Abstract
Since 1994 elections, legislation has resulted in increased desegregation in South African public schools. Nothing prepared educators for the changing diverse learner population, and the approach of many schools has been to conserve the existing ethos and culture of the school. This approach has fostered an assimilationist perspective where learners are expected to adapt to the culture of the school. This has, in many instances had catastrophic consequences, especially with regard to racial integration or the lack of it. While such schools were, in the pre-election period, largely homogenous, they are now heterogeneous where the learner population reflects differences in race, ethnicity, language, gender and ability.
The focus of this paper is on how educators have experienced the changes that have characterised South African education. This is an attempt to locate inclusive education within the context of the wider educational changes taking place in South Africa. It briefly traces the educational changes that have characterised South African education in the last five years. It recognises the critical role of educators in the transformation of an education system which is characterised by inequalities and social, political and cultural differences and stresses the importance of educators in transforming the teaching and learning process. Educator attitudes, expectations, concerns, priorities and values are examined through a reflection on the day to day experiences of mainstream educators. In addition, the paper briefly evaluates the extent to which new policy has translated into practice and the implications of this in the implementation of inclusive education policy. The emphasis of this paper is on what educators think about the challenges that confront them and how they see their roles changing in the current climate of educational change, given the complex nature of the changes, the accompanying expectations of educators and the conflicting pressures that they have to resolve within schools.
These issues are explored in relation to a group of mainstream educators participating in a university in-service programme. The research involved semi-structured interviews and informal discussion with educators. In addition, the participants were also required to keep a professional diary and undertook a basic action research in response to a problem that was of importance to them.
Educators feel great frustration and experience stress as a result of the expectations of them that new policies have introduced. They are resistant to the implementation of inclusive education policies because of constraints and barriers they experience in their attempts to change their practice and establish more effective learning environments. They feel relegated to the periphery of educational policy development and feel that the government does not really consult with educators in policy formulation and implementation. The common view is that the government attempts to educate educators about policies and educational changes after they have been implemented, that too many changes are implemented too quickly while educators remain largely ignorant of policy, legislation and educational reform.
 |
 |