INTRODUCTION
Since 1994, when the new democratic government came into power in South Africa, all policy documents and legislation that have emerged stressed the principles of social justice, quality education for all, the right to basic education; equality of opportunity, and redress of past educational inequalities among those sections of the people who have suffered particular disadvantages, or who are especially vulnerable, including street children, out-of-school youth, the disabled and citizens with special educational needs, illiterate women, rural communities, squatter communities and communities damaged by violence (Cf. White Paper on Education and Training, March 1995; South African Schools Act of 1996; Report of the National Commission on Special Needs in Education and Training and the National Committee on Education Support Services, 1997; Draft Education White Paper 5: Special Education: Building an inclusive education and training system, January 2000.). The most important policy initiative by government in the area of "special needs education" has been the establishment of the National Commission on Special Needs in Education and Training (NCSNET) and the National Committee on Education Support Services (NCESS) in November, 1996-1997. The Report of NCSNET and NCESS and the Draft Education White Paper 5: Special Education: Building an inclusive education and training system (January, 2000) that has emerged from it, endorsed and drew on the principles entrenched in all previous education policy documents and legislation. The paper will, firstly, examine key policy developments in education in South Africa since 1994 as they relate to "special needs" education. Secondly, it will explore the emerging paradigm shift from the notion of "learners with special needs" to the concept of "barriers to learning and participation", and the recommendation for a community based inclusive education agenda that is rights based.
Thirdly, the paper will provide insight into a collaborative action research project aimed at developing sustainable inclusive education policy and practice in two Districts in South Africa. One of the project areas is District N2, Pretoria in the Gauteng Province, and the other is the Estcourt District, Province of KwaZulu-Natal. The paper will explore the development work that has begun on the project, its successes and the challenges facing the project. The paper will attempt to focus on conceptual, strategic and methodological issues.
EDUCATION POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND LEGISLATION SINCE 1994
Education as a Social Right.
Since 1994 the new South African government has been committed to transforming educational policy to address the imbalances and neglect of the past. A strong human rights emphasis is evident in educational policy and legislation. In addition, education policy and legislation with respect to disability reflected a move away from a welfare to a rights and developmental approach. In view of the legacy of racial discrimination, and the neglect and marginalisation of various sectors of the population during the apartheid era, the new government was committed to restoring the human rights of all marginalised groups. Since 1994, education policy documents that emerged entrenched the principles enshrined in the Constitution: education as a basic human right, quality education for all, equity and redress, the right of choice, curriculum entitlement, rights of parents.
The notion of a democratic society based on human dignity, freedom, and equality is entrenched in the Constitution. One of the key provisions in the constitution is the one dealing with equality of rights. Section 9(3) reads: "The state may not unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth."
The key education policy documents such as the White Paper on Education and Training (Department of Education, March 1995); White Paper 2: The Organisation, Governance and Funding of Schools (Department of Education, November 1996); White Paper on an Integrated National Disability Strategy (Office of the Deputy President, 1996); and the South African Schools Act of November 1996 stress the principle of education as a basic human right. The principle implies that all learners have the right to equal access to the widest possible educational opportunities. The principle of quality education for all learners is stressed in certain documents. The provision in the South African Schools Act of November 1996 regarding this principle is as follows: "Subject to this Act, the governing body of a public school must promote the best interests of the school and strive to ensure its development through the provision of quality education for all learners at the school". (section 20:1 (a), p. 14)
These clauses encapsulate a vision of an education system that gives recognition to the wide diversity of needs in the student population, and which ensures a more flexible range of responses. The emphasis on quality education for all learners suggests that schools have to meet the diverse needs of all learners.
From "Special Needs" to Quality Education for All: A Community-Based Inclusive Education Agenda.
In all the above legislation and education policy documents that emerged between 1994 and November 1997, there is the implication that there are two distinct categories of learners: those who are the majority with "ordinary needs" and a smaller minority with "special needs" who require support and specialised programmes to engage in some form of learning. Furthermore, the idea of "special needs education" as a second system of education, and ordinary education as a first system is entrenched. In these documents, the term learners with "special needs" is used specifically to refer to learners with disabilities and those experiencing learning difficulties.
The Report of the National Commission on Special Needs in Education and Training (NCSNET) and the National Committee on Education Support Services (NCESS) (Department of Education, 1997) is the first document to challenge the conceptualisation of "special needs" as it currently exists in South Africa, and to highlight the limitations of this conceptualisation for a developing context. The Report argues that historically in South Africa, the notion of "special educational needs" has been used to categorize all learners who for various reasons did not fit into the mainstream system, and to identify deficits within these learners. Little attempt is made to explore the causes of learning breakdown that may be embedded in the system. The Report of NCSNET and NCESS argues that a range of needs exists among learners and within the education system, which must be met if effective learning and development is to be provided and sustained. Therefore, the education system must be structured and must function in such a way that it can accommodate and be responsive to a diversity of learner and system needs. The Report further argues that a dynamic relationship exists between the learner, the centre of learning, the broader education system, and the social, political, and economic context of which they are all a part.
