Abstract
The study focuses on the attitudes of teachers towards inclusive education that is phased in according to White Paper 6 on inclusive education. Since the first democratic elections in South Africa in April 1994, a general feeling of optimism and a common commitment to improving the quality of education has emerged and many changes have taken place. The basis of this change is laid by the constitution of the country and the Bill of Rights that ensures the rights of all civilians including those of learners towards education. Furthermore the rights of all learners towards their education is categorically emphasised in White Paper 6.
White Paper 6 is a policy document which upholds inclusive education and is in accordance with international trends whereby all learners including those with barriers to learning have a right to an education of their choice wherever its practicable. White Paper 6 of 2001 makes reference to the need to remove these barriers in favour of effective learning for all learners irrespective of their barriers to learning.
In the process of learning, teachers always play an important role. In much local and international literature where inclusion and teachers’ attitudes have been studied it has been found that positive attitudes in teachers towards inclusive education play an important role in the implementation process of inclusive education. It was also clear from the literature that negative attitudes makes teaching in an inclusive educational setting negative. In South Africa inclusive education is in the process of being implemented. Therefore, it is important to determine what the attitudes of teachers are towards inclusive education. Furthermore, the purpose of this study is to gain insight into teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education.
The data gathered will be helpful in training teachers, policy implementation towards facilitation of the development of positive attitudes and process of inclusive education. In achieving this of identifying the attitudes of special school teachers towards inclusive education, one focus group and two individual interviews were conducted at two special schools. From the analysis of data, it was apparently clear that teachers demonstrated negative attitudes towards inclusive education. The transcribed data of the interviews were analysed through the constant data analysis method as a “process whereby data gradually evolves into a core of emerging theory” (Merriam, 1998:191). In the dynamic and complex process of meaning making of data, five themes were eventually identified among the separate sub-themes to establish the main patterns for the data. In an effort to establish more positive attitudes in general towards inclusive education it would probably be advisable for government to take note of these negative attitudes and train teachers towards a more accepting changing of roles.
Prof. J. Pillay