© Kamla-Raj 2013 J Soc Sci, 34(3): 223-228 (2013)

The State of Inclusive Education in Zimbabwe: Bachelor ofEducation (Special Needs Education) Students’ Perceptions

Regis Chireshe

College of Education, Department of Psychology of Education,P.O. Box 392 UNISA, 0003 South Africa

E-mail: chirer@unisa.ac.za

KEYWORDS Bachelor of Education. Disability. Inclusion. Perceptions. Mainstreaming. Students. Students withSpecial Needs. Zimbabwe

ABSTRACT The study sought to establish the current state of inclusive education in Zimbabwe. Focus was on theperceived gains of inclusive education, challenges in its implementation and how the challenges could be addressed.A survey design which was fundamentally qualitative in nature was used. Forty-two Bachelor of Education (SpecialNeeds Education)(BEd SNE) purposefully selected students from Great Zimbabwe University participated in thestudy. The data were collected using an open ended questionnaire and were content analysed. The results revealedthat the participants perceived inclusive education as having resulted in social acceptance of children with specialeducational needs. They perceived inclusion as having promoted positive attitudes among children without disabil-ities and in communities. Stigmatisation and discrimination were perceived as having been reduced. The challengesthat were still perceived to be experienced included: lack of specific policy on inclusive education; scarcity ofresources such as special needs education trained teachers and assistive devices; existence of negat ive attitudesamong some stakeholders and lack of understanding of the meaning of inclusive education. The participantssuggested several ways to address some of the above challenges. These included enacting a specific policy oninclusive education, training more teachers in special needs education, implementing more community awarenessprogrammes, having itinerant specialist teachers, sufficient funding of the education system as a whole and availingmore resources for inclusion.

INTRODUCTION

The adoption of UNESCO’s Salamanca state-ment and framework for action on special needseducation (UNESCO 1994) has resulted in inclu-sion of children with special educational needsin educational settings becoming a primary ser-vice option. According to UNESCO, inclusiveeducation is a process of addressing and re-sponding to the diverse needs of all children byincreasing participation in learning and reduc-ing exclusion within and from education (Nguy-et and Ha 2010). It is a process of increasing thepresence, participation and achievement of alllearners (Booth and Ainscow 2002). The pro-cess involves mainstreaming children with spe-cial educational needs into regular classroomsettings, allowing them to learn side by side withtheir peers without disabilities. Inclusive educa-tion implies that children with special educationalneeds have to attend mainstream schools theywould have attended if they did not have a dis-ability. Mainstreaming children with specialneeds education has a positive impact on bothsocial and academic learning for children withand without special needs (Farrell 2000). Similar-ly, Bunch (2008) views the inclusive education

philosophy as socially just and more effectivein both academic and social spheres. Educationalauthorities worldwide have adopted the princi-ple of inclusion to address their social and moralobligation to educate all learners (Forbes 2007).Bunch (2008) argues that inclusive education isa new human rights and social justice approachto education and disability. It is a symbol of re-spect for all of humanity.

From the above, one may argue that inclu-sive education is about social justice and equityand takes into account learners’ abilities, poten-tial and diverse needs. The learner does not haveto adapt to the school system. The school or theeducation system has to change in order to meetthe learning needs of all children in a given com-munity (Kisanji 1999; Armstrong 2005). In otherwords, inclusion involves restructuring the cul-tures, policies and practices in schools so thatthey respond to the diversity of students in theirlocality (Booth and Ainscow 2002). The guidingprinciple in inclusive education is that all learn-ers have a right to learn in mainstream schools.It guarantees children with disabilities their rightto education and helps achieve equality(UNICEF nd).

224 REGIS CHIRESHE

Zimbabwe is a signatory to the Salamancastatement and framework for action on specialneeds education and several other inclusiveeducation related international charters and con-versions (Mpofu et al. 2007; Musengi et al. 2010;Chireshe 2011). Although Zimbabwe does nothave an inclusive education specific policy, ithas inclusive education related policies like theEducation Act of 1996 and the Zimbabwe Dis-abled Persons Act of 1996 which advocates fornon discrimination in the provision of educa-tion and non discrimination of people with dis-abilities in Zimbabwe respectively.