The Report of NCSNET and NCESS argues that the priority of an education system should be to address those factors that lead to the inability of the system to accommodate diversity, or which lead to learning breakdown, or which prevent learners from accessing educational provision. The NCSNET and NCESS conceptualised these factors as "barriers to learning and development". In their investigations, the NCSNET and NCESS identified key barriers in the South African context that render a large number of children and adults vulnerable to learning breakdown and sustained exclusion: problems in the provision and organisation of education; socio-economic barriers; factors that place learners at risk, such as high levels of violence and crime; HIV/Aids epidemic and substance abuse; attitudes; an inflexible curriculum; problems with language and communication; inaccessible and unsafe built environment; inappropriate and inadequate provision of support services to schools, parents, care-givers, families and communities; disability; lack of enabling and protective legislation; lack of human resource development; and lack of parental recognition and involvement (Department of Education, 1997:11-19). The Report explains that it is only by focusing on the nature of these barriers that problems of learning breakdown and exclusion can be addressed. Barriers may be located within the learner, within the centre of learning, within the education system, and within the broader social, economic, and political context
In South Africa, it is clear that applying the concept" special needs education" to categorise a small group of learners according to their defects or disabilities is problematic. The reason is that various social, political and economic factors prevent access to basic education for large numbers of learners. There are many children whom the system is failing, and to whose needs the system remains unresponsive. In adopting this conceptualisation of" barriers to learning and development", the National Commission on Special Needs in Education and the National Committee on Education Support Services engaged with the realities of life within local contexts and communities.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUSTAINABLE INCLUSIVE EDUCATION POLICY AND PRACTICE: A COLLABORATIVE ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT
One of the few initiatives to emerge that is based on the recommendations of the Report of the NCSNET and NCESS is a collaborative inclusive education project in two provinces: KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. As stated, the project aimed at developing sustainable inclusive education policy and practice in two districts in the country.
The project areas are the Estcourt district in the Ladysmith region of the province of KwaZulu-Natal, and the other is in Pretoria, District N2, in the Gauteng Province. The project covers the whole scope of educational contexts in South Africa from rural disadvantaged, to urban disadvantaged to urban advantaged.
Description of the Project Areas
The KwaZulu-Natal Project Area
This is one of the poorest provinces in the country. Transformation in this province has been very slow since 1994 owing largely to political and economics factors, and the problem of a lack of capacity within the education sector. The province has a population of 8 412 021. The local language is Zulu. The unemployment rate in this province, according to the 1996 census, amongst those aged 15-65 was 39.1%. The number of economically active people (employed and unemployed) in the province in the age group 15- 65 years is 2 579 517 (out of 8 412 021) - 30.6% (Statistics South Africa, 1996).
The province of KwaZulu-Natal has 8 regions. The target region, Ladysmith largely a rural context, was selected for the development project. The Ladysmith Region Department of Education has 5 districts. The target schools are within the Estcourt district. The project involves a cluster of centres of learning in a rural part of the district: 5 primary schools, one special school, one Early Child Development (ECD) centre; and one High School. The home language in the area is Zulu. English is the second language in schools. Although in most schools the medium of instruction is officially English, in practice both languages are used in the classroom. Poverty and unemployment are major social problems in the communities around the schools. Most families are single parent, female headed households. In many homes children are cared for by grandmothers as parents are employed in Johannesburg and other towns around.
The Gauteng Project Area
The Gauteng Province is the richest and most densely populated province of South Africa. The name of the province is derived from the Sotho word, which means "Place of Gold". Each district was demarcated in such a way that it cut across traditional white suburbs and coloured, Indian and African areas. This ensured racial integration at an administrative level and was crucial for the establishment of an integrated education system. There is need to understand that the apartheid system categorised and officially classified people in terms of 'race'. Four major races were identified: 'Whites', 'Indian', "Coloureds' and 'African'. This racial classification of South Africans impacted every aspect of their lives. This was particularly evident in material conditions under which they existed - conditions that ensured that they lived segregated and unequal lives.
The development area includes Pretoria Oos-Moot, Eersterust and Mamelodi. It covers a cross section of South African schools, reflecting all the complexities of a transforming social and education system. Eight project schools were selected as well as two Early Child Care Centres. Most of the schools are situated in a very poor informal settlement area in the East of Mamelodi. Mamelodi is an old township (100 years) stretching over 20 Km. There is huge population growth in this area through the rapid influx of families from rural areas who are migrating to the city in the hope of finding employment. Unemployment remains the biggest problem in the area. Most schools are huge with learner populations of between 1000 and 2000 learners and class sizes often exceeding 60 (the national norm is 40 in primary and 35 in secondary education).
One of the project schools is situated in a traditional Coloured township, Eersterust. In Apartheid South Africa the coloured areas were in a sense better off than African townships and schools were also better resourced. A tendency therefore developed of township parents sending their children to schools in this area, the school fees not being quite as high as in former exclusively white schools. The predominant language of instruction in the Eersterust schools is Afrikaans. Mamelodi children coming to these schools prefer being taught in English, even though their home language is Northern Sotho, Zulu or Tswana. This is often a primary reason for learning breakdown, especially in the early primary school years.
