The level of education attained by students is dependent on their ability to understand learnt concepts and demonstrate their acquired knowledge and skills in problem solving as well as their performance academically. This study sought to investigate the perceptions of lecturers on academic performance of student teachers with hearing impairments. A descriptive case study was used as research design. The study sample included three (3) Lecturers and four (4) student teachers with hearing impairments making the total of seven (7) participants who were purposively sampled. Data was generated using interviews and analysed qualitatively using thematic analysis techniques based on emerging themes from the study. The study revealed that lecturers perceived student teachers with hearing impairments as average and below-average performers academically. The study further revealed that student teachers with hearing impairments had mixed feelings towards their academic performance and perceived their academic performance as being influenced by their inability to understand concepts as well as lecturers’ inability to handle them appropriately. The study recommended the need by educators of students with hearing impairments to have positive perception towards students in order to instill self-positive regard in students. The study further recommended need for lecturers to adapt tests and examinations items in order to accommodate deaf student teachers.

This study was conducted to examine the status of inclusive education in Zambia, learning from teachers’ perspectives about how inclusive education is being implemented and the whether teachers receive adequate support to implement inclusive education to learners with disabilities. The study employed a concurrent mixed design approach in which both quantitative and qualitative data were generated and applied. Open and closed ended questionnaires were used to collect data from teachers that were upgrading their qualifications via distance education at Kwame Nkrumah University, University of Zambia and Chalimbana University. Findings indicated that Zambia practices partial inclusion in which only the mild and moderate learners with disabilities are included in classrooms. Inclusive education is understood by teachers in the context of disability and teachers reported that they did not receive adequate support to implement inclusive education effectively. It is recommended that the Government of the Republic of Zambia through the Ministry of General Education should focus on training teachers in inclusive education and its methodologies to meet the learning needs of learners from different circumstances

Assessment is the basis for understanding students’ abilities to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and understanding of learned concepts. This study sought to analyse assessment items of student teachers with hearing impairments at Kitwe Colleges of Education in Zambia and a qualitative case study was used as the research design.  The study comprised seven (7) participants of which three (3) were Lecturers and four (4) were student teachers with hearing impairments, who were purposively sampled. The study revealed that students with hearing impairments were able to answer assignments accordingly despite exhibiting referencing and grammatical errors, and experienced more challenges answering tests. The findings also indicated that lecturers viewed the performance of student teachers with hearing impairments in assignments as being influenced by their hearing peers and that students with hearing impairments wrote their assignments and tests using sign language that was not making sense to lecturers. The study concluded that student teachers with hearing impairments were able to perform better in assignments and that they experienced more challenges answering test questions. The study recommended the need for assessment items for students with hearing impairments to be adapted to make them appropriate for the students and that educators for students with hearing impairments should take a keen interest in acquiring knowledge of Zambia Sign Language grammatical structure to enable them to assess and mark assessment items of students with hearing impairments without difficulties.

The inclusive approach calls for schools to make appropriate curriculum changes to the learning so that each classroom is able to address the learning needs of all children, including those with disabilities. Inclusive education requires good lesson preparation by teachers and involves putting in order all relevant materials considering the concepts of adaptation, accommodation and modification. It appears that the aspect of inclusive lesson preparation for learners with disabilities has not been taken seriously and this could be the major contributing factor to poor performance. However, this article will explore lesson preparation for inclusive teaching of learners with disabilities from grade 1 to 7 at Kankumba primary school in Rufunsa district, Zambia. The study adopted a case study design and it employed a qualitative approach to collect data.  The participants were purposively selected and the sample comprised 18 participants that were categorized as follows: Headteacher (1), Parents (5), Class Teachers (6), and children with disabilities (6).  The major findings of the study revealed that teachers did not prepare lessons inclusively. Some indicators of lack of inclusive planning were the absence of inclusive methods in lesson plans, whereby teachers only planned group work and lecture methods without indicating how the learners with disabilities would benefit. The selection of teaching and learning aids did not depict inclusion for learners with disabilities.  The study further revealed that the lack of proper inclusive lesson delivery and inclusive lesson preparation was exacerbated by a lack of knowledge on inclusive lesson preparation by teachers. It was recommended that in-service teachers need capacity building in inclusive lesson preparation and a further review of how inclusive lesson preparation can be intensified in the teacher education curriculum.

The chapter explores the African extended family system which is an integral part of the Ubuntu philosophy. The authors explain the concept of inclusive education for persons with disabilities and lastly examine how the extended family system can be used within the framework of the African Ubuntu philosophy to promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities in society. They argue that the failure by the current African school curriculum to contextualize, acculturate, and localize the concept of inclusive education emanates from the lost values of the African Ubuntu philosophy.