Inclusive education has been implementedsuccessfully in many countries (Nguyet and Ha2010). Such countries have successfully promot-ed inclusive education practices and policies thateliminate barriers and create enabling conditionsfor all learners to learn. For example, New Zealandhas a range of policy and legislative initiativesthat support the rights of children with specialneeds to an inclusive education. According toCarroll-Lind and Lees (2009), the New Zealand’sSpecial Education Policy Guidelines (M.E. 2003)states that children with special needs educa-tion have the same rights to high quality educa-tion as their colleagues without special needseducation. Other countries with inclusive edu-cation policies include Australia (Department ofEducation and Training 2004) and Finland (Jarv-inen 2007; Takala et al. 2009). Takala et al. (2009)reveal that almost every school in Finland hasone or more permanent special education teach-ers. Where such teachers are not available, forexample in rural schools, peripatetic teachers areavailable. Peripatetic teachers also known as itin-erant teachers are teachers who travel aroundlocal mainstream schools and communities tooffer advice, resources and support to childrenwith disabilities, their teachers and their parents(Lynch and McCall 2007).

Inclusive education has also been success-ful where all stakeholders: parents, teachers,people with disabilities and significant othersimpress the vision and value of inclusive changeon government and school leadership (Bunch2008). In addition, inclusive education is suc-cessful where all learners are accepted as truelearners at their own level of ability and wherethere is collaboration among all players in edu-cation: teachers, specialist teachers, parents,supporting disciplines and students (Bunch2008). The present study sought to establish

the present status of inclusive education in Zim-babwe as perceived by Bachelor of Education(Special Needs Education) (BEd SNE) students.

A number of barriers to inclusive educationhave been identified in a number of countries.For example, in Malawi, lack of coordination be-tween stakeholders (Griender 2010), in SouthAfrica, lack of knowledge among teachers (Pot-tas 2005; Stofile and Green 2007), and in Zimba-bwe, lack of resources, lack of training amongteachers, lack of commitment by policy makers(Peresuh 2000; Mushoriwa 2002; Musengi et al.2010).

Since signing the 1994 Salamanca statementand framework for action on special needs edu-cation, a number of strides have been made onthe principle of inclusive education in Zimba-bwe. There is need to establish the present sta-tus of inclusive education since its initial imple-mentation. Previous inclusive education stud-ies in Zimbabwe for example, Peresuh (2000),Makowe (2005), Musengi et al. (2010) andChireshe (2011) have all made numerous recom-mendations aimed at improving inclusive edu-cation. The recommendations include: runningawareness campaigns, coordinating stakehold-ers, training of teachers and availing resources.The present study would want to establish ifthe BEd SNE students perceive the Zimbabwe-an state of inclusive education as having im-proved over the years.

Goals of the Study

The study sought to establish the presentstatus of inclusive education in Zimbabwe asperceived by BEd SNE trainee teachers. Thestudy also sought to establish the trainee teach-ers’ perceived suggestions on improving inclu-sive education implementation in Zimbabwe.

METHOD

Design

The survey design which was mainly quali-tative in nature was used. Surveys are normallyappropriate for studies that seek to obtain par-ticipants’ perceptions, opinions and beliefs on aphenomenon (Slavin 2007). Since the presentstudy sought to obtain BEd SNE trainee teach-ers’ perceptions on the status of inclusive edu-cation in Zimbabwe, the survey design was cho-sen as the most appropriate design for the study.

INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN ZIMBABWE 225

Sample

Forty-two (27 females, 15 males) first andsecond year BEd SNE students at Great Zimba-bwe University took part in the study. The stu-dents were purposefully sampled. In purposefulsampling, the researcher selects the participantsbecause they possess particular characteristicsor knowledge being sought (Cohen et al. 2007).In this study, BEd SNE students were selectedbecause of their knowledge and experience ininclusive education. Their age ranged from 27 to46 years while their experience in Special NeedsEducation ranged from 1 to 18 years.