Two of the project schools are traditional white schools in middle class white Afrikaans suburbs. The selected schools are unique in as far as they were the first Afrikaans schools in Pretoria to open their doors to children from the townships. The secondary project school has 50% African students, which is unique for Pretoria.
How did Project Begin?
In the Estcourt District, the project was initially an initiative that began in 1995 as a result of collaboration between the special school and an NGO, the Ladysmith Co-ordinating Committee on Disability (LCCD). From a survey conducted by the LCCD, it was found that there were large numbers of learners in mainstream schools with varying disabilities, and learning problems. There were many learners who were repeating grades up to three and four times. Teachers needed training and support on how to respond to the needs of these learners. In collaboration with the Ladysmith Region Education Department, the LCCD and the Kwazamokhule special school began the project. The initiative involved workshops for teachers on how to respond to the diversity of learning needs in their classrooms. An attempt was made to access resources both from the Education Department, NGOs and universities. However, the project was not sustained because of lack of support from the education department, and teachers experienced difficulties in attending the workshops.
In 1998, the project was revived on the initiative of researchers from the University of Natal in Durban, and the University of Durban-Westville, Durban. The researchers were invited to participate in a four-country research and development project on inclusive education. The decision was made to involve the Estcourt district in the project. The main reason being the fact that teachers and the community were keen to participate and build on their initiative. Furthermore, the researchers were keen to target a rural context for development.
The project in Gauteng was initiated in 1998 by the District office. This District wanted to be pro-active in the implementation of emerging policy in Inclusive Education and started piloting a number of strategies which could promote a move towards a community based support system. These strategies included setting up school based support teams, the Health Promoting Schools approach, training of learning support educators, Child-to-Child approaches and more effective transition from school to work programmes for over-age and disabled learners. The district also targeted child abuse as an area of concern and concentrated on developing prevention and intervention programmes.
When invited to participate in the four country project, the district was immediately enthusiastic and selected a number of schools and centres (including a special school for severely intellectually disabled and an ECD centre) to do more intensive development work and to monitor and record the results. It was hoped that this research could inform development of policy and practice in the province.
In the Gauteng Education Department, 1999 became a watershed year for the province as it was dominated by a massive restructuring process to bring the province in line with emerging national policy. The Education Auxiliary Service comprising sub-units for Guidance, Sport, Learners with Special Education Needs (LSEN), Psychological Services, Speech Therapy, Youth and Culture and Learning Integration was merged with the Curriculum Unit into a new Curriculum and Professional Development Service (CPDS). This restructuring has significant implications for the realisation of the inclusion policy in the province. Fundamentally such a merger acknowledges the fact that an inclusive system can only be brought about if curriculum and educator development moves in the direction of accommodating diversity at all levels. It also acknowledges that support can only be meaningful if it is infused. The process was, however, marred by the fact that many managers (especially the district managers of curriculum sections) involved in the process, did not understand the fundamental purpose of the merger. Many of these managers come from a system where learners who experienced learning breakdown were referred for remedial support provided outside the ordinary class by specialists. These remedial services were, of course, only available to the advantaged communities.
Development Work in the Project Areas
Development work in the two project areas progressed in different ways. It was largely influenced by contextual factors such as social problems in the community that place learners at risk, available human resources, perceived needs, capacity in the district education departments, partnerships forged, community resources. The analysis of development work in the project will identify principles that have guided the projects, and provide examples of actions that emerged.
Defining Inclusion
The definition of inclusion that the project adopts is embedded in the Draft White Paper 5: Special Needs Education - Building an Inclusive Education and Training System, March 2000. Inclusion:
| · | Is a never ending process rather than a simple change of state. It is viewed as processes of increasing the participation of students in, and reducing their exclusion from cultures, curricula, and communities of local centres of learning |
| · | Is about acknowledging that all children and youth can learn and that all children and youth need support |
| · | Is about enabling education structures, systems and learning methodologies to meet the needs of all children |
| · | Acknowledges and respects difference in children, whether due to age, gender, ethnicity, language, class, disability, HIV status, etc. |
| · | Is broader than formal schooling, and acknowledges that learning occurs in the home, the community, and within formal and informal contexts. |
The Approach to Inclusive Education:
The participants in the project have drawn on principles in policy documents that have emerged in South Africa, and on the work of certain international researchers when exploring an approach to inclusion (Booth & Ainscow, 1998; Ainscow, 1999)
| · | Inclusion is seen as the core to wider reform of the education system as a whole in an attempt to create a more effective and just society. The approach to inclusive education in the project is to create an ordinary education system that is responsive to learner diversity and to ensure that all learners have the best possible opportunities to learn. The main aim is to create cultures and an ethos in schools that value all learners irrespective of their diverse needs. |
| · | Inclusion is dependent on continuous pedagogical and organisational developments within the mainstream. |
| · | Difficulties in learning should no longer be seen as located within the individual but as arising out of an interaction between learners and the human and material resources available to support learning. A critical task in education is to maximise participation for all through minimising barriers to learning. |
| · | Inclusion is concerned with developing partnerships between schools and communities, |
| · | Contexts vary regarding the extent and nature of barriers to learning and participation, |
| · | Although inclusion focuses on marginalised groups, it increases the effectiveness of the system in responding to all learners. |
Booth (2000) describes this approach as a transformative inclusive education agenda. In both project areas, the first step was to engage participants in examining this transformative inclusive education approach, and the philosophy underlying it. This was done through workshops, meetings, and discussions with the regional and district education departments, NGOs, teachers, school management and other stakeholders. At a collaborative workshop, involving personnel from the Pretoria Project, was in the Estcourt district in March 1999, teachers and school principals from each of the target schools debated the notion of inclusive education, and engaged in an analysis of their local school contexts to determine barriers to learning and participation.
