ETH 302 S passed paper memos

ETH 302 S - Inclusive Education A Past Exam Paper - May/June 2013 Question 2: Answer True or False and briefly substantiate your answer. (20) 1. Guidelines for the establishment of inclusion at all educational levels must be provided. True. Guideline must be provided for the accurate implementation of an inclusive education system. 2. Inclusive Early Childhood Development centres and schools should create conditions in which learners who experience barriers to learning can achieve success. True. ECD centres and schools us provide support in the school to learners and teacher by means of competent and experiences learning support educators whose tasks should include consulting and working with other teachers, parents and various outside agencies to ensure success. 3. Inclusion is also about the intentional building of relationships where differences are welcomed and all persons involved benefit from these relationships. True. 4. Within an inclusive education system, a range of options for providing various educational settings should be available. True. 5. Learning support for learners who experience barriers to learning should be provided every day at a set time. False. Learning support should be provided to the learner throughout the day. 6. The complex, diverse conditions in South Africa pose particular challenges for the teacher in an Inclusive Early Childhood centre or school. True. 7. The teacher uses school readiness tests to diagnose learners who experience barriers to learning and who need to gain access to basic education. 2 False. Teachers should use a variety of assessments to identify barriers to learning and use these results to help formulate appropriate support for the learner. 8. A portfolio of each learner is important because it serves as a basis for comparing learners with each other and to place all learners who experience barriers to learning in special groups or classes. False. Portfolios are kept to keep a record of the work the learner has completed. These portfolios should never be used to compare children and children with barriers to learning should never be separated into another class but rather included among the other learners. 9. Although interviews with parents/caregivers are an excellent way of establishing communication and cooperation between them and the teacher, it can block collaboration between them. False, Transport problems, limited opportunities to meet, as well as pressure at work all contribute to the difficulties in establishing partnerships between teachers and parents. 10.The teacher’s curriculum differentiation in supporting learners who experience barriers to learning is very important. True. Learning support should commence on the level/grade in which the learner is. If the learner finds it difficult to understand the contents or to master it, content from a lower level could be selected until the learner experiences success. 3 Question 3: 1. Without realising it, teachers and adults can be barriers to learning when they do not have the knowledge, skills and attitudes to work with learners with diverse needs in their classrooms. How can you motivate and encourage teachers and adults to accommodate learners who are experiencing barriers to learning? (10) (Found on page 20 and 22) In the Education White Paper 6 it is clearly stated that classroom teachers are the primary resource for achieving the goal of inclusive education. This implies that educators will need to refine their knowledge and skills and, where necessary, develop new ones. Educators will therefore require support in the form of staff development, in-service training, and the opportunity to collaborate with special schools, full-service schools and other educational support personnel within district support services. Educators must take comfort in the fact that they will be supported and trained in order to properly help and accommodate the needs of all their learners. The inclusion of all learners becomes an issue related to everyone’s beliefs, values and attitudes about diversity, change, collaboration and learning. Assumptions, beliefs and attitudes are directly translated into actions and teaching practises, and inform decision making. Attitudes about diversity and change can both be a barrier to as well as a strong positive force in implementing inclusive education. The attitudes of everybody in the school are important and need to be explored, shared, challenged, restructured and rethought when working in inclusive settings. Teachers should engage critically with the philosophies that inform their practices and understand the implications for practice for change to become a reality. Attitude changes to not have to precede behavioural changes, therefore it is not effective to wait for people’s attitudes to change before the change is implemented. In fact, attitude changes frequently follow changes in behaviour. For example, teachers’ attitude will change towards impairment change when they begin working with learners with impairments on a daily basis. Teachers should:  Encourage learners to think aloud  Encourage questions  Allow opportunities for discovery o Break new work into smaller chunks o Integrate what was learnt with the new work o Make provision for revision o Allow opportunities for feedback Teachers can be motivated and encouraged to accommodate learners in the following ways: 1. Promote equal participation Extracurricular activities are an important component of an overall education program. These activities provide the opportunity to develop important health and social benefits to all students, particularly those with disabilities. These benefits can include socialization, improved teamwork and leadership skills, and fitness. Educators should ensure that all learners have equal opportunity to participate in activities. 4 2. Acceptance of one another and Acknowledgement of differences We are one no matter what the colour of our skin is, we come from a huge melting pot of diverse backgrounds, acceptance and tolerance is what is needed. That doesn’t mean one is superior to the other, we certainly are not! You could be short and thin, tall and chunky, you could have long hair, short hair, you could have blue eyes, you could want blue eyes. We are all different but, in the end we are all the same, we are human beings and really need to have acceptance and understanding of each other. All the role players in education must live by the above to make inclusive education possible. If all role players including learners know and understand the above there will be no discrimination against any learners, teachers or management. Educators should treat all learners equal and ensure that learners treat each other equal. All concerned should also appreciate the fact that everyone will not have the same arguments on every subject. We should embrace these differences and learn from one another. 3. No labelling Countless special needs children are severely ostracized in the public school system because of their disorders and the subsequent prejudice among their peers. All disorders in school are amplified by "put downs". Peers conveniently tease these children as 'retarded', 'crazy", "freak", "stupid" to "learning disabled" to name a few scary sounding names. These labels crush the self-esteem of a child beyond repair. Is it prudent then to avoid any labelling in schools. Misunderstandings of the many psychological disorders, learning disorders and mental disorders create associations that hinder the chance for a child to have a normal life. 4. Positive attitudes / thinking Positive attitude, positive thinking, and optimism are now known to be a root cause of many positive life benefits. Studies show positive people can experience an increased life span, lower rates of depression, lower levels of stress, greater resistance to the common cold, better overall well-being, reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease and better coping skills during times of hardship and stress