Creating a Positive Attitude toward Learners with Disabilities at a Primary School in Shiselweni Region, Eswatini

Abstract

The study that directed this article focused on how a primary school in the Shiselweni Region, Eswatini, created a positive attitude toward learners with disabilities in line with the Suitability, Availability and Equitability (SAVE) Framework. Learners with disabilities in Eswatini primary schools encounter challenges such that they are either not admitted or not catered for if accepted. A qualitative approach was used, engaging a case study design of one primary school in the study. The participants of the study included the school principal, two class teachers and a parent of an out-of-school child with a disability. The findings were used to develop a framework that could assist in creating a positive environment for learners with disabilities in the school in order to comply with the SAVE Framework. The study portrayed that the school environment exhibited a negative attitude toward learners with disabilities; therefore, it was not in line with the minimum standards of the SAVE Framework. The school grounds and building structures never accommodated learners with disabilities. The way the learners were taught did not consider their disabilities. The school prospectus did not articulate how learners with disabilities were accommodated. The study recommended that the principal and teachers should be workshopped on inclusion, while learners were to be educated on behaviour that depicts the understanding of an inclusive environment. The study recommends that researchers could conduct a quantitative study focusing on how school principals should transform the traditional way of managing regular schools into an inclusive approach.

Providing Relevant Teacher Education To Teachers of Inclusive Education in Primary Schools in Eswatini

“…The component of inclusive education is expected to be compulsory in all teacher training programmes for the successful preparation of teachers who are ready to implement inclusion in schools (Nguyet and Thu Ha, 2010). In line with the inclusive component being compulsory, the teachers" training institutions have included it; however, the teachers still feel not competent in handling learners with disabilities in the schools (Shongwe, 2022).…”

“…However, it is difficult for teachers to implement inclusion if they never experienced it in their training. Therefore, tertiary institutions must develop an inclusive environment during the training of teachers, such as physical structures, attitudes of personnel and lecturing methods (Madlela, 2022) Most teachers in primary schools complain that are not confident with their skills of handling learners integrated in a diverse classroom (Shongwe, 2022), which suggests that they should be made comfortable during their initial training as teachers. The support for the learners may lead to constructs and frameworks that assist the learners in coping with the learning (Rangar-Amol & Gasa, 2021).…”

“…The support for the learners may lead to constructs and frameworks that assist the learners in coping with the learning (Rangar-Amol & Gasa, 2021). The teacher training institutions in Eswatini have included a component of inclusion in their curriculum; however, the teachers on the ground indicate that they are not ready to teach a classroom of learners with and without disabilities (Shongwe, 2022). The component in the current curriculum content on the inclusion of teacher training institutions is not appropriate for the teachers.…”