Starting from a Needs Analysis
The next stage in development work was a needs analysis conducted by the various participants, for example, in the Estcourt District researchers from the University, and teachers, and learners, members of the school governing body were involved. In the Gauteng project, an Inclusive Education Task Team comprising various stakeholders such as district department officials, teachers, teacher Union representatives, and local NGOs drove the process. The aim of the needs analysis was to explore the following questions: What are the barriers to access and participation in school policies, school cultures, local communities, classroom practices, and curricula? What resources can be mobilised to support the inclusion and participation of all learners?
The needs analysis is ongoing and has yielded critical information. The following excerpts reflect the challenges facing the schools:
" The N.P. School is situated in the poorest part of the district. There are many social factors which impact on the school such as poverty, family violence and gangsterism. There are also many learners from nearby Mamelodi who want to be instructed through the medium of English although the language of instruction at the school is predominantly Afrikaans. The educators have already grappled with the challenge of second language learning. An ever-recurring complaint by the school, is also the lack of involvement on the part of parents."
Teenage pregnancy is a concern for the staff at the Phumalanga Primary School in KwaZulu-Natal. According to the principal, "girls who fall pregnant whilst at school, go home and never return. Local women of about 18 years, often have more than one child. He attributed this practice to cultural influence by parents who encouraged their children to marry working men at an early age to help support their families. Many of the husbands were migrant workers".
Ms Lungi Hadebe a community worker based at the Kwazamokhule Special School, one of the project schools, drew attention to the seriousness of the Aids epidemic in the District. She pointed out that currently 90% of the patients at the Estcourt Hospital were Aids patients. She stressed the urgent need for HIV/Aids awareness programmes and sexuality education programmes to begin in all schools in the district.
Setting Priorities for Development
On the basis of information obtained by means of the needs analysis, the two districts and the schools within them decided on priorities for development. Some insight into this process, and examples of priorities set are provided below.
Building the Capacity of the District Team. In the Pretoria project, the setting up of a district team to drive the project was the first priority. When the project was first introduced to the district, it was considered with some level of scepticism if not resistance. As no formal policy yet existed, many managers in the district were of the opinion that such development work was premature.
After many discussions, information sessions and workshops involving representatives of all units, a project team was at last established with a number of very committed volunteers with the pro-active support of the District Director who became part of the team. This Inclusion Task Team has been vigorously driving the project. Most of the focus areas of the task team overlapped with the general operational goals of the district. The project is, in fact, not seen by the District Director as an add-on to the general work of the district.
Over-age Learners at Bhekuzulu-Primary School. The issue of "over-age" learners was identified as a priority at one of the project schools in KwaZulu-Natal. However, it became clear that this is an issue that needs to be addressed at all project schools. In June 1999, the researchers and teachers at the school undertook an assessment of these learners in order to ascertain curriculum needs. It emerged that there are two distinct groups of over-age learners:
| · | A group of older learners, age range 15-17 who are in grade 3, grade 4, or grade 5. The average age in these grades is 8 -10 years old. This group requires a programme that focuses on life skills and functional literacy and numeracy. |
| · | A younger group, age ranges between 10-13 years who are in grade 2 or grade 3. The average age in these grades should be 7- 8years. It was felt that for this group, there is a need for a fast tracking programme. |
The project is now exploring other initiatives that have developed programmes for over-age learners in other provinces in the country. It will also link with the sector in the Education Department responsible for materials development, and the Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) sector in the Regional Department of Education.
The project is now exploring other initiatives that have developed programmes for over-age learners in other provinces in the country. It will also link with the sector in the Education Department responsible for materials development, and the Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) sector in the Regional Department of Education.
The Goal of Basic Education for All
The goal in the project is access to a basic education for all learners. The project views this as a moral issue, and the Constitution guarantees this right for all learners. Making schools responsive to diversity is the key issue in the project. It is centrally a curriculum issue and an issue of school improvement. The project is attempting to change attitudes so that participants - teachers, department personnel, parents and other professionals - move away from the thinking that problems in classrooms and schools arise from difficulties in individual learners. In the majority of South African schools, low achievement, exclusion, and school dropout, arise from social and economic disparities, inappropriate curricula, and inflexible organisational strategies.
The aim in the project is to re-focus attention to changes in curricula and teaching methods that might minimise barriers to learning and participation. A priority is to empower teachers to become problem solvers and to explore ways to respond to everyday teaching and learning problems.
