Full-Service Schools and Inclusion in South Africa

Abstract

Full-service schools enroll students, with and without, barriers to learning, requiring their teachers to adopt curriculum delivery strategies that respond to the needs of diverse students in the classroom. Full-service schools came into existence as part of South Africa’s journey towards Inclusive Education as a recommendation from the Education White Paper number 6 policy on Special Needs Education in 2001. The implementation of Education White Paper 6 policy through full-service schools, advocates for the rights of all children to have access to education without discrimination of their learning needs. The challenge for the government of South Africa is to ensure that full-service schools have teachers trained for inclusive teaching. However, the literature reviewed revealed that the relevant authorities have not accomplished anything significant regarding the professional development and upskilling of teachers for inclusive teaching in full-service schools. This chapter discusses the achievements and challenges faced in the implementation of inclusive education in full-service schools. Using Action Research that required observation, interviews and focus group meetings, 12 teachers and approximately 15 learners at a full-service school in Johannesburg East District were engaged in a research project over a six-month period. Results from an inductive analysis of the qualitative data revealed that many teachers do not fully understand the meaning of inclusive teaching, hence, their teaching practices were not necessarily supportive of inclusive in education.