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“We have made it on the journey, but we have not yet arrived”: the right to education for learners with barriers to learning and disabilities through an inclusive lens

Since 1994, there has been changes in education policies in South Africa and the push for more inclusive learning environments. Policies such as the White Paper 6 were developed to accommodate learners with disabilities and those with barriers to learning within mainstream education. However the lin...

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Main Author: Thaisi, Mapitso
Other Authors: Moult, Kelley &amp
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Public Law 2024
Subjects:
Law
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access_status_str Open Access
author Thaisi, Mapitso
author2 Moult, Kelley &amp
author_browse Moult, Kelley &amp
Thaisi, Mapitso
author_facet Moult, Kelley &amp
Thaisi, Mapitso
author_sort Thaisi, Mapitso
collection Thesis
description Since 1994, there has been changes in education policies in South Africa and the push for more inclusive learning environments. Policies such as the White Paper 6 were developed to accommodate learners with disabilities and those with barriers to learning within mainstream education. However the link between policy and implementation is often blurred, especially in the instance of learners with disabilities attending mainstream schools. Many of these learners slip through the cracks of the education system without the necessary support and even drop out of schools in the absence efficient methods of identifying, assessing, referring and proving learners with the appropriate support. This research explored how two ordinary primary schools in Cape Town where assessing and providing support for learners with barriers to learning. Using a qualitative research method, the research chose the Metro Central Education District in Cape Town as the case for this study and conducted interviews with school teachers, occupational therapists and school based support staff members from an affluent school and a school from a low socio-economic area. The research found that schools did not have clear policies and guidelines in place to identify learners with barriers to learning. Furthermore, the findings revealed differences between the two schools and indicated that the school based in the affluent area had more support in place, while the school based in the poorer community, had less support in place. Thus, context shapes the type of support which schools can afford and ultimately how learners enjoy their rights to an education. The Department of Education needs to implement strategies that facilitate urgent implementation of inclusive education policies in schools.
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:33:15.376Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2024
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spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/40491 “We have made it on the journey, but we have not yet arrived”: the right to education for learners with barriers to learning and disabilities through an inclusive lens Thaisi, Mapitso Moult, Kelley &amp Ramafikeng, Matumo Law Since 1994, there has been changes in education policies in South Africa and the push for more inclusive learning environments. Policies such as the White Paper 6 were developed to accommodate learners with disabilities and those with barriers to learning within mainstream education. However the link between policy and implementation is often blurred, especially in the instance of learners with disabilities attending mainstream schools. Many of these learners slip through the cracks of the education system without the necessary support and even drop out of schools in the absence efficient methods of identifying, assessing, referring and proving learners with the appropriate support. This research explored how two ordinary primary schools in Cape Town where assessing and providing support for learners with barriers to learning. Using a qualitative research method, the research chose the Metro Central Education District in Cape Town as the case for this study and conducted interviews with school teachers, occupational therapists and school based support staff members from an affluent school and a school from a low socio-economic area. The research found that schools did not have clear policies and guidelines in place to identify learners with barriers to learning. Furthermore, the findings revealed differences between the two schools and indicated that the school based in the affluent area had more support in place, while the school based in the poorer community, had less support in place. Thus, context shapes the type of support which schools can afford and ultimately how learners enjoy their rights to an education. The Department of Education needs to implement strategies that facilitate urgent implementation of inclusive education policies in schools. 2024-07-29T09:13:12Z 2024-07-29T09:13:12Z 2019 2024-07-29T09:04:34Z Thesis / Dissertation Masters MPhil http://hdl.handle.net/11427/40491 eng application/pdf Department of Public Law Faculty of Law
spellingShingle Law
Thaisi, Mapitso
“We have made it on the journey, but we have not yet arrived”: the right to education for learners with barriers to learning and disabilities through an inclusive lens
thesis_degree_str Master's
title “We have made it on the journey, but we have not yet arrived”: the right to education for learners with barriers to learning and disabilities through an inclusive lens
title_full “We have made it on the journey, but we have not yet arrived”: the right to education for learners with barriers to learning and disabilities through an inclusive lens
title_fullStr “We have made it on the journey, but we have not yet arrived”: the right to education for learners with barriers to learning and disabilities through an inclusive lens
title_full_unstemmed “We have made it on the journey, but we have not yet arrived”: the right to education for learners with barriers to learning and disabilities through an inclusive lens
title_short “We have made it on the journey, but we have not yet arrived”: the right to education for learners with barriers to learning and disabilities through an inclusive lens
title_sort we have made it on the journey but we have not yet arrived the right to education for learners with barriers to learning and disabilities through an inclusive lens
topic Law
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/40491
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