Inclusion at the Core of Whole School Development
The project sees addressing barriers to learning and participation at the heart of school based change and school improvement. However, in defining an effective school and how to improve it, the project fully acknowledges cultural, historical, political, and moral contexts. Focusing solely on academic and social outcomes is problematic. For example, currently in South Africa a great deal of emphasis is placed on improving the matriculation results which are being used as a yardstick for an effective school. With this emphasis on achievement, the concern is that learners who have been historically disadvantaged in the system such as "over-age" learners; children who repeat grades and experience difficulties in learning; and learners with disabilities will continue to face exclusion and marginalisation because they do not matter in this drive towards excellence.
The principal of G School in Mamelodi said that their main aim was to "weed out" over-age learners out of their school as they are trouble makers who lower the standards and results of the school. Only when the basics such as discipline have been restored, will their school be ready for inclusion.
In developing inclusive policies, the project aims at identifying key aspects of whole school development that can be engaged with: school management that would have the responsibility of establishing a clear vision and an ethos for the school; ongoing analyses of barriers to learning and participation; capacity building within the schools to support learners, teachers, and parents, and community; the development of inclusive curricula, setting priorities and link these to the overall vision for the school; engaging in ongoing staff development; fostering collaborative ways of working within schools, and between schools and the community; accessing community resources; collecting and using information to inform decision making; developing partnerships with the community. The project has made encouraging progress in many of these areas. However, there are challenges that are also being faced in the process of change.
A Pedagogy for Diversity
The project stresses that the most important factor which makes inclusion work in the classroom is applying a child-centred methodology, underpinned by a sound understanding of the principles of Outcomes based Education (OBE) which are embedded in the National Curriculum. Viewing learner diversity as part of the reality of each classroom and being able to accommodate each learner as a fully participating member of the learning community are stressed as prerequisites for quality education. In the Pretoria project, the Inclusion Task Team has focused on integrating perspectives on inclusion in the training modules of Grade 3 and Grade 7 OBE training. The Inclusion Task Team has succeeded in achieving general understanding in most district schools of the real meaning of inclusion within the curriculum. Also the very successful Child-to-Child programme run in a few schools, gave teachers a better understanding of child-centred methodology and home school links.
In the Estcourt project, owing to a lack of capacity, inadequate attention has been given to curriculum issues, in particular, making inclusive education integral to training on Curriculum 20005 and its outcomes based approach. There is a need to give attention to actual teaching and learning in the classes - and develop the capacity of schools to engage in their own school based teacher development. Areas of need identified by participants are: the teaching of early reading, writing, mathematics at primary level; the teaching and learning of English as a second language; responding to learners with diverse needs, for example, children with disabilities; and facilitating active learning in large classes. There is also a need for funding for specific interventions such as materials development for over-age learners, disability awareness, HIV/AIDS awareness, sexuality programmes. The possibility of accessing donor funding through the Department of Education will be explored.
A Problem-Solving School Focused Approach to Inclusion
The project aims at developing within schools a problem solving, solution finding approach to responding to diversity in the learner population. There are already examples of such practices emerging in the project schools. The high school principal explained:
" Many of our children come from poor home backgrounds, unstable homes - where there is poverty, alcoholism and substance abuse. The home environment is not conducive to learning and not supportive to the learners."
In response to this the school has initiated "study groups" for learners in the matric class. Each morning between 7h00-8h00 and every afternoon between 15h00 and 17h00 students use the school premises to study either individually or in groups. Teachers supervise these groups on a rotation basis. Study groups are also scheduled for Saturday mornings.
Another example of a problem solving approach to responding to learner needs is the experience at the Muntuza School in KwaZulu-Natal. According to the principal, an ongoing problem at the school was the fact that children had no birth certificates. This made the admission process very difficult because the Department of Education has ruled that no child without a birth certificate should be enrolled at the school. Parents would not register their children and obtain birth certificates for various reasons: financial, apathy, time constraints - many parents work away from home; grandmothers are illiterate and not empowered to go through the process. The school had discussions with the mayor of Estcourt about the matter. A meeting was arranged with the senior clerk at Home Affairs in the district. A decision was agreed on that staff at the school assist with the registration of children by conducting the process at the school. This initiative has proved very successful, and other project schools are encouraged to do the same.
Linking with National and Provincial Education Initiatives and programmes
In the Pretoria project, a concerted effort was made to link the project with other national and provincial policy initiatives. The processes that have provided a framework within which to implement inclusion INSET have been Curriculum 2005 and its outcomes based approach, the new assessment policy, the Culture of Learning and Teaching (COLTS) initiative; and training programmes on child abuse, safety in schools, drug abuse, effective teaching and management, HIV/AIDS and Life Skills programme. The Inclusion Task Team has been monitoring progress around inclusion with respect to these programmes.
