Paving Ways for Effective Inclusion in Selected Mainstream Secondary Schools in Gauteng Province, South Africa

Abstract

This study explored mainstream secondary school teachers’ understanding of inclusion from an interpretive paradigm and adopted a qualitative research design. The study used the inclusive pedagogy approach as the theoretical framework which was propounded by Florian, Back-Hawkins, and Rouse which is located in the sociocultural framework. The research was conducted at three selected schools in Gauteng, a province in South Africa. Twelve participants were purposefully sampled using critical case sampling. Data were generated using individual face-to-face interviews, followed by thematic data analysis. The findings of the study show that teachers understand inclusion as the accommodation of all learners, from a disability perspective, as equal treatment and non-discrimination of learners, and as unity in diversity. The study concludes that teachers have different understandings of inclusion with some seeing inclusion from a disability perspective. It is recommended that the government should facilitate teacher development on inclusive education policies and practices through pre-service and in-service training while workshops should enhance teachers’ holistic understanding of the inclusion of learners in mainstream schools. The government should also elucidate policy documents such as the Education White Paper 6: Special Needs Education: Building an Inclusive Education and Training System, and the Screening, Identification, Assessment, and Support document.