Attitudes of Department of Education District officials towards inclusive education
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Date
2010
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of Zululand
Abstract
This study focuses on a vital component of the transformation process on the
South African educational landscape - district based Department of Education
officials. This descriptive research project had three aims. Firstly; the study
determined the nature of the attitudes of Department of Education officials based
at the Pinetown District towards the inclusion of learners with learning difficulties
at mainstream primary schools. Secondly, the study examined the impact of nine
selected demographic characteristics of district based officials on their attitudes
towards inclusion. Lastly, the study determined the degree of concern that district
based Department of Education officials experienced towards 10 selected factors
(eg. large classes, training of educators, curriculum adaptation, extra pay for
teachers, time for teacher planning) in the implementation of inclusive education
at mainstream primary schools.
The research instrument employed in the study was a questionnaire, which was
administered to all eligible Pinetown District based officials. Ultimately, 62
respondents were recognized as the members of the sample in the study.
Quantitative data was analysed using both descriptive and parametric statistics.
Qualitative data was content analysed to discern emerging themes.
The results of the study indicated that Pinetown District based Department of
Education officials generally hold positive attitudes towards the inclusion of
learners with learning difficulties at mainstream primary schools. In addition the
study found that the following five demographic characteristics are significant
predictors of Department of Education district officials positive attitudes towards
the inclusion of learners with learning difficulties at mainstream primary schools -
training in special/inclusive education, contact with people with disabilities,
experience in teaching learners with disabilities, knowledge of White Paper 6
(Department of Education, 2001) and the workstation of the officials. Lastly, the
study concluded that district based Department of Education officials were very
concerned that the 10 factors (eg. teacher workloads, provision of a support
teacher, availability of resources, support of school management teams and the
impact of included learner on the performance on the non-disabled learners)
collectively could impede the successful implementation of inclusive education at
South African schools.
Description
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Master of Educational Psychology at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2010.
Keywords
Inclusive education -- attitudes --South Africa.