On 21 July 1999, the Minister of Education in his "Call to Action" aimed at mobilising citizens to build a South African education and training system for the 21 Century, set out a nine-point priority programme. (Department of Education, July, 1999). In extending on the Minister's Call for Action, the Department of National Education developed and released the 'Implementation Plan for Tirisano' ('working together') (Department of Education, January 2000). The nine priorities are:
| · | We must make provincial systems work by making co-operative government work; |
| · | We must break the back of illiteracy among adults and youth; |
| · | Schools must become centres of community life; |
| · | We must end conditions of physical degradation in South African schools; |
| · | We must develop the professional quality of our teaching force; |
| · | We must endure the success of active learning through outcomes-based education; |
| · | We must create a vibrant further education and training system to equip youth and adults to meet the social and economic needs of the 21st century we must implement a rational; seamless higher education system that grasps the intellectual and professional challenges facing South Africa in the 21st century; |
| · | We must deal urgently and purposefully with the HIV/Aids emergency in and through the education and training system |
It is clear that the underlying policy principles are derived from all previous policy documents and legislation: social rights; access; quality; inclusion; equity; redress. The project views inclusive education and its focus on addressing barriers to learning and participation to be in line with the goals of the Tirisano project. The challenge for project schools will be to place inclusive education at the core of the Tirisano school development plans that all schools will be required to produce.
Building an Inclusive Ethos
An important goal of the project is to develop an ethos that all learners are valued, and that the school is responsive to diversity. At the Bhekuzulu School, caregivers and parents, many of whom are unemployed, cannot meet the school fee of R40 per year. The principal does not exclude children for non-payment of fees. He stated:
" when I came to the school, I was told that the procedure was that all the children had to re-register at the beginning of the year. They could only do this if they paid the R40. I realized that this was wrong, and contrary to the South African Schools Act. I announced at assembly that all children must come to school irrespective of whether they had the money to cover the fees or not. We do not have a problem with payment of fees. Parents pay as and when they can. About 80% of children have paid this year."
" when I came to the school, I was told that the procedure was that all the children had to re-register at the beginning of the year. They could only do this if they paid the R40. I realized that this was wrong, and contrary to the South African Schools Act. I announced at assembly that all children must come to school irrespective of whether they had the money to cover the fees or not. We do not have a problem with payment of fees. Parents pay as and when they can. About 80% of children have paid this year."
Mobilising Community Support
The aim in the project is to mobilise resources in communities to support inclusive education initiatives. A critical priority for the Sizamaleni School is to re-build the physical structure of the school, which is in an extremely poor state. The principal, who is a member of the School-Based Support Team, has written numerous letters to various companies and donor organizations over the past year. The school has not been successful to date in securing donor funding. However, the latest development (March 2000) is that the Peace and Reconciliation Foundation, an NGO, was approached. The Foundation is looking into building 10 new classrooms. The Foundation is targeting the area for development work in view of the fact that this was a violence-torn area a few years back resulting from political friction between the ANC and the Inkatha Freedom Party. The community has succeeded in addressing its political differences, and there has been peace for the past four years. The Foundation is, therefore, keen to support development in the area, and restore a stable community life.
In the Pretoria project, the district has been invited by UNICEF to pilot a Child-to-Child Project. Two team members have attended three week training courses at the Institute of Education of the University of London on Child-to-Child in Inclusive Education and Health. The team participated in a training programme in the Northern Province together with a technical team from Zambia and training was also done in some of the project schools in Mamelodi. Child-to-Child is seen as an effective methodology of child-centred education that encourages participation and learning of all students, and to link the school and the home.
Building School-Community Links
One of the nine priorities articulated by the Minister (Department of Education, July 2000) is that schools must become centres of community life. To develop the concept of the "community school", the project aims to facilitate school-community links. Such a process could also contribute to community upliftment. Some development work has begun in this area.
Muntuza school in KwaZulu-Natal is developing into a community school - attempting to serve community needs. The Disabled People's Organization of South Africa (DPSA) uses one the classes on a regular basis for meetings. In addition, Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) classes are held at the school. There are approximately 60 students as at March 2000. Reading and writing is taught by teachers from the school and teachers from a neighbouring school. This is an initiative of the Department of Education, and Muntuza School is a participating school in the project
The Development of Capacity for Support within Schools and Communities
An important aspect of the project is to build support structures within schools and communities rather than rely on the limited number of available professionals in the district. This has taken various forms.
School Based Support Teams. At each of the schools, school based support teams have been established. The role of the school based support team is to monitor and facilitate development work, and to link with other schools in the project to form a school cluster. Cluster meetings, held once in three months are attended by representatives of the School Based Support Teams from each of the target schools.
It must be mentioned that the effectiveness of the school based support teams varies amongst the target schools. This depends largely on the understandings of inclusive education amongst school management and the staff at each of the schools, and the degree of support for the Team. There is a need for further orientation and training in the Estcourt project schools. A workshop was held with the whole staff at the Kwazamokhule Special School in May 1999. The staff engaged in re-visiting their understandings of inclusive education as conceptualised in the project, and in analysing inclusionary and exclusionary practices in their own school context. The workshop ended with the staff setting new priorities for development, and making a commitment towards greater collaboration on the project. Workshops of this nature will have to be held at all other project schools in the district.
In Pretoria the two project schools with the most active school support teams, have also proved to be most successful in the implementation of inclusive practice. These support teams go as far as bringing home visits to families where children have been abused or where social problems prevail. They facilitate intervention from social workers, do counselling and collaborate with community based support organisations such as PAWA (People against Women Abuse). The school support team of Mahlasedi Masana Primary School took the initiative to train teams at some neighbouring schools with very positive outcomes.
