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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 10, No. 4

Publication Date: April 25, 2023

DOI:10.14738/assrj.104.14500.

Pangeti, F. F., Mapolisa, T., & Chisaka, B. C. (2023). Inclusive Early Childhood Education: To What Extent is Inclusion of Academic

Benefit to ECD Learners with Intellectual and Learning Disabilities? Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 10(4). 233-242.

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

Inclusive Early Childhood Education: To What Extent is Inclusion

of Academic Benefit to ECD Learners with Intellectual and

Learning Disabilities?

Fungayi Fortune Pangeti

Faculty of Social & Gender Transformative Sciences,

Women’s University in Africa - Zimbabwe

Tichaona Mapolisa

Research, Innovation and Technology Transfer,

Zimbabwe Open University - Zimbabwe

Bornface Chenjerai Chisaka

Research, Innovation and Post-Graduate Centre,

Women’s University in Africa - Zimbabwe

ABSTRACT

The extent to which inclusion is of academic benefit to ECD learners with

intellectual and learning disabilities is a topical subject for discussion among

educators. The participatory action research study was conducted to find out the

extent to which the inclusive education practices at an ECD Centre in Harare were

of academic benefit for learners with intellectual and learning disabilities. Data

were generated from seven learners with intellectual and learning disabilities,

teachers and parents of the learners, university lecturers and from the school

administrator. Our action research cycles included teaching in the respective

learner’s classes, as well as observations made on the playground. For triangulation

we combined data generated from our interviews with key participants, participant

and non-participant observations, and from document analyses. The NVivo data

management system was used to code data into emergent themes. We concluded

that although the school was open to inclusion, the teachers were not well trained

for it, and that the learners could have benefited from a more diverse curriculum to

compensate for their academic challenges. Our recommendations following the

research were that both the parent government ministry, and the school

administration could do more for the teachers in terms of training in inclusive

education practices. We also recommended that for future research opportunities,

the study could be extended to include an investigation into inclusive education

practices as they relate to learners with intellectual disabilities as they transition

from primary school to secondary school.

Keywords: Inclusion, learning disability, intellectual disability, early childhood

development (ECD).

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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 10, Issue 4, April-2023

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

INTRODUCTION

The philosophy of inclusive education lies on the premise that all children should be afforded

the same learning experiences regardless of their disabilities. The doctrine of inclusion

therefore seeks to place learners with disabilities on the same footing as their typically

developing peers so as to put them on an equal footing in society. This means that they should

be afforded a quality educational experience in the same learning environment as learners

without disabilities. Inclusive education advocates for the school system to adjust so as to meet

the special needs of learners (Conner, 2016). The mainstream classroom should therefore

accommodate them so that they are given the opportunity to grow and develop without

hinderance. Sokal and Katz (2020) maintain that the true marker for inclusion is reflected in

what happens both socially and academically in the inclusive setup.

BACKGROUND

The global movement away from special education was necessitated by the ethical realization

of individual rights, as well as the realisation that inclusive education was of more benefit than

special education (Sokal & Katz, 2020). The World Conference on Special Needs Education in

Salamanca (1994) ushered in a new pedagogical approach where inclusion was elevated as a

doctrine that would bring about equity in education and social justice (UNESCO, 1994).

Following Salamanca, the Dakar Framework for Action Education, Education for All (EFA)

(Dakar, 2000) was convened with the mandate to compel member states to pledge their

commitment to the Salamanca Statement.

In Zimbabwe, the Education Act of Zimbabwe (1987) made a provision that education was a

basic human right which should be made available to all regardless of their colour, race, gender,

religion, class, culture or disability (Government of Zimbabwe, 1987). The Nziramasanga

Commission of Enquiry into Education and Training (1999) was the one that laid the foundation

for Inclusion in Zimbabwe with its findings. The Commission’s final report, recommended “the

need to educate children with special educational needs alongside their peers in regular school

contexts” (Nziramasanga, 1999). More recently, the Education Act was amended with a

provision for pupils with disability stating that it was a requirement that all registered schools

should provide infrastructure that is suitable for use by pupils with disabilities (Government of

Zimbabwe, 2019).

