HREDU82
Assignment 1
2026
, Module: HREDU82
Assignment 1: Research Proposal Essay
Lecturer: Dr M Chauke
1. TITLE
Inclusive Education for Learners with Learning Difficulties in South African Public
Schools
2. BACKGROUND TO THE PROBLEM STATEMENT
Inclusive education represents a fundamental paradigm shift in how educational
systems respond to learner diversity. Rooted in international frameworks such as the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Salamanca
Statement of 1994 and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
of 2006, inclusive education advocates for the right of all learners, regardless of their
cognitive, physical, or social differences, to participate meaningfully in mainstream
educational settings. In the South African context, this commitment is enshrined in the
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996), the South African Schools Act (84 of
1996), and most significantly, Education White Paper 6: Special Needs Education:
Building an Inclusive Education and Training System (Department of Education, 2001).
Despite this robust legislative and policy scaffolding, the practical realisation of inclusive
education for learners with learning difficulties including those with dyslexia, attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyscalculia, and other specific learning difficulties
(SpLDs) remains deeply problematic in South African public schools (Engelbrecht, Nel,
Smit & Van Deventer, 2016).
Learning difficulties are neurologically based processing differences that affect an
individual's ability to acquire, organise, retain, understand, or express information (Lerner
& Johns, 2012). They are distinct from intellectual disabilities and are not the result of low
intelligence; rather, learners with SpLDs such as dyslexia experience significant
challenges with reading, phonological processing, and written expression despite having
average or above-average intellectual ability (Snowling, 2013). Similarly, learners with
Assignment 1
2026
, Module: HREDU82
Assignment 1: Research Proposal Essay
Lecturer: Dr M Chauke
1. TITLE
Inclusive Education for Learners with Learning Difficulties in South African Public
Schools
2. BACKGROUND TO THE PROBLEM STATEMENT
Inclusive education represents a fundamental paradigm shift in how educational
systems respond to learner diversity. Rooted in international frameworks such as the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Salamanca
Statement of 1994 and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
of 2006, inclusive education advocates for the right of all learners, regardless of their
cognitive, physical, or social differences, to participate meaningfully in mainstream
educational settings. In the South African context, this commitment is enshrined in the
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996), the South African Schools Act (84 of
1996), and most significantly, Education White Paper 6: Special Needs Education:
Building an Inclusive Education and Training System (Department of Education, 2001).
Despite this robust legislative and policy scaffolding, the practical realisation of inclusive
education for learners with learning difficulties including those with dyslexia, attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyscalculia, and other specific learning difficulties
(SpLDs) remains deeply problematic in South African public schools (Engelbrecht, Nel,
Smit & Van Deventer, 2016).
Learning difficulties are neurologically based processing differences that affect an
individual's ability to acquire, organise, retain, understand, or express information (Lerner
& Johns, 2012). They are distinct from intellectual disabilities and are not the result of low
intelligence; rather, learners with SpLDs such as dyslexia experience significant
challenges with reading, phonological processing, and written expression despite having
average or above-average intellectual ability (Snowling, 2013). Similarly, learners with