Instrumentation

A questionnaire with mainly open endeditems was used in this study. The items focusedon the gains of inclusive education, current chal-lenges faced in implementing inclusive educa-tion and how the challenges can be overcome.Two inclusive education experts were asked tocheck on the relevance and clarity of the ques-tionnaire items.

Procedure

A research assistant distributed and collect-ed the questionnaire. She explained the purposeof the study to potential participants (BEd SNEstudents). Participants were informed that par-ticipation was voluntary and that they were freeto withdraw from the study at any stage duringthe study.

Data Analysis

The data was content analysed. Contentanalysis produces a relatively systematic andcomprehensive summary of data (Silverman2004). Recurrent instances were systematicallyidentified and grouped together.

RESULTS

The results are presented in Table 1 in accor-dance to the categories that emerged. Table 1shows that the participants viewed inclusiveeducation as having resulted in social accep-tance, positive attitudes and reduction of dis-crimination and stigmatisation. The Table alsoshows the perceived current challenges faced

in implementing inclusive education as includ-ing: lack of specific policy on inclusive educa-tion, lack of resources, negative attitudes andmisunderstanding of inclusive education. TheTable further shows that the participants felt thecurrent challenges to inclusive education couldbe reduced by training more teachers in inclu-sive education, running community awarenesscampaigns, having peripatetic or itinerant teach-ers, enacting a specific policy on inclusive edu-cation and providing more resources to inclu-sive education. The participants felt that theGovernment should sufficiently fund inclusiveeducation.

DISCUSSION

It emerged from this study that social accep-tance of children with disabilities was perceivedto have improved as a result of inclusive educa-tion. Thus, the participants perceived societyas having developed positive attitudes towardschildren with disabilities in general and thosewho were included in particular. The perceivedsocial acceptance could have resulted from chil-

Table 1: Bachelor of Special Needs Education stu-dents’ perceptions of the present status of inclu-sive education in Zimbabwe

Category Responses

Current Gains of - Social acceptance- Promotion Inclusive Education of positive attitudes-

Reduced discrimination andstigma tisation-Childrenwith disabilities involvedcommunity activities

Current Challenges - Absence of a specific policyon inclusive education-Inadequate resources (fewteachers trained in inclusiveeducation, lack of gargets

such as hearing aids andBraille machines)- Negativeattitudes towards disabilities-Poor conceptualisation ofinclusive education

Overcoming the - Massive training of teachers Challenges in inclusive education and

special needs education-Running inclusive educationcommunity awarenessprogrammes - Engagingperipatetic/itinerant speci-alist teachers- Provision ofmore resources for inclusiveeducation- Sufficient fundingfor the education system

226 REGIS CHIRESHE

dren with disabilities having developed socialskills from the practice (Peresuh 2000) leadingthem to socialize with those without disabilities.The included children could probably have dem-onstrated their abilities hence the acceptance.Literature reveals that learners with disabilitiesachieve high levels of academic and socialachievement in inclusive settings than in segre-gated settings (Bunch 2008). Thus, socialachievement may have resulted in the learnersin inclusive settings being socially accepted.Related to social acceptance and positive atti-tudes was the perception that the discrimina-tion and stigmatisation of children with disabil-ities had been reduced. This was a positive de-velopment from previous Zimbabwean studies(Mpofu 2000; Peresuh 2000; Mpofu et al. 2007;Chireshe 2011) where discrimination and stig-matisation against people with disabilities wasreported to be very high. Related findings wereobtained by (Mutepfa et al. 2007) who believedthat Zimbabwean regular class teachers weredeveloping positive attitudes towards includedchildren. Continuous exposure to children withdisabilities may have lead to the perceived im-proved social acceptance.

