CHAPTER 4: DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
4.0 INTRODUCTION
This chapter seeks to present, analyze and interpret data collected for this research using
qualitative design. The views presented in this chapter are summarized from interviews,
document analysis and observations that were conducted.
The researcher was guided by the research questions which were as follows:
Are ECD caregivers knowledgeable of the inclusive education policy?
At their centers do they enroll pupils with special needs?
Are they implementing the inclusive education policy at their centres?
What are their perceptions on inclusive education policy?
4.1 QUESTION ONE SOUGHT TO ESTABLISH WHETHER THE CAREGIVERS AND
DIRECTORS WERE KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE INCLUSIVE EDUCATION.
The researcher found that most caregivers and directors of private ECD centres have knowledge
of inclusive education. Most of the respondents who took part in this research were female in
most institutions with a few being male. The male participants were mostly directors and had
professional qualifications. Some of the directors define inclusive education as:-
All children have the right to education; inclusive education includes all learners irrespective of
their greater or lesser difficulties. This is supported by the CRC (1989) Article 28 which
stipulates that education is compulsory to every child. Inclusive education is the response to the
diverse needs of all learners and ensuring quality education through appropriate curricular. This
shows that directors and caregivers have the knowledge of inclusive education.
Table 1: Knowledge of ECD centres’ caregivers on inclusive education.
Respondents Awareness Analysis
Directors They have knowledge of Directors of centers reported feeling frustrated
inclusive education and upset with how they communicate with
children with disabilities. On observing the
directors, they did not have that love which the
children with disabilities deserve. In other
centres directors did not have the documents
which are needed for children with disabilities
and also they don’t know how many children
they have at the centre. They said children
with disabilities were more demanding. The
researcher conducted that they have
knowledge on the phenomenon.
Caregivers – They also have the There were taught at colleges and universities
ECD qualified knowledge of inclusive so they have the knowledge of inclusive
teachers education education.
Student They have the knowledge of Student teachers have the knowledge of
Teachers inclusive education inclusive education because they are taught at
the colleges. When the researcher was
observing, student teachers have the care
needed to teach children with disabilities and
also they are committed because they need to
learn more
Paraprofessiona They do not have the Lack of proper training causes them to fail to
l knowledge of inclusive handle children with special needs, they will
education therefore need experts. They proposed to be
educated through workshops.
4.2 QUESTION TWO SOUGHT TO FIND OUT WHETHER PRIVATE ECD CENTRES
ENROLED PUPILS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
Findings were gathered from different respondents as shown in the table below.
Table 2: Are ECD private centres in Gweru enrolling pupils with special needs?
Respondents Enrolments Analysis
Directors They enroll children with When asked about enrolment directors said
disabilities they enroll children with disabilities but
when conducting an observation at their
centres there were no children with
disabilities at some centres. At other centres
they are enrolled because these private
centres need money. One out of four private
ECD centres enrolls children with
disabilities. Their register and enrolment
forms showed that children with disabilities
are enrolled at the centre and they are also
catered for, three out of four directors
showed that they cannot enroll children with
different disabilities because of the facilities
found at their centres. They also mentioned
that there was a need for specialists at their
centres, and have a nurse from health
department to assist with those who need
medical assistance
Caregivers Children with disabilities are Caregivers at the centres cater for all
also enrolled at private ECD children. Their attitude towards children
Centres with disabilities is positive. The resources
and materials will not fulfill their ambitions.
When the researcher was observing their
lessons delivery some caregivers tried their
best to accommodate all children in the
class. On other centres when interviewed
caregivers gave different answers. Some
said they need infrastructure, materials
which are suited for children with disability.
When going for outdoor play, children with
disabilities are not accommodated because
of the equipment which is at the outdoor
play area. When the researcher was
observing some children with special needs
were left seated in the classroom.
Student Children with disabilities They don’t have a voice because they want
Teachers should be enrolled in the to learn. When given children with different
mainstream disabilities they accommodate them. Some
students follow what their directors do. As
an observer one found that student teachers
are eager to learn more about inclusive
education. So they need support from care
givers and parents. They said they need
more information from parents and they
need to be supported.
Paraprofessiona Children with disabilities When given children with disabilities they
l should also be enrolled at don’t say anything because they fear they
private centres can lose their jobs
It seemed that most directors and caregivers who participated in the interviews practiced
inclusivity at their centres. The researcher found that the directors of the centres are afraid of
enrolling children with disabilities at their centres. On their response they showed that most
parents who have able bodied children do not want their children to mix with children with
disabilities. Their enrolment will become low. The aim of private ECD centres is to generate
money so they also give the reason that these children also need caregivers who are specialized
in this area. The directors of the centres do not have time with children with disabilities all the
time they will be moving around. The Department of Education (2001) explains that inclusive
education is about acknowledging that all children can learn and accepting the fact that all
learners are different in some learning needs which need to be respected to maximize their
participation in the culture and curricular of education institutions.
4.4
Table 3: IS INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IMPLEMENTED AT THE PRIVATE CENTRES?
Respondents Implementation Analysis
Directors Implementation of inclusive Directors said that one can practice
education at private ECD inclusion but resources are limited or are
centres not available at all. Directors do implement
the policy of inclusive education.
Observation showed that they need help in
terms of getting proper human resources
that could give special attention to children
with special needs.
