Developing An Inclusive Classroom Environment For Adult Learners With Disabilities: An Exploration Of Accommodations And Accessibility In Capricorn District Community Learning Centres

Inclusive education has been a sustaining value in South Africa’s adult and community education sector; yet adults with disabilities seem to encounter major barriers when they try to participate effectively in Community Learning Centres especially in rural and less privileged areas. Through a qualitative approach, this research looks at the development of an inclusive classroom environment by investigating what accommodations and accessibility practices exist for adult learners with special needs in Community Learning Centres in Capricorn District, Limpopo Province. To explore to what extent institutional conditions, teacher practices, as well as classroom interactions influence students' experiences, the study is informed by the perspectives of inclusive education, as well as disability studies. Data were collected through semi structured interviews with adult learners with disabilities, adult educators and centre managers, the interviews were complemented by non-participant classroom observations and document analysis. Thematic analysis revealed four major overlapping themes: it was found that the physical and infrastructural accessibility persistently cause great inconvenience; then the teaching methods and assessment accommodations are variably adjusted; furthermore, there is a lack of readiness of educators to teach inclusively, and finally the support for disability inclusion from the institutions is limited. The results show that the implementation of inclusive education in the classroom is still far from the policy ideals of the same and often inclusive education depends more on the willingness and initiative of the individual teacher than on the support of the whole institution. The lack of resources, the absence of proper assistive instruments, and the limited professional development opportunities keep the implementation of inclusive education at a low level. Nonetheless, the examples of flexible instruction, students helping each other, and students’ capability evidence the possibility of creating more inclusive adult education settings. In light of these findings, the author suggests that in order to make inclusion more effective in the Community Learning Centres it calls for a long term commitment from the institutions, regular training for educators, physical and curriculum accessibility and approaches that involve adult learners with disabilities as helpers of their education thus jointly providing national lifelong learning opportunities that are fair.