Abstract
M.Ed.
Policy ambitions in national education policy are to create an inclusive
environment wherein all learners, irrespective of their context can develop to their
full potential. Invariably, this requires schools to review their approach to the way
in which they assist their learners to overcome barriers to learning. This review is
likely to involve a period of transition as the school in question considers and
implements its policies towards achieving the national ambitions.
Achieving an inclusive environment is a journey, it is not achieved overnight and
consequently involves a period of transition or development for the school it self.
It may prove challenging and certainly can be expected to influence the learners
that the school is trying to educate. This study examines the impact of this
change on a learner with scholastic barriers to learning, using the goodness of fit
theory as its prism. It uses an ecosystemic approach to assess the interaction
between the school itself and the learner in question, seeing both entities as
separate systems that interact with each other and various other entities. The
learner in this study has numerous internal and external factors contributing to
her learning difficulties. She is in Grade 8 yet she is only able to read at a Grade
2 level and she experiences difficulties in various other subjects. The school is a
developing special needs school that suffers immense resource constraints and
hence battles with all manner of challenges. It has a high level of staff turnover
and this feeds through into a disrupted curriculum, but also a perpetual shortage
of skilled personnel. This frustration amongst staff at the school filters through
into the learner body, where discipline and bullying loom large in the day to day
atmosphere of the school.
This leaves the school and the learner in a weak position to identify and address
other external factors that give rise to barriers to learning. The subject of this
study probably has a context that is not dissimilar to many of South Africa's
youth, but morphs into a tragic tale when barriers to learning are left unaddressed and compound the misfortune of her generation. That is not to say
there if no room for hope, but the onus invariably and maybe unfairly falls on the
school, and recommendations such as, the establishment of a School Based
Support Team and the implementation of an anti bullying program, can and are
provided to help the school address its own challenges in helping its learners
overcome their own barriers. It will require leadership and selfless commitment
from all the staff, for whom the joy of teaching is more about spiritual fulfilment
than monetary reward.