The study also revealed that lack of specificpolicy on inclusive education was perceived asa key challenge to successful implementation ofinclusive education in Zimbabwe. Legal supportfor inclusive education is implied from the Zim-babwe Education Act of 1996 and the Zimba-bwean Disabled Persons Act of 1996. The Edu-cation Act of 1996 introduced free and compul-sory education for all students regardless of anydemographic differences while the Disabled Per-sons Act of 1996 addresses the rights of peoplewith disabilities in relation to education, employ-ment, recreational facilities and community andsocial services. However, Carroll-Lind and Rees(2009) cite literature (Forest and Pearpoint 1992;Mentis et al. 2005; Spedding 2008) arguing thatinclusive education is still more about attitudethan legislation and that inclusive values andbeliefs should underpin the whole school cul-ture because they determine the policies andpractices that will be put into place. Thus, legis-lation may be there but if society hold negativeattitudes towards people experiencing disabili-ties and other marginalised groups, the successof inclusive education process may be far fromover. Nguyet and Ha (2010) support the aboveidea by arguing that inclusive education can only

succeed if teachers, principals and other educa-tion stakeholders maintain a positive attitudetowards it.

The study revealed that the implementationof inclusive education in Zimbabwe was per-ceived to be presently affected by lack of re-sources. Previous Zimbabwean studies (Mpofu2000; Peresuh 2000; Mpofu et al. 2007; Chireshe2011) lamented on the shortage of resources asan impediment to the implementation of inclu-sive education. Similar findings were also ob-tained in Namibia (Zimba et al. 2007) and SouthAfrica (Eloff and Kqwete 2007). The lack of re-sources is worsened by the high teacher pupilratio (1 to 40) in many Zimbabwean primaryschools. Because of this high teacher pupil ra-tio, teachers are left with no room to cater forchildren with disabilities. Negative attitudes to-wards children with disabilities still prevailing inthe country may also negatively affect the pro-vision of resources to them. The funding availedfor education in the country in general and in-clusive education in particular is insufficient.

The participants also felt that some societymembers did not understand the meaning of in-clusive education. This could be because of lackof awareness campaigns focusing on the phe-nomenon and lack of exposure to inclusive edu-cation best practices. Some people were believedto understand inclusive education just as themere presence of children with disabilities inmainstream school even if the schools had notbeen adjusted to meet the unique needs of thesechildren. This finding confirms Forbes’ (2007)argument that there is usually a misconceptionthat inclusion refers to a place where childrenwith disabilities are learning and not the pro-cess of learning. Real inclusive education en-tails schools restructuring in order to meet thelearning needs of all learners in a given commu-nity (Ainscow 1995; Kisanji 1999; Armstrong2005).

The study also revealed that most teacherswere perceived to be lacking training in inclu-sive education. This finding confirms some Zim-babwean studies (Peresuh 2000; Chireshe 2011).Despite more universities and teachers’ colleg-es in Zimbabwe training teachers in specialneeds education, many teachers remain un-trained in the area. Forbes (2007) argues that theobligations of inclusive education will be metwhen all schools have teachers with adequatetraining in special needs education. The partici-

INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN ZIMBABWE 227

pants in the present study believed that the chal-lenge of lack of teacher training in inclusive ed-ucation could be overcome by having peripatet-ic or itinerant specialist teachers. The implica-tion is that better services could be availed if theavailable specialist teachers could move fromone mainstream school to another assisting mainstream teachers and supporting the includedlearners. Itinerant teachers have been used incountries such as Ghana (Kuyini and Desai2008), Netherlands (Pijl and Hamstra 2005) andUganda and Kenya (Lynch and McCall 2007).However, lack of resources may negatively af-fect the availability of itinerant teachers. For ex-ample, Kuyini and Desai (2008) revealed that thefew itinerant teachers in Ghana could not meetthe demands of many children with disabilities.

