Abstract
This dissertation explores Foundation Phase teachers’ experiences of inclusive education at an under-resourced school for the D/deaf in Gauteng. It addresses their perceptions of truly inclusive education in the context of their classroom, comparing this to their understanding of inclusive education per the current policy framework of Education White Paper 6 of 2001 and the Policy on Screening, Identification, Assessment and Support of 2014 (SIAS). The study presents teachers’ lived experiences of including D/deaf learners, pointing out contrasts between understandings of inclusion as put forth by teachers and conceptualisations of inclusion as espoused through the lens of policy. In doing this, it expresses the challenges teachers face daily. The complex nature of the phenomenon has been established through in-depth, semi-structured interviews, site photography, observations, and reflexive memos as primary sources and through the use of existing literature as secondary sources. The study employs phenomenological research design and uses thematic analysis as a research method to reveal what is at the essence of teachers’ experiences and what is fundamental to their perceptions.
This research increases our understanding of the challenges Foundation Phase teachers at D/deaf schools experience when implementing inclusive education policy. It emphasises the importance of teachers’ experiences and how these interpolate to form perceptions. It highlights the significance of taking teachers’ perspectives seriously in implementing inclusive education programmes and underscores the cruciality of involving teachers in developing inclusive education policies. Finally, the theory of critical pedagogy highlights misalignments between inclusive education policy on the one hand and material lived realities on the other. Theoretical links are made between sites of disjuncture and the hegemonic discourses that perpetuate audism and ableism. The study motivates a radical review of the implementation of inclusive education in the South African context.