Facilitating support for learners with special needs by optimising the functioning of SchoolBased Support Teams

Abstract

The fundamental principle of the inclusive school, according to the Salamanca statement (Unesco, 1994), is that all children should learn together, regardless of any difficulties or differences they may have. In South Africa, inclusive education has been initiated as part of the democratisation and transformation of the education system. As part of this transformation, all schools should provide a continuum of support and services that corresponds to the spectrum of learning barriers in the specific school context. School-Based Support Teams (SBSTs) have a significant impact on the successful establishment of inclusive schools. This study investigated how (SBSTs) function and how their functioning can be optimized to facilitate support for learners with special needs. A social contructivist paradigm informed the basic qualitative research design applied in this study. The participants included purposively selected teachers who and the learning support coordinator of the circuit, in which the research was conducted. The teachers were purposively selected, based on their experience in the specific context. Data was collected using a semi-structured qualitative questionnaire in Phase 1 and semi-structured on-line, individual interviews in Phase 2. Thematic analysis was applied to analyse the data. The findings indicate that, the SBSTs functioning in these contexts can be optimised through the development of a collaborative process that 1) involve teachers throughout the process, 2) actively engage with parents identify and 3) involve professionals and consultants from the community. SBSTs should also provide guidance for teachers to implement knowlegde and skills obtained through training to ensure that learners with special needs are identified early and that teachers can provide early interventions for learners with special needs in collaboration with the support networks in the community.