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.