, PLEASE USE THIS DOCUMENT AS A GUIDE ONLY
Introduction to the Assignment Portfolio
This portfolio brings together four interconnected tasks that explore the theory and practice of
inclusive education within the South African context. The tasks collectively examine the notion and
philosophy of inclusive education, the barriers that prevent learners from achieving their potential,
and the practical strategies and collaborative partnerships that teachers can use to support diverse
learners in their classrooms.
Task 9.1 begins by interrogating the cartoon in Figure 9.1, which captures the anxieties and
self-doubt that many teachers experience, and asks whether difficulties in learning should be
understood as deficits within learners or as professional challenges for teachers (INC3701, Study
Guide, p. 194).
Task 9.2 builds on this by proposing practical strategies that South African teachers can implement
to support diverse learners amid common classroom challenges such as overcrowded classes,
classroom management difficulties, ineffective lesson planning and assessment pressures.
Task 9.3 critically evaluates two key South African policies, namely Education White Paper 6 on
Inclusive Education and the Screening, Identification, Assessment and Support (SIAS) policy, by
discussing how apartheid imbalances, socio-economic factors, and political and cultural differences
have influenced their implementation and practice.
Task 9.4 engages with the article by Gross et al. (2015) on strong school-community partnerships in
inclusive schools, and considers how the CSTL framework and collaboration among schools and
teachers can support vulnerable learners.
Together, these tasks demonstrate that inclusive education is not simply a policy or a set of
techniques, but a deeply ethical and collaborative endeavour that requires teachers to examine their
own attitudes, to plan deliberately for diversity, and to work alongside learners, families and
communities to remove barriers to learning and participation.
, Task 9.1
9.1. See difficulties in learning not as deficits in learners but as professional challenges for us as
teachers.
Introduction
The cartoon in Figure 9.1 captures a familiar moment of professional self-doubt among teachers,
with one character asking, “Are my lesson plans the problem, or is it how I teach them?” This
question reflects a deeper truth at the heart of inclusive education: difficulties in learning should not
be seen as deficits within learners, but as professional challenges for teachers (INC3701, Study
Guide, p. 194). When a lesson fails to reach all learners, the most productive response is not to blame
the child but to interrogate the planning, pedagogy and attitudes that shaped the lesson.
Learning Barriers That Affect Learners’ Achievement
Learners in South African classrooms experience a wide range of barriers that can prevent them from
accessing the curriculum and achieving their potential. These barriers are not located within the
learner alone; they arise from the interaction between the learner and the learning environment. One
significant barrier is the level at which learners access the curriculum. In any class of forty to fifty
learners, there will be those who have already mastered grade-level content, those working at grade
level, those requiring scaffolding, and those who are grade straddling, working one or more grades
below level (INC3701, Study Guide, p. 83). When a teacher plans only for grade-level access, many
learners are excluded from meaningful participation and learning (INC3701, Study Guide, p. 83).
This is a planning problem, not a learner deficit.
Socio-economic circumstances also create substantial barriers to learning. Children who are cold,
tired or hungry cannot concentrate in class, and the legacy of apartheid means that learners from poor
communities continue to perform disproportionately worse than their more affluent peers (INC3701,
Study Guide, p. 86). The poverty cycle illustrates how family poverty leads to educational
disadvantage, which in turn makes it difficult to escape poverty (INC3701, Study Guide, p. 86). A
teacher who understands this context will recognise that a learner’s poor performance may reflect
hunger or trauma rather than lack of ability, and will respond by accessing support through the
school’s feeding scheme or the School-Based Support Team (SBST).
Psychosocial factors present another layer of barriers. Family circumstances, community violence,
gang culture, bullying and peer pressure all impact on learners’ psychosocial wellbeing and their
ability to engage with learning (INC3701, Study Guide, p. 93). Attachment styles also influence how
learners approach school; a learner with an insecure-ambivalent attachment style may display high
anxiety and need to hold the teacher’s attention, while a learner with a disorganised attachment style
may be hostile to the teacher when frustrated (INC3701, Study Guide, p. 95). These behaviours are
communications about what is happening beneath the surface, not indications of a fixed deficit.
Language is a further barrier in South African classrooms. Many learners are taught in English from
Grade 4 even though it is not their home language, and they may have insufficient knowledge of
English to access the curriculum fully (INC3701, Study Guide, p. 110). Multilingual classrooms are
common, and learners may struggle to learn in a language that is not their own. A teacher who
recognises this will use strategies such as allowing discussion in home languages, pre-teaching
vocabulary, and using visual and multi-sensory approaches to make content accessible (INC3701,
Study Guide, p. 268).
