Mirna Nel

Prof Mirna Nel is deputy dean for research in the Faculty of Humanities, North-West University (NWU), South Africa and a researcher in the Optentia Research Focus Area. Her research interest was primarily focused on the role teachers play in teaching and supporting all learners in inclusive classrooms, but recently it broadened to inclusivity and diversity in different environments. She was the South African project leader for an international collaborative research project between South Africa, England, Finland, China, Lithuania and Slovenia with the topic: A Comparative Analysis of Teachers’ Roles in Inclusive Education. Several publications resulted from this project. In 2016 she and other NWU colleagues were rewarded European Union funding to conduct research on teacher education for inclusion in collaboration with De Vlaamse Vereniging voor Ontwikkelingssamenwerking en Technische Bijstand (VVOB), the Universities of the Witwatersrand, Free State, Fort Hare and Inclusive Education South Africa (IESA). She was also involved with NWU colleagues in a research project aiming at developing High Performance Learning in an inclusive Full-Service School. Furthermore, in collaboration with Austrian and German colleagues, she was also part of a project focusing on the social participation of learners in inclusive Full Service Schools in South Africa. She has published several articles in national and in international journals, written numerous chapters, co-edited and sole edited textbooks, and supervised and delivered Masters and PhD students. Conference papers were presented at national and international conferences. She has also been invited to do workshops and presentations in several European countries, as well as keynote presentations at various national and international conferences on a variety of topics relevant to inclusive education.