It also emerged from the study that B Ed SNEstudents perceived that the implementation ofinclusive education could be improved by run-ning inclusive education awareness campaignsamong communities. Awareness campaigns thatinvolve people experiencing disabilities and sig-nificant others are most likely to improve atti-tudes towards people experiencing disability andacceptability of inclusive education.

CONCLUSION

From the findings of this study, it can beconcluded that positive gains of inclusive edu-cation have been observed in Zimbabwe. Theimplementation of inclusive education in thecountry is viewed as having improved althoughlack of resources is painted as a significant bar-rier. The lack of resources may be compoundedby the perceived lack of a specific legislation oninclusive education and the perceived existenceof negative attitudes towards people experienc-ing disability.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the findings of this study, the fol-lowing recommendations are made: There is needfor continuous training of new teachers and in-servicing of teachers in inclusive education prac-tices. More inclusive education awareness cam-paigns should be lodged with all stakeholders.People with disabilities or experiencing disabili-ty need to play a central role in the awarenesscampaigns. Such awareness campaigns may re-sult in more positive attitudes towards people

with disabilities. Positive attitudes across allsectors may result in the enactment and imple-mentation of an explicitly inclusive educationpolicy. Improved attitudes may also result in fairallocation of resources towards inclusive edu-cation. The study was carried out with BEd SNEstudents from one university. There is need toreplicate the study with students from other in-stitutions of higher learning in the country.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This paper was initially presented at LICE2012- London International Conference on Edu-cation, Thistle Hotel, London, 19-21 November.The conference attendance was sponsored by aUNISA Research grant.

REFERENCES

Armstrong D 2005. Voice, Rituals and Transitions:What is Inclusive Education Really About? Paperpresented at the Inclusive and Supportive Educa-tion Congress, University of Strath-clyde, 1-4 Au-gust, Glasgow, Scotland.

Booth T, Ainscow M 2002. Index for Inclusion. Devel-oping Learning and Participation in Schools. Bris-tol: Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education.

Bunch G 2008. Key to successful inclusive education: Aperspective from experience in the field. RevistaEducation Inclusiva, 1: 91-101.

Carroll-Lind J, Rees K 2009. School for All: Children’sRights to an Inclusive Education in New Zealand.Proceedings of the Making Inclusive EducationHappen: Ideas for Sustainable Change, Te Papa,Wellington, September 28 to 30, 2009.

Chireshe R 2011. Trainee special needs education teach-ers’ attitudes towards inclusive education in Zimba-bwe. Journal of Social Sciences, 27(3): 157-164.

Cohen L, Manion L, Morrison K 2007. Research Meth-ods in Education. London: Routledge.

Department of Education and Training 2004. Path-ways to the Future: A Report of the Review ofEducational Services for Students with Disabilitiesin Government School. From <http://www.eddep.wa.edu.au/disrev/> (Retrieved June 27, 2012).

Elof F I, Kqwete LK 2007. South African Teachers’Voices on Support in Inclusive Education. Child-hood Education, From <http://www. thefreelibrary.com/South+African+teachers’+ voices+on+support+in+inclusive+education> (Retrieved March 16,2011).

Farrell P 2000. The impact of research on develop-ments in inclusive education. International Jour-nal of Inclusive Education, 4: 153-162.

Forbes F 2007. Inclusion policy: Towards inclusion: AnAustralian perspective. Support for Learning ,22(2): 66-71.

Griender E 2010. Making Education Inclusive. Con-ference at the University of Malawi, Chancellor Col-lege, September 2-4, 2010.

228 REGIS CHIRESHE

Jarvinen R 2007. Current Trends in Inclusive Educa-tion in Finland. UNESCO . From <http://www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user.. . / 2007/.. . /Cu rrent_trends.pdf (Retrieved May 18, 2012).

Kisanji J 1999. Historical and Theoretical Basis ofInclusive Education. Keynote Address for the Work-shop on “Inclusive Education in Namibia: TheChallenges for Teacher Education,” Rossing Foun-dation, Khomasdal, Windhoek, Namibia March 24to 25, 1999.

