Decolonising inclusive education in lower income, Southern African educational contexts

The article proposes the need for the decolonising of the inclusive education movement in Southern African educational contexts. It draws on the authors’ own research and reflexive engagement over the last five years on inclusive education policy formulation and implementation in selected Southern African contexts, namely, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Malawi. The article interrogates inclusive education policy enactment in the four country contexts through the lens of the theory of practice architectures, focusing mainly on the ‘sayings’ and ‘performings.’ The analysis highlights that discourses of inclusive education, which continue to be influenced by traditional special education ideologies from the global North and appropriated by the South have the power to undermine or subvert the inclusive education agenda in contexts shaped by neo-colonialism. The article argues for a critical inclusive education agenda located within social justice theory to enable the decolonising of inclusive education. The reflexive and ethical stance of a social justice framework has the power to identify, untangle and disrupt pervasive special education notions from the North, and challenge education administrators, school leaders at all levels and teachers to engage in ideological critique as they enact inclusive education policy and seek to address exclusion and oppression within the education system.Keywords: African contexts; critical diversity literacy; decolonisation; inclusive education; practice architectures; social justice educatio

Implementing inclusive education in South Africa: teachers’ attitudes and experiences

The central argument is that the creation of inclusive schools will require more than merely the implementation of new policies. Practising teachers are the key to the successful implementation of an inclusive system and they will need time, ongoing support and in-service training. Real change therefore requires a long-term commitment to professional development. This article presents a comparative analysis of the findings of three independent studies aimed at identifying and describing teachers’ attitudes to and experiences in implementing inclusive education in South Africa. The main themes identified in all three studies include inadequate knowledge, skills and training for the implementation of inclusive education; lack of educational and teacher support; insufficient facilities and resources, and the potential effects of inclusive education on learners

Ectomycorrhizal necromass turnover is one-third of biomass turnover in hemiboreal Pinus sylvestris forests

Societal Impact Statement Efficient mitigation of climate change requires predictive models of forest ecosystems as sinks for atmospheric carbon. Mycorrhizal fungi are drivers of soil carbon storage in boreal forests, yet they are typically excluded from ecosystem models, because of a lack of information about their growth and turnover. Closing this knowledge gap could help us better predict future responses to climate change and guide policy decisions for sustainable management of forest ecosystems. This study provides new estimates of the production and turnover of mycorrhizal mycelial biomass and necromass. This information can facilitate the integration of mycorrhizal fungi into new predictive models of boreal forest soils. Summary center dot In boreal forests, turnover of biomass and necromass of ectomycorrhizal extraradical mycelia (ERM) are important for mediating long-term carbon storage. However, ectomycorrhizal fungi are usually not considered in ecosystem models, because data for parameterization of ERM dynamics is lacking. center dot Here, we estimated the production and turnover of ERM biomass and necromass across a hemiboreal Pinus sylvestris chronosequence aged 12 to 100 years. Biomass and necromass were quantified in sequentially harvested in-growth bags, and incubated in the soil for 1-24 month, and Bayesian calibration of mathematical models was applied to arrive at parametric estimates of ERM production and turnover rates of biomass and necromass. center dot Steady states were predicted to be nearly reached after 160 and 390 growing season days, respectively, for biomass and necromass. The related turnover rates varied with 95% credible intervals of 1.7-6.5 and 0.3-2.5 times yr-1, with mode values of 2.9 and 0.9 times yr-1, corresponding to mean residence times of 62 and 205 growing season days. center dot Our results highlight that turnover of necromass is one-third of biomass. This together with the variability in the estimates can be used to parameterize ecosystem models, to explicitly include ERM dynamics and its impact on mycorrhizal-derived soil carbon accumulation in boreal forests

Understanding the Dialectics of the Local and the Global in Education for All: A Comparative Case Study

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://journals.sfu.ca/iccps/index.php/childhoods/article/view/7.This article is part of a special issue edited by Marianne Bloch and Beth Blue Swadener

Teachers' perceptions of education support structures in the implementation of inclusive education in South Africa

