Teaching students with visual “disability”: the experiences of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) lecturers.
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Date
2019
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Abstract
The acceptance of students with “disabilities” into mainstream classrooms is a global issue.
In South Africa, during the apartheid era, people with “disabilities” were segregated into
their own schools, and did not receive quality education as their peers in mainstream schools.
South Africa post- apartheid, with its democratic government created new policies, which
were to address past apartheid oppression in its education system. Amongst other policies
was an inclusive education policy, which advocates for the inclusion of students with
“disabilities” into mainstream classes. A public Technical Vocational Education and
Training (TVET) College in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has since 2015 enrolled students with
visual “disabilities” as its initiative to implement the inclusive education policy. This
resulted in the unexpected need for the lecturers to change their normal teaching strategies
in order to accommodate these students.
A study within the qualitative approach, using a case study methodology, was employed to
gather data on the experiences of four TVET College lecturers teaching students with visual
“disabilities”. Semi-structured interviews with four lecturers were used to generate data.
Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory underpinned this study and was useful in interpreting
the experiences of TVET college lecturers.
This study has revealed three major findings: the TVET College lecturers have never
received any professional training to prepare them to teach these students. There are no
resources currently available to teach students with visual “disabilities”. The lecturers
received no support from management and the Department of Higher Education in teaching
students with visual “disabilities”. Nevertheless, the lecturers have embraced this challenge
and have found their own agency to cope with teaching these students despite all the
challenges they have encountered from not being trained, battling with resources and not
being supported.
Description
Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.