A journey towards inclusive education : a case study from a ‘township’ in South Africa
Date
2012-09
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AOSIS Publishing
Abstract
The purpose of this case study was to relate part of the journey to appropriate education for two young children with physical disabilities in a low socio-economic peri-urban informal settlement – or ‘township’ – in South Africa. The part of the on-going journey described here spanned four-and-a-half years and included the two children, their families, their teachers, their community and a small team of rehabilitation professionals working for a non-profit
organisation in the area. The rehabilitation professionals’ goals were to provide support for the
children, their families, their current special care centre and the school(s) they would attend in the future. The steps from the special care centre, to a mainstream early childhood development (ECD) centre for both of them, and then on to (a) a school for learners with special educational needs (LSEN) for one child and (b) a mainstream primary school for the other, are described. Challenges encountered on the way included parental fears, community attitudes and
physical accessibility. Practical outcomes included different placements for the two children with implications and recommendations for prioritised parent involvement, individual approaches, interdisciplinary and community-based collaborations. Recommendations are given for clinical contexts, curricula and policy matters; for research and for scaling up such a programme through community workers
Description
CITATION: Luger, R., et al. 2012. A journey towards inclusive education: A case study from a ‘township’ in South Africa. African Journal of Disability, 1(1): 1-5, doi: 10.4102/ajod.v1i1.15.
The original publication is available at http://www.ajod.org
The original publication is available at http://www.ajod.org
Keywords
Children with disabilities -- Education -- South Africa, Poor children -- Education -- South Africa, Children with social disabilities -- Education -- South Africa
Citation
Luger, R., et al. 2012. A journey towards inclusive education: A case study from a ‘township’ in South Africa. African Journal of Disability, 1(1): 1-5, doi: 10.4102/ajod.v1i1.15