Inclusive education forms the ethos of the education system in South Africa and resonates with the Constitution of the country, which recognises diversity and resists exclusivity. Inclusive education is also reflected in education policies such as the Education White Paper 6: Special Education – Building an Inclusive Education and Training System and the Screening, Identification, Assessment and Support (SIAS) document. Pivotal to inclusive education is the provision of support for all learners and teachers. The focus of this paper is on the functionality of all the formal support structures that are in place for teachers and learners from the teachers’ viewpoints. These support structures include District-Based Support Teams (DBSTs), Institutional-Level Support Teams (ILSTs), Full-Service Schools (FSS), Special Schools as Resource Centres (SSRC), Learning Support Educators (LSEs) and the community. An interpretive research paradigm was chosen, using convenience sampling and data was collected by means of focus group interviews. Constant comparative data analysis was employed. Peer review and member checks were used to ensure trustworthiness. The themes that emerged were: support provided by teachers; the role of official support structures and special schools and community collaboration. It was evident, from the teachers’ point of view, that the formal support structures are not as effective, as proposed by policy and educational authorities, and that the policy needs serious re-consideration. https://doi.org/10.19108/KOERS.81.3.224

Ericaceous dwarf shrubs contribute a significant but drought-sensitive fraction of soil respiration in a boreal pine forest

Boreal forests often have a dense understorey of ericaceous dwarf shrubs with ecological adaptations that contrast those of the canopy-forming trees. It is therefore important to quantify contributions by understorey shrubs to ecosystem processes and disentangle shrub- and tree-driven responses to climatic factors. We quantified soil respiration driven by the pine canopy and the ericaceous shrub understorey over 3 years, using a factorial pine root exclusion and shrub removal experiment in a mature Pinus sylvestris forest. Soil temperature and moisture-related responses of respiration attributed to autotrophs (shrubs, pine roots) and heterotrophs were compared. Additionally, we assessed effects of interactions between these functional groups on soil nitrogen availability and respiration. Understorey shrubs accounted for 22% +/- 10% of total autotrophic respiration, reflecting the ericaceous proportion of fine root production in the ecosystem. Heterotrophic respiration constituted about half of total soil respiration. Shrub-driven respiration was more susceptible to drought than heterotrophic- and pine-driven respiration. While the respiration attributed to canopy and understorey remained additive, indicating no competitive release, the plant guilds competed for soil N. Synthesis. Ericaceous understorey shrubs accounted for a small, yet significant, share of total growing season soil respiration. Overlooking understorey respiration may lead to erroneous partitioning and modelling of soil respiration mediated by functional guilds with contrasting responses to soil temperature and moisture. A larger contribution by heterotrophs and pine root-associated organisms to soil respiration under drought conditions could have important implications for soil organic matter accumulation and decomposition as the climate changes in boreal forests

Implementing inclusive education in South Africa: teachers’ attitudes and experiences

The central argument is that the creation of inclusive schools will require more than merely the implementation of new policies. Practising teachers are the key to the successful implementation of an inclusive system and they will need time, ongoing support and in-service training. Real change therefore requires a long-term commitment to professional development. This article presents a comparative analysis of the findings of three independent studies aimed at identifying and describing teachers’ attitudes to and experiences in implementing inclusive education in South Africa. The main themes identified in all three studies include inadequate knowledge, skills and training for the implementation of inclusive education; lack of educational and teacher support; insufficient facilities and resources, and the potential effects of inclusive education on learners

Capability to be Educated—Inspiring and Inclusive Pedagogical Arrangements from Finnish Schools

The idea and concept of inclusive education have been debated, and different interpretations of what inclusion means and to whom it concerns have been presented. In this paper, we bring together notions of inclusive quality education, pedagogy, learning and teachers, and illustrate how the principle(s) of inclusion(s) has been enacted and translated into classroom practices in Finnish context. Drawing from Finnish teachers’ narratives, we highlight successful, small-scale and creative pedagogical arrangements and teachers’ sensitivity to recognize and commit to responding to the needs of diverse learners. Our argumentation is rooted in the capabilities approach. We carry out an evaluative exercise and examine how the classroom practices and teachers’ understandings of their students look like through the capabilities conceptualizations.</p

Reconceptualising education support services in South Africa

Inclusive education has been phased in in South Africa since 2001, but relies heavily upon adequate support services to support learners and teachers experiencing barriers to learning and development. This book focuses on the different levels of support provided in South African education – from School-based Support Teams to District-based Support Teams through to special and full-service schools, and how these could be reconceptualised to provide improved support to learners and teachers. Current research indicates that inclusive education is being implemented in varied and fragmented forms across the country, and the point of departure of this work is that education support services need to be improved and reconceptualised to ensure better support for inclusive education