The school is part of the microlevel of the teachers at FSSs. The schools that formed part of this research project had neat playgrounds where the learners could move and play freely. This made the schools an inviting environment.
The researcher noticed that one of the deep rural village schools had a beautiful flower garden with red geranium flowers growing in masses. This plant does not require lots of water and is drought-tolerant. The classrooms had a print-rich and welcoming atmosphere. With regard to the use of computers and assistive devices, three of the schools had not yet used them. There was a computer laboratory in two of the schools and it appeared to the researcher that the assistive devices were only in use at one of the schools.
When the researcher asked a follow-up question: “How can you still assist learners in your class if they cannot read? I can see you have computer software for reading on your assets register” P6 (focus group two) answered: “Don’t ask me anything about those assistive things. I do not touch anything of the inclusive stuff, as you can see it is still in boxes.” In the one of the schools the computers had not yet been connected although they had been received two years earlier. At one school all the assistive devices and computers were still standing in boxes in an empty office, gathering dust.
6.9.1 The role of the school management team
It was clear from the analysis of the data that there were more issues at the full-service schools that further frustrated the teachers. When the question was asked, “Does the
school management team at your school play a role in changing the attitudes of the staff members to be more inclusive and how do they do it?” participant 17 (focus group 4) said: “When I asked the principal to assist me, I did not know what to do further with a specific learner who was undressing himself in the classroom. He distracted all the learners and his parents would not come when I call them. The principal literally chased me back to my classroom. ‘Do what you are being paid for, go and teach learners,’ he said.” The researcher assumed that the teacher was feeling vulnerable. Teachers indicated that they found themselves in situations where they were really feeling helpless. Salsbury and McGregor (2005:2) emphasize that principals can promote and sustain the changes based on inclusive principles that they want in their schools on condition that they guide and support the teachers (see section 1.3).
6.9.2 The attitude of the senior management teams (SMTs) to inclusive education
From the feedback of the respondents it was evident that some principals and SMTs of the schools had a negative attitude to anything regarding inclusive education. It was rather disturbing that in focus groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 some of the participants were not only vocal but also emotional. P5 (focus group 1), “With due respect mam... My principal doesn’t know anything of inclusive education. Please don’t tell him. I will be in trouble”. P (focus group 1) said, “The principal literally chased me back to my classroom. ‘Go do what you are being paid for and go teach your learners’ was his words to me when I asked him to assist me with information on inclusive education”.
P19 (focus group 4) cried out: “I asked my HOD for some learning aids to help me in my class. She sent me to the principal. P5 (focus group 1) cried out, “He said that I should go and teach my learners in class and stop troubling him with inclusive nonsense.” The body language and gestures used by the participant mirrored the helplessness she felt. While the participant spoke, the sound of her voice echoed indicating how disheartened she felt. The above illustrates the complete lack of support shown to the participants from FSSs by their SMTs. This will surely affect the quality of teaching in the classroom. It means that learners with barriers to learning are deprived of additional support and the chance to learn.
Most of the participants said that the SMT of the school only wanted the completion of the curriculum. They do not realise that there are learners with barriers who do not benefit
from a completed lesson if their barriers are not addressed. Participant 9 (focus group 2) captured the feelings of the participants about the curriculum when she said: “We have to finish the curriculum and complete the number of activities prescribed by DoE. When subject specialists visit our school they are only interested in what was completed and when it will be completed if it is not done. They do not worry about learners that cannot learn, they want work in learners’ books, marked and signed.”
6.9.3 School-based support team
Each school should have a school-based support team (SBST) whose responsibility is to provide assistance to the teachers who have learners with barriers to learning in their classes. This aligns with Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory that the role players on all the levels of a person’s individual life have a share in improving the individual’s circumstances. In this study research was done about full-service school teachers, who are influenced on various levels by many factors. If a learner is in the class of a specific teacher, it gives rise to the perception that that learner is solely the responsibility of that teacher. There are, however, many other role players who need to assist the teacher in addressing the barriers of learners. In this regard the principal of the school plays an important role, propagating and marketing the school as a community resource.
With regard to the SBST at the schools, the following question was asked: “When you refer learners who are in need of additional support to your SBST, do they receive assistance?” Many of the participants raised their concerns about the SBST. P20 (focus group 4) commented: “We have an SBST at our school but they can’t help our learners”. P8 (focus group 2) reiterated: “All the files are smartly covered, but not any of the learners I referred to the SBST are ever helped.”
If the SBST is not fully functional, if it does not meet regularly and does not take responsibility to assist teachers in addressing learners’ needs, teachers will also stop making attempts to solve the learners’ barriers to learning. The SBST should create a platform for the teachers to share their knowledge and should have the necessary expertise to address the different needs, at the same time taking the learning styles of learners into consideration. The researcher wondered if the SBSTs at the four schools where she conducted her research had been trained with regard to inclusive education.
6.9.4 Teachers’ lack of emotional support from the SMT
At three of the four schools where focus group interviews were done, participants complained about SMTs not taking an active role in helping them to develop inclusive practices. The researcher became aware of the stress that some of the participants were experiencing. P5 (focus group 2), for instance, stated: “Our principal does not want to assist us. The same with the SMT, but they don’t also want to delegate so that we can be assisted.” P15 (focus group 3) responded: “Our principal is not interested in anything regarding inclusive education. He says; just do what you have to do.” The emotional stress of some of the participants was evident during the focus group interviews. This could lead to their becoming de-motivated and frustrated human beings. Some of the participants did not know who they should listen to. Are they supposed to finish the curriculum and leave learners with barriers to learning? Or should they concentrate more on helping the learners with barriers to learning? They feel neglected as if inclusive education and its policies were added on as part of their duties and that the plight of the learners with barriers to learning is not important to the SMT.
Most of the participants felt frustrated as they could not be assisted by the SMT of the school to guide and monitor them. It seemed to them that no one was interested in them, and some felt that their SMTs were of the opinion that they only made excuses not to work in their classes. They felt they were standing all alone with this problem of learners who have barriers to learning. P18 (focus group 4) cried out emotionally: “Nobody listens to us. We are voiceless. We have problems in our classes. We are struggling with learners that need additional support. We can’t help them.” P18 (focus group 4) further remarked: “The teachers that go to the trainings come back but we never get a feedback.” This happened at one of the full-service schools where the research was conducted, where teachers went on training and did not give feedback to the entire staff. This is neglect on the part of the SMT not to develop the other staff at school. Teachers going to training could then take it as an outing and not as self-development.
6.9.5 SMT lacks support skills
During the discussions with the participants, the researcher noticed that the participants felt alone with no support coming from their SMT. The researcher assumed that they felt
forlorn as they had no one to assist them with the learners with barriers to learning or how to go about it. They were not sure whether they were implementing the inclusive education policy correctly. P14 (focus group 3) sighed: “We lack unity at our school, if we see how other schools’ SMT helps their staff; they are really like a family. Their HODs assist them and the principals join in to assist them further. Here we sit in our own little groups. The only time we are in the staff room, is when we are in trouble.”
6.9.6 Conclusion on the themes related to the schools
The assumption could be that principals and the SMT of FSSs in this research project are still not ready to lead an FSS. The principal and the SMT are not aware of the importance of a functional SBST and how it can assist and improve learners’ performance. They do not know how to cultivate an inclusive environment where all teachers, learners and parents feel welcome. The SMTs need to realize that teacher development is a priority in order to have learners reach their optimal capacity. It was also clear that many of the participants in this study did not get the necessary emotional support or other forms of support from the principal or the management of their schools, as well as from the members of the SMT.