2 FUTURO DE TORRE EN ESPAÑA Y EN EL MUNDO.

In qualitative research, the context is accepted in a naturalistic way where the researcher is usually present. The context is acknowledged as having an impact on the participants and on the data collected. It holds the idea, in social science, that the meaning of human creations, words, actions and experiences can be ascertained only in relation to the context in which they occur. Personal and social contexts are included (Terre Blanche, Durheim and Painter, 2006:275).

“The commitment to understanding human phenomenon in context, as they are lived, using context-derived terms and categories, is at the heart of interpretive research and the development of methodologies for understanding human phenomenon „in context‟ is arguably the central achievement of qualitative methodology.‖ (Terre Blanche et al., 2006:276).

The contexts of this research were both personal and social. The personal views of teachers were revealed through semi-structured interviews. The researcher analysed these interviews within the context of inclusive education.

The researcher in this study viewed each school individually. Teachers as participants were also viewed as individuals, possessing different experiences of teaching learners with MID‘s within mainstream primary schools.

3.9.1 Selection of a site

Site selection refers to the site selected to locate people involved in a particular event where the data will be gathered (McMillan and Schumacher, 2010:326).

The research was conducted in the Port Elizabeth area, Eastern Cape Province. Four schools from various socio-economic backgrounds participated in the study. From each of these four schools, three teachers were selected to participate in unstructured interviews.

65 School A

School A was a mainstream school, with five learner support classes. The school was situated in a poverty-stricken environment, where unemployment and gangster activities were rife. At the time of conducting the study, the school enrolment was 675 learners in total. The researcher gathered that 167 of the learners had been diagnosed by professionals, such as educational psychologists, as having mild intellectual disabilities. The staff component consisted of 19 Post Level One teachers, an acting principal, one acting deputy principal and three heads of departments although five educators were trained in remedial therapy. The language of teaching and learning (LOLT) was Afrikaans, while the learner population was Coloured. The learner support classes at School A existed before the move to inclusive education. These classes were the then adaptation classes.

School A was one of a few schools with adaptation classes and the only school to retain these classes after the introduction of inclusive education. These classes were retained primarily because of the vast numbers of learners with barriers to learning in the area surrounding the school and at many other schools in the Northern Areas of Port Elizabeth. The learner support classes accommodate learners who have been assessed by a professional (educational psychologist) as having mild (sometimes moderate to severe) intellectual disabilities, but who cannot be placed in the very few special schools in the area and the very long waiting list for such placement.

The learners were placed in these learner support classes with teachers who had been trained in learning support. Many successes were achieved in these classes and sometimes learners returned to the mainstream class because of good progress made. Learners worked according to their ability levels, in their ability groups, and individual attention was applied, where necessary. Learners were also skilled in different practical skills. For example, girls were taught to do knitting or needlework. Many struggled with academic work, but showed interest in these practical skills. They would then be sent to a special school at the age of 14 or 15 years to follow their chosen career. Many of the other schools in the area opted to send their learners with barriers to School A for assistance and support.

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Many learners with barriers to learning were kept at the mainstream schools without assistance and support and sent to School A only when they were almost ready to exit school. By then, these learners had a huge backlog and it would be impossible to support them at that stage. School A, therefore, served as a ‗special school‘ with the approval of the Department of Education and was also chosen to be a pilot school for learners with barriers to learning.

School B

School B, a mainstream school, was situated in an area where poverty and socio- economic issues were prevalent. The enrolment of the school was 863, of which 90 per cent were Coloured and 10 per cent Black. The staff component consisted of 27 teachers, one principal, one deputy principal and four heads of department. The school was dual medium, meaning that they used both English and Afrikaans as medium of instruction. The language of teaching and learning (LOLT) was Afrikaans. The school had a learning support teacher, but due to time constraints and overcrowded classes, the teacher was unable to support learners with barriers to learning.

School C

School C was a mainstream school, situated in middle to upper-class area, while most of the people occupying this area were working class. The learner enrolment was 109, and the school was multicultural, in that 70% of the learners were IsiXhosa, and the rest Coloured. The staff component consisted of 23 Post Level One teachers, a principal, one deputy principal and four heads of department. The language of instruction was English. This school had only one learning support teacher, but due to the large class sizes, she was unable to support learners with barriers to learning.

67 School D

School D was classified as a mainstream school. The school was situated in an area which was termed safe. However, poor socio-economic circumstances included unemployment and illiteracy. The school hosted 648 learners, of whom 52 per cent were Coloured and 48 per cent were Xhosa. The staff component consisted of 13 Post Level One teachers, one principal, one deputy principal, two Heads of Departments and two senior teachers. The language of instruction was English. The learner support teacher at the school was unable to support learners with barriers, due to the overcrowded classrooms.