Abstract
Previous studies conducted on the implementation of inclusive education in South African full-service schools showed that teachers lacked knowledge and expertise in inclusive teaching practices. Furthermore, in some international studies, it is recommended that, to enhance inclusive teaching, it was necessary to involve the teaching communities concerned, using their in-depth understanding of the problem at hand, to come up with emancipatory solutions that could assist in the design of effective teaching strategies to enhance inclusive teaching. Therefore, this study investigated the role of participatory action research (PAR) in enhancing teachers’ inclusive teaching practices in full-service schools. This qualitative PAR study was conducted for 6 months by a research team comprising 12 teachers in a full-service school in the Johannesburg East District of South Africa. Data were collected through PAR stages of planning, observation, action, and reflection. To analyze data, during PAR, group interpretative meetings were held with coresearchers and, after PAR process, an inductive qualitative thematic content data analysis was done by the researcher. Among the findings from the study was that teachers’ understandings of inclusive education were varied. Their conceptions about what it meant to be an inclusive teacher in a full-service school context were also vague. However, the study has found that through PAR participation teachers were able to share and develop own understandings of these concepts. Furthermore, the study identified a need for teachers in a full-service school to be reflective, critical, and innovative about their teaching practices to cater for diverse learner needs in the classroom, which are skills necessary for enhancing inclusive teaching and learning. The study has confirmed PAR as a viable change strategy of teaching toward inclusion.
Highlights
South Africa became a democracy in 1994 after the African National Congress Party, led by a Black majority, ended the apartheid era
It can be concluded that participatory action research (PAR) is useful for enhancing teachers’ understanding of the school situational context, which is important for inclusive teaching in full-service schools
The study could not be conclusive about the role of PAR in equipping teachers for inclusive teaching in fullservice schools, as these schools are evolving and being developed on a continuous basis, it makes important contributions to the enhancement of inclusive teaching in fullservice schools
Summary
South Africa became a democracy in 1994 after the African National Congress Party, led by a Black majority, ended the apartheid era. This was the same year that the Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 1994) was released, calling for education for all, regardless of learning disabilities; South Africa’s journey to inclusive education began. In 2001, the Education White Paper 6 on special needs education (Department of Education [DoE], 2001) was introduced, as a measure to address schooling for children with barriers to learning In it was outlined, as a major step toward inclusive education, that some ordinary schools would be converted into full-service schools where children with barriers to learning could be taught in inclusive classes together with ordinary learners.
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