Dr Moses Simelane from the Department of Basic Education highlighted the various ways the department has been expanding on the number of resources made available to facilitate inclusive education in terms of staff and infrastructure. Great strides have been made in this regard, though it is clear that a lot still needs to be done to adequately support the diverse learner needs in South African schools.
Both researchers and in-service teachers discussed the various methods and aspects that need to be addressed to make inclusive education the new normal in South African schools. This included among others using massive open online courses (MOOCs ), and training in-service teachers to adapt the content of initial teacher education to be more consistent with both the culture and context that students come from and will enter in teaching practice.
Research presented by school principal Douglas Andrews for his PhD studies showed that well-resourced schools don’t necessarily do better in making inclusive education a reality. Inclusive education must be made a priority by the school. Mandy Goldberg, a second-grade teacher, explained that she makes inclusive education a reality in the classroom by not only adapting her teaching methods, but by also teaching learners to accept, respect and be kind to fellow learners with different needs.
The 2017 Symposium on Teacher Education for Inclusion was hosted by the Optentia research focus area on the North-West University’s (NWU’s) campus in Vanderbijlpark and the Faculty of Education Sciences on the NWU’s campus in Potchefstroom, in collaboration with the Flemish Association for Development, Cooperation and Technical Assistance (VVOB), and with the sponsorship of the European Union.
Dr Moses Simelane.
