Thirty-six teachers from six primary schools of the South Central Region of Botswana were engaged In six focus group discussions. Focus group discussions were triangulated with document analysis, classroom observations and access-audit to get an insight about the school and classroom practices. Findings revealed that majority of the general education teachers was not familiar with the concept of Inclusive education and did not fully support it. Teachers preferred to include learners with mild disabling conditions compared to learners with severe disabling conditions.
Teachers primary concerns were inadequate training, lack of resources, and high steeplechaser ratio as barriers to the successful implementation of inclusive education in Botswana. Keywords: Inclusive education, Bostonian primary school teachers INTRODUCTION The concept of Inclusive education is based on the principle that all children regardless of ability or disability have a basic right to be educated alongside their peers in their local schools (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization [UNESCO], 1994).
This concept, which was spearheaded In the Western entries in the asses, has become a matter for the =global agenda’ (Fiji, Meijer & Height, 1997; Signal, 2005). Botswana as one of the signatories of Education for All [EFFACE is committed to enhance access to education to all her citizens and inclusive education is perceived to be the most effective approach in reaching this goal (Mahogany’s, 2009). Journey to Inclusive Education Historically, persons with dillydally were oppressed, their human rights were violated, and their accesses to education were denied.
Majority of them were sacrificed and some of them were used as an object of entertainment. Philanthropists felt that individuals with disabilities should be given custodial care to protect them from abuse (Kirk. Gallagher. Anastasia. Coleman, ) I Nils lea to ten concept o 73 T Institutionalizing, winner European Journal of Educational Studies 5(1), 2013 individuals with disabilities were placed, fed and clothed. These types of institutions were not meant for education they were meant for protecting individuals with disabilities from the ridicules and abuse of the society.
Education as a human right has been recognized and acknowledged by various national and international organizations. On December 10, 1948, the international community adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948). It recognized the principle of -?everyone has a right to education. Education shall be free, at least in elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. …
Parents have prior rights to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children] (Article 26). Following this declaration, many countries accepted the sentiments of _ rights of education’ to all children. Rights of children ere also raised in World Conference on Education for All (1990) at the Jonnie. Subsequent to the Declarations of Educational for All, many developing countries honored the spirit and tried to enhance access of education for typically developing children.
Unfortunately, for children with disabilities, equal priority was not given. In 1994 representatives of 25 international organizations and 92 national governments therefore met in Spain under the support of UNESCO. From this conference, the Claimant Statement on Principles, Policy and Practice in Special Needs Education ere formulated. The conference paved way to inclusive education as a solution to address lack of access, equity and participation in education for children with disabilities. -? .
Regular schools with this inclusive orientation are most effective means of combating discriminatory attitudes, creating welcoming communities, building an inclusive society, and achieving education for all; moreover, they provide an effective educative education to the majority of children and improve the efficacy and ultimately the cost-effectiveness of the entire education systems (UNESCO, 1994, p. X) Subsequent to the Claimant conference in the year 1994, the movement of inclusive education became popular and gained significant international currency.
The intention of the movement was to restructure schools in order to respond to the learning needs of all children (Mansion, 2005). It acknowledged that the problem in learning does not necessarily originate from the deficit within the child (Emitter, 2005); it can arise from social, psychological, economic, linguistic, cultural consequences. Hence, it is important to remove all the barriers which hinder learning. Inclusive Education in Botswana. Education of learners with SENSE was initiated by Non-Governmental Organizations in Botswana (Boss, 2000).
The first educational policy which is commonly known as Education for Isakson was developed in 1977 (Government of Botswana, 1977). It recommended that every child should have the right to education, but it was silent on the issues of education for learners with Government AT Botswana, 1 I en 2nd National commission on Education was established in 1992 to review the entire education system in Botswana and to address the gaps. Following the submission of its report in 1993, the Revised National Policy on Education (ERNE) was formulated (Government of Botswana, 1994).
The ERNE recommended that as far as possible learners with SENSE should be placed in integrated settings. The ERNE remained the major policy framework for promoting access and teacher development for the last two decades. Although, the number of learners with SENSE increased, the quality of education was compromised (McBride, 2009). In 2011, in alignment with global trend, a comprehensive policy document on Inclusive Education for Botswana has been drafted (Government of Botswana, 2011) UT it is yet to be implemented.
