Abstract
Due to the remoteness of many rural schools in most of Northern Namibia, special education teachers have difficulty adapting to the educational needs of learners with special educational needs. The lack of proper resources and infrastructure, and the lack of training for inclusive education for learners with special educational needs has contributed to the challenges faced by learners with special educational needs in rural early childhood education centres in rural areas in Northern Namibia. The study used a qualitative methodological approach by using an exploratory design to conduct this study of limited scope. In addition, purposive sampling was used to select ten (10) teachers, five (5) Early Childhood Development Centres owners/principals and two (2) educational officers of the Omusati Region in Namibia. The study aimed to explore the inclusive practices used by teachers to support learners with special educational needs in Early Childhood Development in rural Namibia. The study was based on the School Improvement Theory and Asset-Based Approach to improve inclusive practices for learners with special educational needs. Three (3) themes with six (6) subthemes emerged from the generated and analysed data. The themes that emerged were Inclusive practices used by teachers to support learners with special needs. The study identified challenges identified by teachers in using inclusive education were teachers’ attitudes, lack of support, content-loaded curriculum and lack of inclusive education resources. This research makes an important contribution to the concept of asset-based community development as it has attracted the attention of various practitioners and academics, as the goal of this assets-based approach is to build on the multiple elements of a community’s physical, social, and human capital. It is recommended that further research is conducted looking at the involvement of all stakeholders in inclusive education based on the Assets-Based Approach in rural schools in Namibia.