(3): 283–285.

Florian L (2008) Inclusion: special or inclusive education: future trends. British journal of special
education, 35(4): 202–208.

Glasson GE, Mhango N, Phiri A & Lanier M (2010) Sustainability science education in Africa:
Negotiating indigenous ways of living with nature in the third space. International journal of science
education, 32(1): 125–141. http://doi:10.1080/09500690902981269

Gwala-Ogisi N (1990) Special Education in South Africa. In Nkomo, K (ed) Pedagogy of domination:
towards a democratic education in South Africa. Trenton: Africa World Press.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 75 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

Hammond W & Zimmerman R (2017) A strengths-based perspective.

Hattie J (2009) Visible learning: a synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement.
London & New York: Routledge.
Howard S & Johnson B (2000). What makes the difference? Children and teachers talk about resilient
outcomes for children ‘at risk’. Educational studies, 26: 321–337.

Johnson DW & Johnson RT (2009) An overview of cooperative learning. Viewed 20 January 2019:
www.co-operation.org/what-is-cooperative-learning/

Kagan S (2011). The “P” and “I” of PIES: Powerful Principles for Success. San Clemente, CA: Kagan
Publishing. Kagan Online Magazine, Fall/Winter 2011. Viewed 20 January 2019:
www.KaganOnline.com

Kallaway P (1990) Apartheid and education: the education of Black South Africans. Johannesburg:
Ravan Press.

Nel M & Nel N (2017) Learning in an inclusive education environment. In Nel M, Nel N & Hugo A
Learner support in a diverse classroom: a guide for Foundation, Intermediate and Senior Phase
teachers of Language and Mathematics, Chapter 2 (2nd edition). Pretoria: Van Schaik: 35–58.

Naicker SM (2000) From apartheid education to inclusive education: the challenges of

transformation. International education summit for a democratic society June 2000: 1–13, 26–28.
Detroit: Wayne State University.

O’Brien T & Guinney D (2001) Differentiation in teaching and learning: principles and practice.
London: Continuum.

Oswald M & Engelbrecht P (2018) Teacher education for inclusion. In Engelbrecht P & Green L (eds).
Responding to the challenges of inclusive education in southern Africa (2nd edition). Pretoria: Van
Schaik.

OECD (2005) Teachers matter: attracting, developing and retaining effective teachers. Paris: OECD.
https://www.oecd.org/education/school/34990905.pdf

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 76 of 77
INED7211 Module Reader 2023

Phasha TN (2010) Educational resilience among African survivors of child sexual abuse in South
Africa. Journal of black studies, 2010.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0021934708327693

Phasha TN, Mahlo D & Dei GJS (2017) Inclusive schooling and education in African contexts. In
Phasha N, Mahlo D & Dei GJS (eds) Inclusive education in African contexts. Rotterdam: Sense
Publishers.

Phipps M & Phipps AC (2003) Group norm setting: a critical skill for effective classroom groups.
Viewed 19 October, 2018:
https://mountainrise.wcu.edu/index.php/MtnRise/article/download/37/86

Republic of South Africa (RSA) (1996) Bill of Rights (chapter 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of
South Africa) summary. Viewed 25 March 2019: http://bit.ly/2WPS6iZ

Seroto J (n.d.) Indigenous education during the pre-colonial period in South Africa. UNISA research
paper.

Swain J & Walker C (2003) Parent-professional power relations: parent and professional
perspectives. Disability and Society 18(5): 80–81.

Swart E & Pettipher R (2016) A framework for understanding inclusion. In Landsberg E, Kruger D &
Swart E (eds). Addressing barriers to learning and participation: a South African perspective. Pretoria:
Van Schaik.

Tomlinson CA (2004) Sharing responsibility for differentiating instruction. Roeper Review, 26(4).

UNESCO (1994) Salamanca statement and framework for action on special needs education.
www.unesco.org/education/pdf/SALAMA_E.PDF

UN General Assembly, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 10 December 1948, 217 A

(III), available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b3712c.html [accessed 14 May 2020]
Vangrieken K, Dochy F, Raes E & Kyndt E (2015) Teacher collaboration: a systematic review.
Educational Research Review, 15 (2015): 17–40.

© The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2023

Page 77 of 77