The goals of the policy are: All learners will complete their basic education and progresses where possible to senior secondary or tertiary education or to vocational training. 0 Teachers will have the skills and resources to enable children of different abilities to learn effectively. 0 Out of school education programmed will be further developed and strengthened to ensure the inclusion in education and skills development of those children, young people and adults whose needs cannot be met in the formal system. Schools will be supportive and humane establishments which embrace and support all their learners and value their achievements, so that children will attend school regularly and work hard at their studies. 0 All relevant Governmental, Non-governmental and private organizations will work in harmony to develop and maintain an inclusive education system in Botswana. With the implementation of this policy it is expected that the number of learners with SENSE will continue to grow and classrooms will become more diverse than before.
In order to cater for learners with diverse learning 0 74 needs, teachers should have adequate knowledge and skills and favorable attitude awards inclusive education (Vive & Reins, 2002; Trader, Morse, & Fervor, 2000). Unfortunately, there are few studies of teacher attitudes towards inclusive education in Botswana Primary Schools. Attitude of Teachers towards Inclusive Education Successful implementation of inclusive education is largely dependent on the positive attitude of teachers towards it (Pyramids & Norwich, 2002; Misappropriate & Shrugs, 2000).
A significant body of research indicated that teachers are positive towards the general philosophy of inclusive education (Pyramids, Baileys, and Burden 2000; Pyramids and Norwich 002; Marshall, Ralph, and Palmer 2002), whereas other research has reported that teachers have serious reservations about inclusive education in practice (Ring & Traverse, 2005). The limited research that is available in Botswana has concentrated on inclusion of learners with specific categories of disabilities.
For example, Images (1999) studied the possibilities of inclusive education for learners with hearing impairment, Gatehouse (2001) explored the availability of learning support systems Tort Inclusive coeducation Tort learners Walt value Impairment. Recently, Brandon (2006), Guying and Mangoes (2011) and Chafer, Assertive and Assertive (2010) studied attitudes of teachers and student teachers’ towards inclusive education. These studies indicate that teachers in Botswana schools do not have favorable attitude towards inclusion for learners with SENSE.
They are concerned about inadequate equipment and availability of paraprofessionals, additionally they raised concerns about provision of resources and funding to support the learners with SENSE in regular classrooms. However, most studies focused on teachers’ perspectives only and did not include the classroom practice of instructional delivery to promote inclusive education. The purpose of this research was twofold. First, it sought to understand primary teachers’ beliefs towards Inclusive Education; and secondly it intended to gain insights into the processes and practices of inclusive education in primary schools in Botswana.
METHODOLOGY Research Design A multiple-case study approach was employed to gain insights into the practice and process of inclusive education in the South Central Regions. Each school formed a case and presented a unique ecology of classrooms and school culture. This allowed the researcher opportunities to capture the similarities and preferences from every school communities to explore, compare and comprehend the factors that influenced the practices of inclusive education Research Settings Schools in the Republic of Botswana are grouped into ten administrative regions.
This study was carried out in selected primary schools located in the South Central Region. The medium of instruction in these schools was predominantly English but the local language Statesman was also used for ease of understanding. The South Central Region consists of schools in the following districts and city-council: South-East, Keating, Seaborne City Council and Keening. In terms of the location, the schools were categorized into three groups namely urban, semi- urban and rural.
Participants There are 165 government-funded primary schools in the South Central Region (Ministry of Education and Skill 75 Development, 2008). The schools that had already included learners with SENSE from different location were selected purposively. Six schools, that is; two schools from three locations (urban, semi-urban and rural) were selected. From each school, six general education teachers who were experienced in teaching learners with SENSE were selected using snowball sampling.
Snowball sampling was used because the potential teachers under investigation were _ hidden’ either due to low numbers of learners Walt n SENSE In regular primary cocoons ( ) careful attention was pal to the process of gaining entry, selection of informants, developing and maintaining rapport and maintaining ethical protocols. Procedure Data were collected using six in-depth focus group discussions. Later on non-participant classroom observations were undertaken to gain insights into the practice of inclusive education.
