SCHOOLS AS INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENTS

The commitment to inclusive education, as demonstrated by the Salamanca Statement, includes the following statement: “Regular schools with this inclusive orientation are the most effective means of combating discriminatory attitudes, creating welcoming communities, building an inclusive society and achieving education for all” (UNESCO 1994: ix). Inclusive education is necessary in order to ensure the availability of programmes for all learners. In addition to this, inclusive education should provide appropriate modifications for learners with special learning and behavioural needs. The right of each learner to receive individualised education which provides choices and offers support while meeting each learner’s needs are emphasised (Idol 1997: 384-385).

The systemic issues essential for implementing inclusion are discussed in the literature (Swart & Pettipher 2005: 18-20; Prinsloo 2001: 345). Not only should inclusive practices be established to ensure that all learners’ needs are met, but inclusive communities and education systems are developed to honour the concept of inclusion. Prinsloo (2001: 345) mentions the restructuring of South African schools and the collaboration of a variety of stakeholders. Idol (1997: 395) notes that inclusive schools imply a unified structure which encompasses all learners fairly and impartially. Schools are therefore responsible to assist with the increase of learner achievement, ensuring that all staff members and learners are valued and that they

all receive equal opportunities for participation (Lazarus et al. 1999: 47). The success of inclusive education is dependent on society viewing it as a system that transcends the classroom. The success of inclusive education also depends on daily happenings in classrooms, teachers’ skills and the level of leadership at district, provincial and national level (Mitchell 2008: 29). The creation of a positive school ethos should reflect the values, principles, attitudes, traditions and norms shared by its members (Mitchell 2008: 78).

2.3.2 Educational inclusivity in a social context

Mitchell (2008: 29) names three things that ought to be developed in inclusive schools:

• A strong commitment to accepting and celebrating diversity • A sensitivity to cultural issues

• Setting high but realistic standards

These challenges of development cannot be separated from the fact that individual people function in relation to their social context. All these systems, as described by Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological model of development (Swart & Pettipher 2005: 10), place emphasis on contexts. These contexts have direct or indirect influences on a learner’s life and development. Swart and Pettipher (2005: 10-15) discuss the bio- ecological model broadly as a group of interrelated systems. Summarised, it refers to the contexts of the microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem, the macrosystem and the chronosystem as follows:

• The microsystem is a person’s immediate environment and the people and events closest to one’s life.

• The mesosystem is a system of microsystems. To implement inclusion there must be awareness of the relationships between a learner’s different microsystems, for example, the school-family dynamics. The role of the teacher and the parents’ relationships with the school are all important factors of this system.

• The exosystem refers to environments which have a direct influence on the learner although it does not involve the learner as an active participant, for example, poor health services and a chronically ill child.

• The macrosystem refers to a specific society’s and culture’s beliefs, values and ideologies which may be influenced, or in return influence, any of the other systems.

• The chronosystem refers to the developmental time-frames which run through all these systems and interact with a learner’s stages of development.

To visually present the concepts discussed under 2.3.2, the various systems are indicated as an interrelated system in the following model.

Figure 1: Bronfenbrenner’s ecosystemic model (Adapted from Swart & Pettipher 2005: 11)

As complex multiple systems have an influence on learners and their learning, it is easy to understand the significance of Bronfenbrenner’s theory on inclusion. Each system in a learner’s life contributes to a dynamic interactive relationship with the other systems (Swart & Pettipher 2005: 13). When working with an individual learner or teacher, one should always approach it from the viewpoint of the entire system of an individual’s functioning. The impact of Bronfenbrenner’s ecosystemic model on the process of teachers providing support for learners with barriers will be revisited in Chapter 7.

For inclusive education to be successful, Mitchell (2008: 29) suggests a formula of elements that should be present when defining quality for all learners. The formula is: Inclusive Education = V + P + 5As + S + R + L, where

• V = Vision • P = Placement

• 5As = Adapted curriculum, Adapted assessment, Adapted teaching, Acceptance, Access

• S = Support • R = Resources • L = Leadership

To guarantee that such a formula would ensure proper standards of inclusive education for all learners, it is important to link it to Bronfenbrenner’s model where systems continuously interact. The role of the teacher in providing all the support elements in the classroom cannot be emphasised enough.

Lazarus et al. (1999: 47) discuss the micro level system as the concept of access in an inclusive school. They relate it to three important aspects:

• Access to all aspects of the curriculum to facilitate learning. The teacher in the classroom makes the curriculum accessible by minimising barriers to learning. • The ability of the psychosocial environment to facilitate positive learning and

the development of all learners. Teachers create safe learning spaces and ensure that the classroom atmosphere combines serenity and flexibility with a variety of learning experiences.

• Access to the physical environment of the school. The physical aspects of a classroom are managed by the teacher so that the physical environment contributes to the support given to all learners with barriers to learning.

To ensure these goals of inclusivity, the culture and organisation of the school must support adaptable approaches to learning (Swart & Pettipher 2005: 19). The management of the school and the visionary leadership of the principal will ultimately assist to determine the atmosphere of the school as a supportive community. In this regard the teacher’s role includes informing and advising all the role players. These role players are specifically responsible for creating a variety of practices and involving multiple individuals and organisations which are all focussed on support and collaboration. Swart and Pettipher (2005: 19) refer to support as the “cornerstone” of adequate inclusive education. This is, in other words, the creation of protected, challenging and educative environments. To foster the creation of such

environments implies that not only schools but all the systems of life, as indicated by Bronfenbrenner, should be included. South Africa’s viewpoint of inclusive education is that of a constitutional imperative which reflects the development of an inclusive community (Naicker 1999: 22).

The intention of inclusive schools is thus to determine the most educationally strengthened environment for learning. Such an environment would also be sensitive to barriers to learning, as one of the systems influencing a learner (Idol 1997: 384).

2.3.3 Barriers to learning

According to Swart and Pettipher (2005: 18), barriers to learning and development are defined as “those factors which lead to the inability of a system to accommodate diversity, which lead to learning breakdown or which prevent learners from accessing educational provision”. Factors that can become barriers may be located within one or more of the following: the learner, the school, the educational system and the broader social, economic and political content (Swart & Pettipher 2005: 17, 18). In the South African context, these barriers are described as:

1. Socio-economic deprivation, for example, poverty

2. Barriers arising from impairments, for example, sensory impairments 3. Negative attitudes to diversity

4. An inflexible curriculum

5. Language of learning and teaching 6. Inadequate provision of support services 7. Inadequate policies and legislation 8. Lack of parental involvement

It should be noted that the LoLT is mentioned as one of the eight barriers. Teachers are also mentioned as a possible barrier to learning in points 3, 4, 5 and 6. Point 8 refers to a learner’s barrier to learning when there is a lack of parental involvement and co-operation with the school. These possible barriers will all be emphasised again in Chapter 7.

The continuum of barriers to learning will become even more complicated when taking into account South Africa’s diversity and subsequent complex society (Swart & Pettipher 2005: 21). Learners are immersed in a variety of home and school

environments and not all of these are supportive environments where literacy growth and enriching learning are enhanced. The classroom teacher, who is the focus of this study, is the primary resource in the inclusive education system to be sympathetic to diverse backgrounds and to minimise barriers. The teacher is also the one person who can plan, provide and monitor support on a daily base.