The doctrine of inclusion has been embraced by the international community as one which

would bring about equity in education. The Government of Zimbabwe also made a pledge to

adhere to the call for the integration of learners with disabilities into the mainstream classroom

so that they too can benefit from the same educational experiences as their typically developing

peers. Extant research on inclusion has however highlighted that inclusive education has been

implemented inconsistently (Krischler, Powell, & Pit-Ten Cate, 2019) while another school of

thought questions the value of inclusive education in producing its intended results in students

learning outcomes (Haug, 2017). The aim of this study was therefore an attempt to better

understand the inclusive education practices that were being employed at an ECD centre in

Harare, and to find out the extent to which these practices benefited the learners with

intellectual and learning disabilities.

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Pangeti, F. F., Mapolisa, T., & Chisaka, B. C. (2023). Inclusive Early Childhood Education: To What Extent is Inclusion of Academic Benefit to ECD

Learners with Intellectual and Learning Disabilities? Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 10(4). 233-242.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.104.14500

Research Question

To what extent are the inclusive education practices that are presently being implemented at

ECD centres of academic benefit for learners with intellectual and learning disabilities.

RELATED LITERATURE

The global advocacy for inclusion has meant that in an effort to comply with this moral

obligation of equity in education, schools have been compelled to include learners with

intellectual and learning disabilities in mainstream teaching. The school system has had to

adjust in order to accommodate the individual needs of the challenged learners by accepting

them into their schools, as opposed to placing them in special schools as was the case in the

past, as well as to make accommodations for a flexible learning curriculum with differentiated

or distinctive teaching strategies for each learner (Haug, 2017). The European Agency for

Special Needs and Inclusive Education (2014a) put forward the notion that the current debate

on inclusive education was no longer about what it was or about why it was needed. The

question was now about how inclusion was to be achieved (The European Agency for Special

Needs and Inclusive Education, 2014a).

According to a number of authors of inclusion, there is concern over the lack of national

implementation frameworks for inclusive education in developing countries despite the

national stance towards inclusive educational policy. This disparity is said to have widened the

gap between implementation and policy objectives (Mapunda, Omollo & Bali, 2017, as cited in

Nyika & Madaraka, 2021). Petriwskyj (2010, as cited in Mahadew & Hlalele, 2022) posits that

inclusion goes deeper than location and the adoption of policies that are tailored to fit what

were termed “surface led accommodations” (Petriwskyj, 2010, as cited in Mahadew & Hlalele,

2022, p.2). The issue of placement as it relates to the pursuit of inclusiveness in education

centres has been criticised as merely an attempt to tick the boxes as far as complying with policy

is concerned.

Advocacy for inclusion motivates for full inclusion that mirrors equitable and quality education

with lifelong learning opportunities for all children irrespective of their diversity, as spelled out

in the United Nations Sustainability Development Goal (SDG) 4.2. The attainment of quality

inclusive education learning environments to a large extent depends on teacher competencies.

Teachers have to be equipped with specialised knowledge and skills, and they must possess a

sound knowledge and understanding of the concept of inclusion (Mahadew & Hlalele, 2022).

Apart from teacher or caregiver competencies, the school system as a whole has been found

wanting in terms of inflexibility because of the traditional overemphasis on academic results,

while ignoring the social benefit of early childhood education. Haslip and Gullo (2017) maintain

that the landscape of early childhood education has changed. They make reference to the

increase in prescriptive curricular, and the depletion of play-based experiences which have

been replaced with a curriculum that no longer provides for exploratory learning and a

decrease in arts education (Haslip & Gullo, 2017). The authors decry modern pedagogy where

the “over-emphasis on skill-based literacy and math standards can exclude balanced

approaches to child development” (Haslip & Gullo, 2017, p. 1). Other scholars of inclusion have

motivated for the notion that the learner with exceptionalities would benefit from a curriculum

that helps them to develop functional communication or life skills (Conner, 2016).