In total 14 classroom observations were made and each observations took between 35-40 minutes. The researcher also took reflexive field notes using an observation schedule such as interactions, pedagogical practice, lesson content, language of instruction and management strategies. After each observation, the researcher had informal follow-up conversations with teachers about the classroom for clarification purposes. In addition, the researcher audited infrastructure facilities such as buildings, toilets, and sports and recreation facilities in every school.
This data collection strategy helped the researcher to find out the types of provisions that were made to enhance access and participation of learners tit SENSE. In addition, researcher took photographs of various facilities and activities in the school, and reviewed the documents, referral notes, curriculum, individualized educational plan (PEP), and assessments reports (medical and psycho-educational) to gather information about the practice of inclusive education in each school.
Data Analysis Interviews were transcribed verbatim. The six basic phases of thematic analysis outlined by Braun and Clarke (2006) were implemented, which included, (1) data familiarization, (2) generation of initial codes, (3) searching for themes, (4) viewing themes, (5) defining and naming themes, and (6) report production. Throughout this process, the aims and objectives of the research were used to guide the organization and interpretation of data.
The data derived from the multiple methods were triangulated to make the common theme. Triangulation involves the -?use of multiple and different sources, methods, investigators, and theories to shed light on a theme or perspectives (Crewel, 1998, p. 202). RESULTS The process of thematic analysis described above led to the development of a theoretical framework for understanding how stakeholders respond to their experience. Teachers’ Beliefs Throughout the transcripts attitudinal barriers surfaced repeatedly.
Teachers’ responses were prefaced by phrases like -?they are a burden], -?l don’t have time], -?increase workload, -?and they should go to special school. The following excerpts could best illustrate attitudinal barriers. It is sometimes very hard to work with such kinds of students. Because they take more time to teach. I really hate to have these kinds of students in my class. They need much attention and time, so it is not easy to teach them in a regular class. 76 I nave realize Tanat students Walt Ana walkout Locals t II less are Like two parallel lens which can never meet.
Students with disabilities need special attention, if you have many students, students with disabilities will not benefit. As teachers, we don’t have experience on how to teach them. Teachers should be trained on how to teach students with disabilities. With respect to categories of disability, teachers’ preferences varied. The majority of teachers preferred learners with learning difficulties to those with any other disability. Teachers reported less preference for learners with physical disabilities, deafness or blindness, and those with emotional robbers.
The reason for this preference for learners with learning difficulties (in Botswana, learning difficulties are defined as those learners who have problem in learning that is not attributed to sensory and physical and intellectual problems) was expressed as -?it is easy to manage and accommodate. ] Mobility impairment was the category next most frequently endorsed by teachers. It emerged from the data that learners with mobility impairments did not create serious demands on the part of teachers in the lines of instructional accommodations.
The least preferred categories ere visual or hearing disabilities and learners with emotional disorders. Participants of the study believed they could not effectively accommodate these learners in regular classrooms. It could be deduced from the data that, teachers seemed to prefer selective inclusive practices rather than the fully inclusive model. Teachers Knowledge and Skills Throughout the interviews, the teacher’s lack of knowledge and skills appeared to be the dominant theme. I was not trained in special education, so I ignored the child and simply referred the child to a special school for children who are hearing impairment.
It is difficult to teach pupils with learning disabilities, if you are not trained in special education to deal with such students. Since they need special attention and normally they work at their own pace. The effect of location of schools did not have any influence on the teachers’ views. One of the participants recommended, -?Teachers should be taught how to handle pupils with disabilities. Data suggested that adequate training in inclusive education was a critical perquisite for teachers to function effectively in order to implement inclusive education successfully.
Lack of knowledge and skills such as Sign Language and Braille appeared to be serious concerns for teachers. This was revealed in the following comments: We do not have enough knowledge and skills to manage learners with disabilities in regular classroom. We don’t know how to communicate with children with hearing impairment, we don’t know sign language. I lack skills, it really worries me, as I would not want a child I feel for her, as I do not have the experience to teach her (sic). Teachers who advocated for inclusive education cited friendship as a primary benefit and outcome of inclusive education.
When all learners are educated together, natural connections between learners with and without disabilities result. Classroom Instructions During class observations it was observed that, teachers were using the teacher-centered method, which did not cater for individual differences. Their lesson notes were scanty without clear evidence on how they would meet learning needs AT learners Walt SENSE. None AT tense teachers employed Instructional accommodation during teaching and learning.
