Abstract
In South Africa, addressing historical inequalities in education and embracing diverse learner needs remains crucial. Globally, the Salamanca Statement on Education for All has greatly influenced the adoption of inclusive education policies in various schools. This led to the inclusion of learners regardless of intellectual, physical, emotional and linguistic changes. Consequently, South Africa cemented its commitment with Education White Paper 6 (EWP6), outlining strategies that can be adapted by schools to cater to diverse learning needs, especially in heterogenous classrooms commonly found in full-service schools. Moreover, the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) document encourages teachers to create inclusive and responsive learning environments. To meet these demands, differentiated instruction (DI) must be employed by teachers to address various learner profiles in heterogeneous classrooms. As such, this study aimed to explore Life Sciences' teachers experiences of employing DI to foster inclusivity in their classrooms within a public full-service school in Johannesburg, South Africa. Four Life Sciences teachers participated in semi-structured interviews and lesson observations to collect data for the adopted qualitative case study methodology. The Reformed Teacher Observation Protocol (RTOP) tool was used to evaluate the extent to which the lessons aligned with DI principles. Findings reveal that although teachers have a sound conceptual understanding of DI and value its affordances in fostering learner engagement and improving academic performance, they have significant challenges. These challenges entail limited resources, time constraints, heavy administrative duties, late detection of learning barriers, learners' disinterest and inadequate support from the School-Based Support Team (SBST) and School Management Team (SMT). Also, while helpful, teachers find the Secondary School Improvement Program (SSIP) workshops overly theoretical and CAPS guidelines offering limited practical support on how to create inclusive classrooms through DI. The findings contribute to the ongoing studies on inclusive education in South Africa by uncovering the lived experiences of Life Sciences teachers. Furthermore, they highlight the need for clear and practical DI guidelines in CAPS, enhanced teacher training programs and improved resource allocation to support teachers in fostering inclusivity through DI practices.