Caregivers Inclusive education is also When interviewing the caregivers about
implemented at the private ECD implementation of inclusive education they
centres said that because of few resources, poor
infrastructure, and lack of academic
material they cannot have 100% inclusive
education. They also need specialists who
are trained to cater for children with
disabilities. Activities done in the
classroom are for all children and are
centered on physical exercises for all
children with or without disabilities.
Developing countries encounter countless challenges when attempting to implement inclusive
education. For example the facilities to accommodate for children with special needs are often
non-existent or inadequate in many developing countries (Elweke and Rodda, 2002). Many
developing countries lack basic educational material and equipment to provide a sufficient
education for children with special needs.
Although Directors and Caregivers in this study showed positive attitudes towards the inclusion
of children with different disabilities they encountered difficulties in implementing inclusion on
their centres. According to Vanghn and Schumn (1995) implementing successful inclusion often
requires adequate support staff or human resources. On implementing the inclusive education
policy 35% of respondents said they had a special class for the children with disabilities whilst
the remaining 65% of the respondents mix the children together and teach them as one class.
4.5 PREPAREDNESS FOR INCLUSIVITY
The researcher also found that even though the centres did enroll children with special needs,
they faced the challenge of inadequate resources, materials and infrastructure
Respondents Preparedness Analysis
Directors There are inadequate There were no materials or resources
resources and materials. that could be used by children with
Infrastructure is also not disabilities at their centres. In the
properly suited to interviews conducted, they said that
accommodate children this was due to the fact that they
with special needs. were not properly financed to
procure such items. These items
include braille books, wheelchairs
and hearing aids amongst other
resources. These cost a lot of money
and these centres get most of their
revenues from fees paid by pupils
and that is not enough to procure
these materials. Infrastructure is also
not suitable for children with
disabilities as there are no ramps for
wheelchairs and rails for children
with mobility difficulties. The
outdoor play areas were also not
suitable for children with special
needs
Caregivers Resources are not there Caregivers also gave the same
but they improvise to responses as the directors did but
accommodate children they said that as they were the ones
with special needs conducting the lessons they had to
improvise where possible to ensure
that the children with special needs
felt as comfortable as possible in the
classroom. They have to make
makeshift structures at the toilets to
ensure that every child is
accommodated. When it comes to
mobility they carried those that
needed the help and sometimes they
would bring different toys that
would help these children feel
accommodated by playing with them
different games than those the able
bodied played. However the lack of
resources proved to be a huge
challenge that undermined the
inclusive policy implementation at
the ECD centres.
4.6 HUMAN RESOURCES
The researcher found out through interviews that at almost every centre the caregivers were not
properly trained to handle children with disabilities. They could not assist children who were
blind or deaf as this needed special training. They highlighted that it would be helpful if they
were trained through workshops and seminars how to help children with these kinds of
disabilities. Despite all this they still practiced inclusive education as they had such children at
their centres. The researcher also observed that some of the caregivers at certain centers had
difficulty in handling almost all types of disabilities.
4.7 WHAT ARE THEIR PERCEPTIONS ON INCLUSIVE EDUCATION POLICY
Respondents Perceptions Analysis
Directors They view inclusivity Directors said that children with
as the best education disabilities are acceptable and
system including them will help all children to
accept them both at school and in the
community. The directors also said
that the caregivers should accept
children with different disabilities at
the centre. They should be prepared to
pay special attention to the children.
Caregivers – qualified Inclusion is a better Caregivers believed that it would
teachers method of teaching enhance the leaning abilities of the
children with children with disabilities and also
disabilities build up their confidence. They also
believed that inclusive education
would promote acceptance which is
crucial to their children’s social and
emotional development. They have
found inclusive education very useful
and valuable. Caregivers said that they
needed support from the directors and
parents. They also said that they
needed proper facilities which cater
for all children including those with
disabilities. They perceived that if
inclusion was going to work, it needed
the involvement of all stakeholders,
that is, the school and the community.
Student teachers They were still The student teachers saw inclusivity as
learning but it’s a a better way of building the children’s
good programme confidence. They were still learning a
lot about the policy’s practical aspects
but they were positive that it was an
excellent teaching method
Para-professionals They did not quite They lacked training therefore did not
understand the policy fully understand the policy although
they thought that having disabled
children was good for them as they
would be accepted into the
community.
All the respondents did not share the same views regarding inclusive education for children with
disabilities. However some caregivers and directors also perceived that these children would
learn more if they were with other children in regular centres. This showed that they were
embracing the policy of inclusion. They also need the government to assist in the provision of
materials and equipment. These have been seen to be expensive and some of which may not be
locally available, hence the need to be provided by the government. This would go a long way in
helping the children and the caregivers that teach them.
According to Seltzer (2001) mothers who usually used to hide their children were now bringing
them out because of inclusive education. This was mostly because there was no support from the
families and communities but the researcher found that with inclusive education the children
were accepting the children with special needs leading to a community that would generally
accept these children. From what was gathered by the researchers, it was observed that the lack
of financial resources and limited access to medical and rehabilitation services caused frustration
to parents which resulted in reduced attention to the child but with inclusive education the
caregivers said that they were helping parents understand their children and give attention to
them.
Conclusion
In this chapter the researcher presented and interpreted data collected in the private ECD centres
in Gweru urban. The researcher found that in private ECD centres the directors and caregivers
need to be educated about inclusive education, so that the implementation becomes successful.
The directors and caregivers have the knowledge of inclusive education, but their enrolment is
not 100% because at the other centres the researcher observed there are no children with
disabilities. This was due to the fact that they don’t have facilities which cater for these children
with special needs. Chapter five is going to summarize and give conclusions made in this study.