Another interesting finding was that some of the teachers preferred to use Statesman when interacting with learners with SENSE during the lesson. Post-observation interviews revealed that teachers felt that learners with SENSE do not comprehend well when instructed in English. The data suggested that teachers operate within the _deficit model’, which views student with disabilities as = incapable of learning. It was also observed that at a school with a long history of practicing inclusive education regular teachers collaborated well with special educators.
Their teaching approaches were ideal since they employed instructional adaptations and strategies such as I) large fonts for learners with visual impairments it) peer-tutoring to meet he learning needs of individuals with visual impairments. The culture of teaching at this school also emphasized team-teaching instanced by the presence of regular and special educators who shared teaching responsibilities. When asked more about the school’s culture of team-teaching one of the regular teachers revealed that: Initially it was not very clear on the role of each one of us. Thank God!
We have a school head who is trained in special education. She explained to us how it works. Her knowledge and supervision skills really help us. I have acquired a lot of skills as a result of team teaching with special educators. The data indicate that collaboration, team-teaching and leadership play a critical role in the implementation of inclusive education. It also emerged from the data that clearly defined roles could feed into the success of inclusive education. Lastly, teachers need to be equipped with adequate knowledge and skills in order to function in the inclusive classrooms.
Teachers Concerns Teachers who took part in the research were of the opinion that full inclusive education model’ might not work in Botswana. The dominant reasons of the perceived barriers to include learners with disabilities in regular school were jack of trained general educators. The other most often mentioned barriers were lack of resources and funding; these barriers were followed by lack of personnel, lack of time, lack parental involvement and large class-size. Work-load and class size. The participants expressed frustrations about the workload they have to contend within primary schools.
Their displeasure was reflected in the following remarks: We are teaching large classes because of specialization, it’s a lot of work. You have to make sure that all children are catered for. This is not easy. Student teacher ratio is not favorable. We teach large numbers of students. Having a child with disability is real problem. It is impossible to give equal attention to all students. During lessons observations, it was observed that in some classes the teacher: student ratio was 1 and the teachers could not give adequate attention to all learners.
Inadequate support services support services sun as professional support, parental support and administrators’ support were perceived to be critical components in the implementation of inclusive education. However, these support services were serious lacking in primary schools of the South Central Region. Professional support. On the issues of professional support, teachers felt that professional support services almost do not exist in the educational scenario of Botswana. Teachers argued that learners with SENSE need professional help and -?should be referred to specialists].
Unfortunately, there was a shortage of professionals such as educational psychologists, speech-language therapists, and occupational therapists to support learners with disabilities. One of the teacher pointed out that: There is only one centre in Botswana; Central Resource Centre is responsible for assessment and placement. If you refer your students, they were only seen after one year. 78 Parental support. When describing the need for support in inclusive education most teachers talked about the necessity of parental support.
Illustrating the need for parental support, typical responses of teachers were as follows: As up to now, in my experience I don’t see any parental participation. Parents do not co-operate, they don’t come to school when invited They come only during Open Day. Still on the issues on parental support, some teachers appreciated the parental support in their school. Most of the primary schools in the South Central Region have Parent Teachers Associations (PTA) and School Intervention Teams (SIT), which exist to encourage parents’ involvement and support.
Unfortunately, parental support is minimal in terms of working hand in hand with teachers in education of learners with disabilities. In some situations, SIT appeared only on paper but not in practice, while these are supposed to be structures which should involve parents of learners with SENSE. Administrator support. Any mention of administrator support sparked emotional reactions among teachers. For example, one teacher revealed that: We don’t get help from other teachers. Because we are specializing, I teach only Math, we don’t get lots of help from other teachers.
We do not have any support from Head Teachers and even the ministry people do not help us (sic). If you have a student with disabilities in your class, it is not that the headaches would reduce your work-load. Turning to the issue of how school-heads support their teachers, similar frustrations were expressed by teachers: We don’t get enough support from the head-teachers. I think head-teachers need to provide leadership in this issue. She should collaborate with professionals. It is the special educators who do most of the Job.
I think if we include a student with disabilities, the class-size should be reduced. Collaboration between stakeholders. Participating teachers felt that there was no collaboration between special educators, regular teachers and parents. Highlighting the importance of collaboration one of the teachers said: Collaboration is important when you place a canon TTY In regular class. Leasers needs time to prepare, they need to have a plan to work out, and pass it on to the next teacher at the beginning of the school year.