Steering Committee of School Clusters. In KwaZulu-Natal, the schools saw the need for an additional structure to be set up. This was a Steering Committee of School Clusters. The role of this is to facilitate and monitor the project, and ensure networking and collaboration amongst the target schools. Currently, the Steering Committee is facilitating the development of a Resource File for the School Cluster. The File has information on Community Based resources and organisations that schools can access. In June 1999, the steering committee on its own initiative developed a questionnaire that aimed at evaluating understandings of inclusive education and the development of inclusive schools. Respondents, who were the principals and the members of the school based support teams at each school, were requested to revisit their understandings of the philosophy of inclusive education, and its impact on system change. After analysis of the questionnaires, the steering committee felt there is a need for workshops at each project school with all members staff and the governing body in order to re-visit the philosophy and conceptualisation of inclusive education; and the notion of barriers to learning and participation. There was also a need for more in-depth training for the members of the School Based Support Teams.
Intersectoral Project Support Team: In both the project areas, the Intersectoral Project Support Team has been set up. The aim is to ensure collaboration in the project between Health, Welfare, Correctional Services, Labour, NGOs in the area; Disability Organisations, teacher unions, community leaders, and other community organisations. Representations from these stakeholders were nominated onto the team. The target schools will also develop an understanding of what support structures there are available in the community.
In the KwaZulu-Natal project, Ms Jabu Mtalani of Victim Support, District Correctional Services, who is a member of the Project Support Team, has been involved in the project. She has addressed teachers and learners at the Muntuza School on children's rights, dealing with abuse, issues on prevention. She also made the school aware that counselling is available for children who are victims of child abuse, including pre-counselling before court cases.
In January 2000, the Ladysmith Coordinating Council of Disability (LCCD) approached the Ladysmith Education Department with a proposal to start two grade R (reception year) classes for children with intellectual disability. These were "out of school' learners who had no access to schooling. According to Department policy, Grade R classes have been established in all primary schools. The initiative was approved and two teachers were appointed. The classes comprising 10 children each are housed at the Kwazamokhule Special School. The children live in the residence.
The Kwazamokhule Special School: Concept of a Resource Centre.
One of the key recommendations in the Draft Education White Paper 5: "Special Education: Building an inclusive education and training system" (January 2000) is for the qualitative improvement of special schools and their conversion into resource centres that are integrated into district support teams. In the KwaZulu-Natal project area, the Kwazamokhule School has attempted to extend its services as a resource centre in the area, particularly with respect to the project schools.
Disability Awareness Programme in the Community: A disability awareness programme is underway. A play has been produced involving students from local high schools and from the Kwazamokhule School. The play explores issues around attitudes, social justice, charity/welfare approach versus a rights approach to disability; and the issue of inclusion in the community. A hundred T-shirts have been printed with the caption "disability not inability" in three languages on the T-shirts. These have been sold in the community. The students have performed in churches in the community, and there have been numerous invitations from other churches. Feedback has been very positive.
Audit of Out-of-School Learners with Disabilities in the Community: Through the work of Ms Lungi Hadebe and the therapists, 53 children with disabilities and severe learning problems have been identified within the community of the project schools. The children are between the ages 6-18 years. A meeting was held with the Regional and District Education Departments, Ladysmith regarding access to education for these children. Certain options are currently being explored by the District Department.
Outreach to Project Schools. Visits have been made to project schools by therapists from the special school. The focus has been on health promotion, disability awareness, and providing support for children with disabilities in the project schools.
BARRIERS TO INCLUSION
The analysis of developments in the project in the two project areas indicates some encouraging progress towards inclusive schools and communities. However, the project does face various challenges that may be viewed as barriers to inclusion. These are likely to impact the sustainability of the project. The barriers identified relate to both macro factors within the education system as a whole, and micro factors that relate to the individual project areas.
