Adjusting secondary teacher training programmes in Botswana to ensure effective support within inclusive education

[摘要] Educational support to learners has for many decades followed the traditionalmodernist approach predominant in special education: learners were classified andcategorized according to the medical model of need. The advent of inclusiveeducation towards the end of the twentieth century, with a totally different approachto need and support, created a mammoth challenge to teachers in inclusiveclassrooms and staff within education support services, especially in developingcountries. A leap had to be made from the medical model to a social and ecosystemicmodel of need, where the focus shifted to a holistic view of support needs,whether it is located in the learner, the family, the peer group, the school or thebroader society �?or the interaction amongst these systems that should beaddressed.It is evident therefore that there is a need for teacher training programmes toundergo transformation that will enable ordinary or general education teachers oreducators to function effectively within the inclusive education system.This study investigated whether secondary special or inclusive education teachertraining in Botswana has taken the leap towards producing 'diplomates who caneffectively support learners in their inclusive classrooms. Furthermore, the studyendeavoured to propose a future model for secondary special/inclusive educationteacher training. Participants in the empirical investigation included teachers from thetwo secondary colleges of education (Molepolole �?MCE, and Tonota �?TCE),teacher trainers, school heads as well as knowledgeable persons in the area ofinclusive education and support. Questionnaires and interviews were used forcollecting data.International developments on inclusive education teacher training and support wereconsidered while conducting the empirical investigation. Examples of those include:international developments on the model of special or inclusive education teachertraining; teacher competencies, knowledge and skills relevant for inclusive educationand support; challenges to inclusive teacher training in institutions and factors tofacilitate effective teacher performance in the field. Subsequent to studying international perspectives on special or inclusive educationteacher training and investigating the status of special or inclusive education teachertraining in Botswana secondary colleges, the researcher reached the conclusion thatthe current teacher training programme has to a large extent not taken the leaptowards inclusive education teacher training. The programme would therefore notenable teachers to function effectively within the inclusive system of education. Thefindings included amongst others that the programme is predominantly focused onthe traditional modernist approach �?teachers are trained along the medical model. Itwas also established that there are other factors that contribute to the ineffectivenessof the programme, for example, unavailability and inadequacy of human and materialresources and a lack of policy and guidelines on inclusive education and support atinstitutional and currently at national level (the national policy still being in progress).On the other hand, it has to be acknowledged that the programme has some positiveareas that match international developments on special or inclusive educationteacher training. These areas are that the programme is studied by all trainees and itis also broad-based. Moreover, there are programme components that are ofimportance to successful implementation of inclusive education support, such as theIndividualised Education Programmes/Plans (IEPs).This study may be used as a basis for evaluating the current special or inclusiveeducation teacher training programmes at the Botswana secondary colleges ofeducation, namely MCE and TCE. It is also envisaged that the proposed teachertraining model will be of great assistance during the reviewing and restructuring ofthese (and other international) programmes.

[发布机构] University of the Free State