Introduction to the Assignment Portfolio
This portfolio brings together four interconnected tasks that explore the theory and practice of
inclusive education within the South African context. The tasks collectively examine the notion and
philosophy of inclusive education, the barriers that prevent learners from achieving their potential,
and the practical strategies and collaborative partnerships that teachers can use to support diverse
learners in their classrooms.
Task 9.1 begins by interrogating the cartoon in Figure 9.1, which captures the anxieties and
self-doubt that many teachers experience, and asks whether difficulties in learning should be
understood as deficits within learners or as professional challenges for teachers (INC3701, Study
Guide, p. 194).
Task 9.2 builds on this by proposing practical strategies that South African teachers can implement
to support diverse learners amid common classroom challenges such as overcrowded classes,
classroom management difficulties, ineffective lesson planning and assessment pressures.
Task 9.3 critically evaluates two key South African policies, namely Education White Paper 6 on
Inclusive Education and the Screening, Identification, Assessment and Support (SIAS) policy, by
discussing how apartheid imbalances, socio-economic factors, and political and cultural differences
have influenced their implementation and practice.
Task 9.4 engages with the article by Gross et al. (2015) on strong school-community partnerships in
inclusive schools, and considers how the CSTL framework and collaboration among schools and
teachers can support vulnerable learners.
Together, these tasks demonstrate that inclusive education is not simply a policy or a set of
techniques, but a deeply ethical and collaborative endeavour that requires teachers to examine their
own attitudes, to plan deliberately for diversity, and to work alongside learners, families and
communities to remove barriers to learning and participation.
, Task 9.1
9.1. See difficulties in learning not as deficits in learners but as professional challenges for us as
teachers.
Introduction
The cartoon in Figure 9.1 captures a familiar moment of professional self-doubt among teachers,
with one character asking, “Are my lesson plans the problem, or is it how I teach them?” This
question reflects a deeper truth at the heart of inclusive education: difficulties in learning should not
be seen as deficits within learners, but as professional challenges for teachers (INC3701, Study
Guide, p. 194). When a lesson fails to reach all learners, the most productive response is not to blame
the child but to interrogate the planning, pedagogy and attitudes that shaped the lesson.
Learning Barriers That Affect Learners’ Achievement
Learners in South African classrooms experience a wide range of barriers that can prevent them from
accessing the curriculum and achieving their potential. These barriers are not located within the
learner alone; they arise from the interaction between the learner and the learning environment. One
significant barrier is the level at which learners access the curriculum. In any class of forty to fifty
learners, there will be those who have already mastered grade-level content, those working at grade
level, those requiring scaffolding, and those who are grade straddling, working one or more grades
below level (INC3701, Study Guide, p. 83). When a teacher plans only for grade-level access, many
learners are excluded from meaningful participation and learning (INC3701, Study Guide, p. 83).
This is a planning problem, not a learner deficit.
Socio-economic circumstances also create substantial barriers to learning. Children who are cold,
tired or hungry cannot concentrate in class, and the legacy of apartheid means that learners from poor
communities continue to perform disproportionately worse than their more affluent peers (INC3701,
Study Guide, p. 86). The poverty cycle illustrates how family poverty leads to educational
disadvantage, which in turn makes it difficult to escape poverty (INC3701, Study Guide, p. 86). A
teacher who understands this context will recognise that a learner’s poor performance may reflect
hunger or trauma rather than lack of ability, and will respond by accessing support through the
school’s feeding scheme or the School-Based Support Team (SBST).
Psychosocial factors present another layer of barriers. Family circumstances, community violence,
gang culture, bullying and peer pressure all impact on learners’ psychosocial wellbeing and their
ability to engage with learning (INC3701, Study Guide, p. 93). Attachment styles also influence how
learners approach school; a learner with an insecure-ambivalent attachment style may display high
anxiety and need to hold the teacher’s attention, while a learner with a disorganised attachment style
may be hostile to the teacher when frustrated (INC3701, Study Guide, p. 95). These behaviours are
communications about what is happening beneath the surface, not indications of a fixed deficit.
Language is a further barrier in South African classrooms. Many learners are taught in English from
Grade 4 even though it is not their home language, and they may have insufficient knowledge of
English to access the curriculum fully (INC3701, Study Guide, p. 110). Multilingual classrooms are
common, and learners may struggle to learn in a language that is not their own. A teacher who
recognises this will use strategies such as allowing discussion in home languages, pre-teaching
vocabulary, and using visual and multi-sensory approaches to make content accessible (INC3701,
Study Guide, p. 268).