Kuyini AB, Desai 1 2008. Providing instruction to stu-dents with special needs in inclusive classrooms inGhana: Issues and challenges. International Jour-nal of Whole Schooling, 4(1): 22-38.

Lynch P, McCall S 2007. The role of itinerant teach-ers. Community Eye Health Journal, 20(62): 26-27.

Makowe Really 2005. An Examination of the Attitudesof Trainee Specialist Teachers Towards Inclusionat Masvingo State University. B Ed Dissertation,Unpublished. Masvingo State University.

Mpofu E, Kasayira J, Mhaka MM, Chireshe R, Maun-ganidze L 2007. Inclusive education in Zimbabwe.In: Petra Engelbrecht, L Green (Eds.): Respondingto the Challenges of Inclusive Education in South-ern Africa. Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers, pp.66-79.

Mpofu E 2000. Inclusive Education of Students withMental Retardation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Paperpresented at a Seminar on Meeting the Needs ofPeople with Disabilities through Inclusion, 2000,Horizon 2010, Harare, The British Council andZimcare Trust, October 11-12, 2000.

Mushoriwa TD 2002. Beyond separate schooling: Mar-ginalised voices becoming louder. African Journalof Special Needs Education, 7(1): 34-42.

Musengi M, Mudyahoto T, Chireshe R 2010. Sportsparticipation by pupils with disabilities in inclusiveeducation settings in Masvingo Urban, Zimbabwe.Educational Journal of Behavioral Science, 1(1):4-25.

Mutepfa MM, Mpofu E, Chakaita T 2007. InclusiveEducation in Zimbabwe: Policy, Curriculum, Prac-

tice, Family and Teacher Education Issues. Child-hood Education. From <http://www. the freelibrary.com/Inclusive+education+in +Zimba-bwe+policy+curriculum+practice> (Retrieved November22, 2011).

Nguyet DT, Ha LT 2010. Preparing Teachers for In-clusive Education 2010. Catholic Relief Services,Vietnam. From <http://www.crsprogramquality.org/storage/pubs/edu> (Retrieved May 17, 2012).

Peresuh M 2000. Facilitating the Inclusion of Mental-ly Handicapped Children in Zimbabwe. Paper pre-sented at a Seminar on Meeting the Needs of Peo-ple with Disabilities through Inclusion, 2000, Ho-rizon 2010, Harare, The British Council and Zim-care Trust, October 11-12, 2000.

Pijl SJ, Hamstra D 2005. Assessing pupil developmentand education in an inclusive setting. InternationalJournal of Inclusive Education, 9(2): 181-192.

Pottas Lidia 2005. Inclusive Education in South Afri-ca: The Teacher of the Child with a Hearing Loss.DPhil Thesis, Unpublished. Pretoria: University ofPretoria .

Silverman D (Ed.) 2004. Qualitative Research: Theo-ry, Methods and Practice. London: Sage.

Slavin RE 2007. Educational Research in an Age ofAccountability . Boston: Pearson.

Stofile SY, Green L 2007. Inclusive education in SouthAfrica. In: Petra Engelbrecht, L Green, (Eds.): Re-sponding to the Challenges of Inclusive Educationin Southern Africa. Pretoria: Van Schaik Publish-ers, pp. 52-65.

Takala M, Pirttimaa R, Tormanen M 2009. Inclusivespecial education: The role of special educationteachers in Finland. British Journal of Special Ed-ucation , 36(2): 162-172.

UNICEF nd. Transition to Inclusive Education in Ar-menia. Out of School Children Paper Series.

UNSECO 1994. World Conference on Special Needs:Framework for Action. Salamanca, Spain.

Zimba RF, Mowes AD, Naanda AN 2007. Inclusive ed-ucation in Namibia. In: Petra Engelbrecht, L Green(Eds.): Responding to the Challenges of InclusiveEducation in Southern Africa. Pretoria: Van SchaikPublishers, pp. 39-51.