Towards Inclusive Education: a view from South Africa'

1
Towards Inclusive Education a view from South
Africa.
Charlotte McClain-Nhlapo Global Forum on
Education The challenges for Education in a
Global Economy. 24th October 2005 Santiago, Chile

2
Inclusive Education

• Is gaining ground globally.
• Teachers others involved in education are
  working to develop positive educational
  experiences that all children can enjoy benefit
  from, together.
• For children with disabilities those
  experiencing difficulties in learning, this means
  inclusion in mainstream schools classrooms
  alongside their non-disabled peers.
• For all children adults it means a more
  enriching and rewarding educational experience.

3
Barriers in the South African context

• Inequalities in society, lack of access to basic
  services poverty are factors which place
  children at risk, contribute to learning
  breakdown exclusion.
• Inequalities resulting from apartheid economic
  deprivation have had a great impact on the
  education system, especially on those learners
  who face barriers to learning.
• The provision the distribution of resources
  reflect the inequalities of the apartheid past.

4
The Face of Exclusion

• Children who have never attended school those
  who have dropped out.
• Inappropriate education for a learners
  categorised as having special needs.
• No support available for those learners who are
  outside the system.
• Existing provision after primary school is
  inadequate to meet the needs.

5
The Scene of Exclusion

• Socio-economic factors which place learners at
  risk
• Inadequacies inequalities in the education
  system its contribution to learning breakdown
  are most evident in areas which have the lowest
  level of basic service provision, the highest
  levels of unemployment sustained poverty.

6
Scene of Exclusion

• Violence Abuse in society have impacted
  significant numbers of learners.
• HIV/AIDS continues to place large numbers of
  learners at risk.

7
The Scene of Exclusion

• Attitudes
• Negative attitudes towards differences the
  resulting discrimination prejudice in the
  society manifests itself as a serious barrier to
  learning.
• Curriculum
• The curriculum has been unable to meet the needs
  of a wide range of different learners.

8
The Scene of Exclusion

• Environment-Many of centres of learning are
  physically inaccessible to many learners,
  especially to those who have physical
  disabilities. This is often worse in poorer
  rural areas.
• Infrastructure- buildings are rundown or poorly
  maintained. They are unhealthy and unsafe for all
  learners.

9
The Scene of Exclusion

• Governance school management
• Centralised education system has left a legacy of
  restrictive control which inhibits change
  initiative.
• Legal responsibility for decisions tends to be
  located at the highest level the focus of
  management remains oriented towards employees
  complying with rules rather than on ensuring
  quality service delivery.

10
More Barriers

• Language Communication
• Teaching learning takes place through a
  language which is not the first language of many
  South African learners. This places these
  learners at a disadvantage it often leads to
  significant linguistic difficulties which
  contribute to learning breakdown. Second language
  learners are particularly subject to low
  expectations, discrimination lack of role
  models cultural peers.
• There have been some advancements in this regard.

11
More Barriers

• Training
• Training tends to be fragmented, uncoordinated,
  inadequate, unequal and often inappropriate to
  the context.
• Little, or no training and capacity building
  opportunities exist for community resource
  persons, particularly carers.

12
International Legal Framework

• Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)
• UN Standard Rules on the Equalisation of
  Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities
  (1993)
• UNESCO Salamanca Statement (1994).
• EFA Dakar (2000)
• Together, these documents recognise the human
  right of all children to education which is
  inclusive.

13
New Developments

• The UN General Assembly adopted the resolution
  56/168 of 19 December 2001 that established an Ad
  Hoc Committee to consider proposals for a
  comprehensive and integral international
  convention to promote and protect the rights and
  dignity of persons with disabilities.
• The Convention is premised on the fundamental
  human rights values of dignity, equality, social
  justice self-determination.

14
An enabling legal environment

• The S A Constitution of 1996
• Section 9 refers specifically to disability
• Sign language is recognised as an official
  language
• Section 29- the right to basic education
• Basic education is thus a legal entitlement to
  which every person has a claim. For children, the
  right would be satisfied by the availability of
  schooling facilities sufficient to enable every
  child to begin and complete a basic education
  programme of acceptable quality.

15
An Enabling Environment

• South African Schools Act of 1996
• Provides for the inclusion of learners with
  special educational needs. Public schools are
  required by law to admit all learners.
• The Integrated National Disability Strategy
  (1997).
• Provides a blueprint for integration inclusion
  into every aspect of governance.

16
The National Commission on Special Needs in
Education Training DOE 1997

• This report challenged the conceptualisation of
  special needs highlighted the limitations
• It introduces the concept Barriers to learning
  development
• 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
  identified deficits within these learners.
• Little effort made to explore the causes of
  learning breakdown that may be embedded in the
  system.

17
Quality Education for All

• The report involved extensive consultation with
  all the key stake-holders in special needs
  education took one year to complete.
• The report formed the basis of a new national
  policy on special needs education, which is
  directly in line with general education
  transformation initiatives.

18
The principles for educational transformation

• human rights and justice for all learners, equal
  access to a single, inclusive education system,
• removing past inequalities,
• the development of strong links between the
  community the centres of learning,
  cost-effectiveness.

19
Principles of reform

• Educational provision support for all learners
  must be appropriate, effective, affordable,
  implementable sustainable.
• It is responsive to diversity.

20
The White Paper No.6 (2001)

• Acknowledges that all children youth can learn,
  that all children youth need support
• Accepts respects that all learners are
  different in some way have different but
  equally valued learning needs
• The need to enable education structures, systems
  learning methodologies to meet the needs of all
  learners

21
White Paper No.6

• Acknowledges respects differences among
  learners, whether due to age, gender, ethnicity,
  language, class, disability or HIV status
• Looks beyond formal schooling, acknowledging
  learning also occurs in the home community,
  within formal informal settings structures
• Changing attitudes, behaviour, teaching methods,
  curricula the environment to meet the needs of
  all learners

22
A paradigm shift

• Inclusive education incorporates the principle of
  access for all disadvantaged learners, and not
  merely for those with disabilities.
• Inclusive education is therefore a shift from
  disability-specific theories, assumptions,
  practices models to a non-disability specific
  inclusive system of education.
• It is a shift to a more child centered approach.

23
Who are the Players?

• Governments, international agencies, local
  authorities, nongovernmental and community-based
  organizations the private sector
• Parents/care givers
• Children
• Teachers
• The media

24
What This Means

• The development of knowledge on inclusive
  education is essential
• The need for capacity building
• The development training of resources for
  educators.
• The need to raise awareness within communities.
• Infrastructure accessibility.
• A legal framework is required

25
What is needed?

• The need for reliable data collection systems.
• Political will to transform the education system.
• Champions

26
Key Messages

• It makes economic sense.
• There is no one size fits all it is context
  specific
• There are good practices
• It will not happen over night
• Participation and democracy are at the heart of
  inclusion.
• We will not meet the EFA goals if we continue
  business as usual.
• Value ALL learners!!!!