Inadequate Infrastructure and Resources Teachers who had learners with SENSE in heir classrooms emphasized the need to address the structural problems in order to facilitate effective implementation of inclusive education. These findings were corroborated by data from classroom and school observations. Lack of classrooms. It was observed during fieldwork that, most of the primary schools in urban and semi- urban areas of the South Central Region did not have adequate classrooms to accommodate the large number of learners.
In one of the urban primary school where a learner with hearing impairment was attending, the classes were conducted under a tree. It was also observed that the class was situated ext to the head-teacher’s office where there was a lot of movement and traffic noise. Physical access to school facilities In most schools, there had been some structural modifications made such as ramps and assisted toilets. However, the gradients of the ramps were so steep that the learners with physical impairments had to be helped by other learners in order to get physical access to buildings.
In one of the rural school, the new classrooms that were built did not have any provision for learners which physical impairments. In one school, it was worrying to observe that there were no ramps to access the toilets. For instance, a student with physical impairment had to depend on peers to gain access. This finding seemed to negate the Renee’s recommendation on the provision of _ necessary support services’ and indicated how learners with SENSE were excluded from gaining access to buildings.
This finding provides an understanding in which implementation of inclusive education could be assessed and measured in primary schools in the South Central Region of Botswana. HIVE and AIDS The schools don’t have proper record-keeping facilities, therefore do not have much information about the health and HIVE/AIDS status of learners. The schools do not have sufficient anti-HIVE/AIDS or support strategies in place. Some teachers take responsibility for helping learners administer medication.
Teachers were equally concerned about the HIVE/AIDS issues as some of their learners are infected or affected with this endemic problem in Botswana. One of the teachers said. Some of our students are infected with the virus and on anti-retro-viral (ARP), we don’t have school nurse so we try to help whatever we could, but I don’t know much about it. Lamenting over the HIVE/AIDS issue one of the teacher reported: Some parents are ere sick, sometimes, particularly if it’s a girl, she takes care of her sick mother and helps in household, therefore, misses the schools.
We don’t have any support system that can help these children. Whatever we do it is mostly at the personal level. Leasers Railing Ana Railing needs Nine teachers were AT ten pollen Tanat teen lack special skills and knowledge (training) to meet the diverse learning needs of learners with SENSE. Throughout the interviews, teachers echoed frustrations about their lack of preparedness to function effectively in the regular classroom. Another teacher expressed her concern when she said: It is difficult to teach pupils with learning disabilities, if you are not trained as special. Hillier need special attention and they normally work at their own pace. Since these The regular teachers were concerned about the effectiveness of teacher preparation programmer at the university. Many educators agreed that they needed to be provided with professional training to implement inclusive education. They felt that they lacked sufficient knowledge of special education to meet learners’ needs. On a similar issue of training needs one of the teachers suggested: The school must arrange regular workshops about inclusion and teaching strategies.
Once we have a workshop, we need to practice new strategies for a term, then go back to workshop to discuss how it went. Another teacher felt that Ministry of Education and Skills Development [MOSES] and schools should organism regular workshops for teachers where one gets opportunities to discuss various issues about inclusive education. Almost all the educators who took part in the interview mentioned that they need to be trained, since inclusive education is a new educational approach in Botswana. Some educators expressed their need for professional training for successful implementation of inclusive education.
Since inclusive education is a new educational approach in Botswana, there is a shortage of experts on this subject. Educators also described their struggle to find resources in the area of inclusive education. One of the regular teachers from a rural area said: … It is difficult to find information on inclusive education which can teach us how to teach kids with disabilities, particularly in the rural areas where we don’t have internet facilities and other access to information I think Ministry of Education would support us by giving new information even you researchers should come and demonstrate with real cases.
There is a resource centre (CRY), but I don’t know its role in terms of training and providing information. Teachers agreed that there was also a need to educate Botswana people in general about special education and inclusion. Since inclusive education is a very new educational approach, the public needs basic information about inclusion and people with disabilities so that they will understand when they see these learners in the schools. DISCUSSIONS The purpose of this study was to get understanding in-depth about teachers’ beliefs,
