Hi there. This is Jane Kelly, Research Officer for TEDI back again. In this video, I'll be looking at our TEDI research and answering the question "How do teachers feel supported in teaching learners with severe to profound sensory or intellectual impairments?" I will focus on support at the level of the education system and also on support via involvement from parents. When it comes to support from the education system, teachers in our research reported receiving some in-service training from education departments with regards to teaching learners with disabilities. This training, usually took the form of short courses, workshops and inductions. For example, this teacher said, "The department has come on board trying to empower us through workshops, through the university or non-governmental organizations. At least one feels that being here it's not like being thrown here without the tools, so, they have been helping us." However, many teachers reported feeling unsupported by the education system after this in-service training had taken place. For example, when discussing training related to sign language, it was reported that education system authorities themselves did not possess the necessary skills and knowledge. A teacher said, "The district officials, to be honest, there is no one at the district level with knowledge of sign language, so they don't really monitor sign language courses that we've done." This indicates that teachers require more ongoing support in building their capacity to address the special educational needs of learners with disabilities. It also shows that district education officials need to be up-skilled in order to adequately support teachers. When it comes to full-service schools, there was considerable evidence from our research that training in these schools is not always specific to the educational needs of learners with disabilities. When one teacher was asked what training she had received to teach learners with severe to profound disability, their response was, "Personally I did not get that." There was also a perception, that full-service schools are not expected to deal with learners with severe to profound disability and that they are under-resourced to cope with this task in terms of infrastructure, teacher-learner ratios and teacher education. When talking about this, a teacher said, "So the department, if they are serious about this, there are directorates for inclusive education. It is something, it is big, it is a reality, it is there. So if they are serious, I am asking why is it that one of the eight high schools in the province never ever had a meeting, or a workshop, or a conference?" Our research made it clear that teachers often arrive at their schools with very little or no prior training in specialized education for learners with disabilities. Like one teacher said, "That is a problem. When a teacher comes here then we need to provide that training for them." It seems that sometimes this in-service training is much more experiential, in that teachers learn while they work. This teacher noted - "So, they actually learn through experience more." There is therefore a need for more in-depth formal training in the impairment specific needs of learners with disabilities. In South Africa, similar to many other countries all over the world, integrated professional support services are offered via district based support teams. One aspect of support that these district based support teams provide, is monitoring and assessing teachers. Like this teacher in our research said, "Our district, they are monitoring our educators. They are going to cluster meetings regularly, they have a sitting in the school to come to the classes to even monitor what the teachers are doing." Another way in which these district based support teams offer support, is through ensuring that learners with disabilities are able to fully participate in all classroom activities. One teacher shared the following example - "From the district I know one of our past learners, she had a major visual impairment, her exam papers had to be printed differently from the others, and so we could do that. There was also another learner, also past pupil, and he was also writing examinations, he had a problem with writing, and also the district office provided, him with some assistance with getting him a scribe." In addition, our research shows that there is a growing emphasis on establishing specialists teams with industry based support teams that focus on specific disabilities. Like this participant said, "We are changing that now into specialist teams slowly so that you have a team for the blind, and a team for the deaf, and so on and so on." However, many of the teachers in our research reported not always feeling adequately supported by their districts. Some felt that there was a lack of on-going support. For instance, one teacher noted, "There is a structure in our district, but that's another thing. If they are here to support, we get one visit maybe from the curriculum adviser, but very, very little support, and it is disappointing for us." Although district based support teams are there to provide support to teachers, it appears that the support is not always provided consistently. Perhaps as a result of not being adequately resourced. It is also crucial that teachers are able to draw on the support of support specialists in teaching learners with disabilities. This includes support from psychologists, social workers, and therapists. In our research, feedback from teachers regarding accessing support from these specialists was mixed. Some noted that learners had limited or no access to specialists. For example, this teacher said, "Most of the children are having problems, so if we can have the psychologists, social workers, at least maybe they can help us. In other schools, they was access to support specialists, but the process of accessing support and receiving feedback was regarded as too long. Like this teacher said, "We do have access to a psychologist, to a counselor, to a social worker and those things. But the process, it takes them so long to get to us or to get feedback that we actually have to in the meantime, we have to deal with it ourselves or refer the parents out." Thus there is a need for teachers to have consistent and ongoing access to support specialists. Another way in which teachers can receive a more informal means of support is through parents. The role of parental involvement in learners education was regarded as critical by teachers in our research. They understand that parents are partners in education and have a significant role to play in meeting learners educational needs. Some teachers felt frustrated by the lack of parental involvement. For instance, a teacher said, "It is frustrating if parents cannot cooperate, especially with these kids. That was the worst part. That was frustrating me, whereby you find you will make appointments with a doctor or with someone that will help the child, but the parents do not cooperate." Teachers felt that not all parents give their children sufficient time or stimulation at home. This teacher said, "Firstly, they come to school with parents that are actually not stimulating them at home. So, when they come to class, this is the first platform where they are experiencing stimulation at that level. At home, some parents are stimulating their kiddies but as far as our programme goes, this is where they are going to get the information that they really need." This indicates the teacher parent partnerships need to be strengthened. In conclusion, it is clear that teachers face many challenges in teaching learners with disabilities if they do not receive the necessary support. To mitigate these challenges, it is vital that teachers are supported by the education system through adequate training and ongoing monitoring and support and through establishing and maintaining teacher-parent partnerships.
