Las representaciones que proporcionan los relatos de los MCM

2.5.2.1 Introduction

Influenced by international trends during the early 1960s, the South African education system was also based on the medical-deficit model whereby learners were classified according to physical, intellectual and sensory disabilities, and placed in racially segregated special schools which were mostly provided for white children. The early 1980s saw a movement away from labelling and classifying learners according to their intrinsic disabilities to the more comprehensive focus of ‘special education needs’ and the integration of special education into the mainstream. The early 1990s heralded in a significant reconceptualisation of ‘special needs’ in education with a paradigm shift away from exclusionary practice towards inclusion based on a social systems model framed within the constructivist approach, driven by revolutionary political change (Lomofsky & Lazarus 2001:305-306).

South Africa experienced a radical socio-political shift when democracy was declared in 1994 and the country entered an era of social, political, economic and educational transformation to redress the imbalances of the apartheid past and develop an egalitarian, non-racial social system (Lomofsky & Lazarus 2001:303). Critical values such as equity, non-discriminatory practice, liberty, respect and social justice were given prominence and formed the bedrock of the Constitution (Swart & Pettipher 2007:16).

2.5.2.2 Legislation and policies

Driven by the call of South African inclusive education activists who argued for an education system that would accommodate the learning needs of a diverse range of learners including those with disabilities in the mainstream, the critical values and the principles of inclusive education have been reflected in legislation, policy documents and papers post 1994 (Stofile & Green 2007:54; Swart & Pettipher 2007:16). International guidelines have overarched policy development in inclusive education in South Africa and relevant government initiatives include the following:

 White Paper on Education and Training in a Democratic South Africa (Department of Education, 1995a). This document outlined a unified transformational education system encompassing equity of access, non-discrimination, re-dress, respect for and response to diversity, recognition of prior learning, life-long learning, and a new Language Policy which set out the 12 official languages as well as Sign Language (Lomofsky & Lazarus 2001:308-309; Naicker 2005:232).

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 The South African Schools Act (1996) covered compulsory schooling for all children aged 7-15, the right to choice of placement of ‘special needs’ children by their parents, access to quality education without discrimination, and the democratic governance of schools by various stakeholders (Lomofsky & Lazarus 2001:309; Naicker 2005:232).

 White Paper on an Integrated National Disability Strategy (Ministerial Office of the Deputy President, 1997). This investigation led to recommendations that environments be restructured so that all people with disability are given the opportunity to participate fully in society. In the ambit of education this meant giving additional support in skills training and offering specialised equipment and assistive devices such as sign language and Braille to afford easier access to the curriculum. This reflected a paradigmic shift from the welfare or charity model of disability to the social systems model which is based on the premise that society must adjust in order to accommodate the diverse needs of all its people (Lomofsky & Lazarus 2001:309-310; Swart & Pettipher 2007:17).

 The National Commission on Special Needs in Education and Training (NCSNET) and the National Committee on Education Support Services (NCESS) (Department of Education, 1997b). The government appointed both NCSNET and NCESS to conduct extensive research across all bands and levels of education with regard to ‘special needs and support services’. The task was to redress historical fragmentation in these areas and recommend a policy framework to ensure that all learners gain access to a unified education system which offers support, so that every learner may participate fully in daily economic and social life. This culminated in the 1997 report entitled Quality

Education for All: Overcoming Barriers to Learning. The report recommended that the

terminology ‘learners with special education needs’ which implies exclusion be replaced with learners with ‘barriers to learning and development’. The latter implies a reciprocal relationship between intrinsic factors located within the learner and extrinsic factors such as barriers imposed by the school, the education system and even within the wider social, economic and political context. For example, language and communication policy may create barriers to learning when the medium of instruction is different from the home language of the learners. From a deaf perspective additional barriers are created by an environment which does not provide sign language and there is an absence of assistive devices or alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) approaches used to accommodate non-speaking learners – these are systems deficiencies. The NCSNET and NCESS report formed the pillars of the Green Paper on Emerging Policy

on Inclusive Education 1999 and White Paper 6: Building and Inclusive Education and Training System (Department of Education 2001) on the basis of public response to the

draft Green Paper (Lomofsky & Lazarus 2001:306,310-313; Naiker 2005:240-241; Swart & Pettiher 2007:16-17). Storbeck et al (2009:140) declares that the abovementioned

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report underscored the problems of accessing equal educational opportunities by pinpointing language and communication options as a significant barrier for learners who are deaf and acknowledging SASL as the language of learning and teaching. It also highlighted the need for suitably trained and qualified Deaf teachers. Unfortunately over a decade later many of the items in the report, although still relevant to date, have not been adequately addressed.

 White Paper 6: Building an Inclusive Education and Training System (Department of Education, 2001). This document forms the cornerstone of developing an inclusive education and training system in South Africa and it is underpinned by six principles including capacity building and collaboration;, strengthening education support services; expanding provision and access to education; curriculum flexibility, development, assessment and support, assistive devices to support diverse learning needs; programmes to facilitate the shift from ‘special needs and support’ to an inclusive education and training system, and the provision of funding support (Lomofsky & Lazarus 2001:314). The intent of inclusive education as discussed in the report is to eliminate the barriers that learners with ‘special needs’ face, by means of adjusting the surrounding learning environment to accommodate these needs and facilitate learning. It must be highlighted that different learning needs result from a variety of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors such as physical, mental, sensory, neurological and developmental impairments, psycho-social disturbances, differences in intellectual ability, particular life experiences or socio-economic deprivation. Additionally, the following barriers, as mentioned in the report, are of particular significance to Deaf learners:

o Inappropriate languages or language of learning and teaching (LOLT) o Inappropriate communication

o Inappropriate and inadequate support services

o Inadequately and inappropriately trained education managers and educators (Department of Education 2001:7; Storbeck et al 2009:140-141).

According to Storbeck et al (2009:141), South Africa’s national organisation for the deaf, the Deaf federation of South Africa (DeaFSA), responded to White Paper 6 on inclusive education by publishing a position paper delineating the historical and current situation of deaf education in this country. In this paper detailed recommendations were presented centring on the inclusion of deaf learners, teacher training in deaf pedagogy, the use of SASL and the role of deaf assistants and educational interpreters. So how successful has the inclusion policy been as it pertains to learners who are deaf and what are the current Deaf education developments and trends within the South African context?

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