| · | Difficult circumstances in schools and their communities impact on the morale of teachers at the project schools: poverty and unemployment, large classes, often more than 50; poor infrastructure in schools; social problems that place learners at risk; lack of basic services; many home languages, problems with teacher commitment, lack of parent involvement, large numbers of over-age learners. There also have been many innovations introduced in education in the last few years, which has led to many concurrent processes running at schools - few of which are linked. It is said that teachers are suffering 'policy overload'. |
| · | From experience in the project, it has become clear that addressing inclusion and exclusion in education is in reality merely part of the process of reducing exclusion in society. There are many social, political, economic factors that place learners and communities at risk such as poverty and unemployment. In order to achieve sustainable inclusive education, programmes have to be linked with programmes for social and economic growth, and employment. There is a need for programmes that uplift and sustain communities. |
| · | In South Africa, over the past few years there has developed a strong private and semi-private school sector. Parents augment state subsidies by the payment additional fees, and are able to ensure better resources, and small class sizes for their children. This is reflected in the last few years by the exodus of children from townships to better-resourced private and semi-private schools - leaving the public school sector impoverished. There continues to exist gross inequalities in education provision between the middle class and the poor and voiceless. Education in township schools has come to be considered inferior, thereby entrenching exclusion. This is a major exclusionary factor that the Education Department is failing to address. Within the framework of an inclusive philosophy, there has to be an inclusive culture in the education system that values all learners, and the school community equally, and commits to encouraging the achievement of all learners. |
| · | A cause for concern in South Africa is focus in educational circles and communities on education excellence and achievement, which is measured in terms of academic results Currently, in all provinces, there is a drive to improve the attainment in the matric results. In 1999, the matric results nationally were poor. The reason for the limited involvement of personnel in regional and district departments of education in the inclusive education project in Estcourt is that personnel are "involved with matric interventions". All human resources both here and in Pretoria appear to be deployed with this goal in mind. The goal of access to a basic education for all learners seems to be no longer a priority. The provincial departments do not seem to see that all learners should be provided with support to achieve the highest levels in their community schools. |
| · | Curriculum 2005 was considered the most significant curriculum reform in South African education of the last century, and it was intended to overturn the legacy of apartheid education. The Outcomes Based Education (OBE) approach was seen as a core educational practice within inclusive education in terms of its responsiveness to learner diversity. However, there were serious problems in its implementation. In January 2000, the Minister set up a task team to engage in substantive review of the new curriculum and its implementation in Foundation Phase and Grade 7. Findings were that implementation has been confounded by various problems such as a skewed, complicated structure and design; lack of alignment between curriculum and assessment policy; inadequate orientation, training and development of teachers; learning support materials that are variable in quality, often unavailable and not sufficiently used in classrooms; policy overload and limited transfer of learning into classrooms; shortages of personnel and resources to implement and support C2005, and a lack of recognition of curriculum as the core business of education departments (Department of Education, May 2000). In response to this, the Minister has set a Task Team to develop a simplified Curriculum 21 within the next 12 months. Although the outcomes based approach will be retained, these developments have negatively impacted on teachers' morale, commitment and trust in the Department of Education. The concern is that Education White Paper 5: 'Special Education: Building an inclusive education and training system' is soon to be released, and it is feared that educators will be reluctant to engage with yet another innovation in education. |
| · | In the Pretoria project, there is a lack of support and understanding for the aims of the project on the part of the Co-ordinator and most officials in the Teaching and Learning Service of the district. Only Foundation Phase and a few other facilitators accept that addressing barriers to learning and development across the range must be an essential component of school improvement. Progress in making the District Management Team understand the infusion model of support services, has been slow and fraught with tensions. In spite of successes achieved in making the school based support team a catalyst for school development and team work, district managers have not been keen to use this as an approach in all schools. |
| · | The researchers and staff in the target schools in the Estcourt district are concerned about the sustainability of the project. There has been minimal involvement on the part of the District Education Department. The project has to be seen as an integral part of the work of the Regional and Estcourt District Education Department, and district personnel need to be more fully involved in the pilot work. It is also critical that all sectors such as those involved in school management development, curriculum planning, teacher education, early childhood development, adult basic education, link with the project. It is for this reason that the researchers believe that the project needs a project co-ordinator based in the district to facilitate and monitor the project. However, the project co-ordinator post has to be integrated into the district education department for reasons of sustainability. |
CONCLUSION
An interesting aspect of this inclusive education project is that it is, in a sense, ahead of the policy that is currently being debated in parliament in South Africa. The Draft Education White paper 5: Special Education: Building an inclusive education and training system is in the final stages of policy process. Embedded in this White Paper are recommendations that are being currently engaged with in both the Estcourt and the Gauteng project areas, for example, the transformative inclusive education philosophy; the establishment of district support teams and school based support teams; the priority of providing access to 'out of school' learners with disabilities; the transformation of special schools into resource centres; the development of inclusive curricula and the acknowledgement that barriers to learning arise from the various interlocking parts of the curriculum; the need for an advocacy and information campaign; the mobilisation of community support; developing the capacity of educators in curriculum development and assessment to make the system responsive to diversity. In addition, the idea of full service schools is given prominence in the Draft White Paper. This concept may have to be examined in depth and explored as a project goal for the near future. It does seem that experiences in this pilot project could make an invaluable contribution to the implementation process in the country once the White Paper 5 is released as policy.
REFERENCES
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Booth (2000). Conceptions of inclusion and exclusion from North to South. Unpublished manuscript. Christchurch College, University of Canterbury, Kent, U.K.
Booth,T. & Ainscow, M. (1998). From them to us: An international study of inclusive education. London: Routledge.
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996
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Department of Education (January 2000). Implementation plan for Tirisano. Pretoria: Department of Education.
Department of Education (November, 1995). White Paper 2: The Organisation, Governance, and Funding of Schools. Pretoria: Department of Education.
Department of Education (January, 2000). Draft: Education White paper 5: Special Education: Building an inclusive education and training system. Pretoria: Department of Education.
Department of Education (May, 2000). A curriculum for the 21 st Century: The Report Review Committee on the Curriculum 2005. Pretoria: Department of Education.
Ministry in the Office of the Deputy President (November 1997). The White Paper on an Integrated National Disability Strategy. Pretoria: Office of the Deputy President.
South African Schools Act of November 1996
Statistics South Africa (1998). The people of South Africa Population Census, 1996. Census in brief. Pretoria: Statistics South Africa.
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