Mirna Nel

Understanding Teachers' Attitudes and Self-Efficacy in Inclusive Education: Implications for Pre-Service and In-Service Teacher Education.

Although there are clear differences in national policies regarding inclusive education, the international debate has not fully considered their impact on implementation within different countries, for example on teacher education. This paper reports on results from a comparative study of in-service teachers’ attitudes and self-efficacy in implementing inclusive practices in South Africa and Finland and its implications for teacher education in these countries. A sample of 319 South African and 822 Finnish primary and secondary education teachers completed a questionnaire containing a scale measuring sentiments, attitudes and concerns on inclusive education as well as a scale measuring teachers’ self-efficacy in implementing inclusive practices. A comparative analysis indicated that whereas the overall sentiments towards disabilities were positive in both countries, teachers had many concerns about the consequences of including children with disabilities in their classrooms. While the most positive aspect of self-efficacy among the South African teachers was their self-efficacy in managing behaviour, the Finnish teachers saw this as their weakest point. Self-efficacy, in particular efficacy in collaboration, was clearly related to overall attitudes towards inclusion. The implications of these findings for pre-service and in-service teacher education are discussed.

South African teachers' views of collaboration within an inclusive education system

The development of sustainable collaborative partnerships between different role players within an inclusive education system seems to be a continuous challenge in South Africa. The focus of this research study was to understand how teachers view collaboration within an inclusive education system. Open-ended questionnaires were completed by 85 participating teachers and focus group interviews were employed with 24 educators. The findings indicate that educators still believe that they are not adequately trained and skilled to play an equal role in a collaborative partnership and prefer to rather refer learners experiencing barriers to learning to other support structures and professionals for support.

The relationship between the critical thinking skills and the academic language proficiency of prospective teachers

We report on the relationships that exist between the critical thinking skills and the academic language proficiency of a group of first-year prospective teachers at a South African university (n = 89). The results revealed the nature of the critical thinking skills as well as the academic language proficiency of the students. Significant correlations between academic language proficiency and making inferences, as well as between academic language proficiency and critical thinking as a general competency, were noted. The article concludes with recommendations on how to enhance critical thinking and language proficiency in the teacher-training curriculum.

How cultural histories shape South African and Finnish teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education: a comparative analysis

Complex cultural and historical forces are often neglected when the development of inclusive education in international comparative research projects are discussed. The purpose of this study was to analyse teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education by examining the ways in which cultural-historical factors in South Africa and Finland may impact on teachers’ attitudes. Data collection methods included the analysis of education policy documents and other relevant documents in countries, an open-ended question on teachers’ own definition of inclusive education and the results of the initial study on teachers’ attitudes to and concerns about inclusive education. A sample of 310 South African and 833 Finnish primary and secondary education teachers in mainstream and special education settings took part. An analysis of the data within a cultural-historical framework indicated that each country’s historical commitment to inclusive education and its attendant legacies about diversity in education have clearly mediated teachers’ views in both countries. As a result, we have been able to develop a deeper understanding of the complex local conditions, and the similarities and differences across national contexts in which inclusive education is implemented that could benefit both countries.

The idealism of education policies and the realities in schools: the implementation of inclusive education in South Africa

Inclusive education as a global movement emerged over the past 30 years to ensure quality mainstream education for all learners. Since 1994 the newly democratic South Africa also had expectations as well as the political will to change education by adjusting legislation and policies. However, the vision of a truly inclusive education system in South Africa has been difficult to achieve and results regarding the implementation of inclusive education remain questionable. There has been a growing realisation that the advent of democracy was not in itself a sufficient condition for the elimination of historical and structural inequalities in education with as recurring theme the dissonance between the governments socio-political imperative for change and economic realities. This article focuses on the development of policy and guidelines on inclusive education in dynamic interaction with the complexity of realities in South African schools with a special focus on the policy recommendations regarding the development of full-service schools. The constant comparative analysis of the two phased case study of a full-service school in a rural town revealed interesting results illustrating the complexities regarding the implementation of inclusive education and the challenges and opportunities in bridging the gap between the idealism of policies and the realities in schools.

Making meaning of inclusive education: classroom practices in Finnish and South African classrooms

Abstract This paper reports on the findings of an international comparative research project where the roles of teachers in the implementation of inclusive education in mainstream-classroom settings in South Africa and Finland were investigated. Inclusive education within this project is broadly defined as welcoming all students to general-education schools and classrooms and not segregating students on the basis of ability or other individual or sociocultural characteristics. In this paper a qualitative analysis of Finnish and South African teachers’ day-to-day teaching and learning support practices in their classroom is discussed. Individual and focus-group interviews encouraged teachers to articulate their views in this regard. Initial findings indicate that despite the dissimilar cultural and historical contexts of these two countries, both complex contextual issues and classroom practices based on a medical-deficit understanding of diverse educational needs play a role in Finnish and South African classrooms.

Challenges experienced by district-based support teams in the execution of their functions in a specific South African province

This article reports on the findings of an embedded mixed-method South African study that investigated the challenges experienced by District-Based Support Team (DBST) members in the sub-directorate of Inclusive Education of a South African province in the execution of their functions. A Likert-scale questionnaire and individual semi-structured interviews were used in the study. The findings showed that the participants experienced a variety of challenges in effectively executing their functions. These challenges included the ineffective integration of Special Schools as Resource Centres into the DBSTs, poor availability of infrastructure, equipment, human and physical resources, insufficient collaboration with the national department of education, a lack in adequate training of DBST members and an insufficient awareness of the role that they play in school communities.