Reference no: EM133294758

Case study

Qondi is 10 years old and currently in Grade 3. He is registered in this school for the first time. The language of teaching and learning is different from his home language and there are 60 registered learners in his classroom. He attends a school 5 km away from home and the school does not have scholar transport. He lives with his grandmother who sells vegetables at one of the taxi ranks in their area. They live in an informal settlement without water and sanitation. Qondi' s mother left him 6 months ago - no one knows where she is. Qondi is worried about his mother and constantly ask his grandmother about her. No one in the house has proper documentation (birth certificates or IDs), as their previous shack burnt down during the fire outbreak in their area. As a result, neither the child nor the grandmother is getting any official grant from the department of social welfare, so the family is dependent on the money that the grandmother gets from selling her own vegetables that she plants in the backyard of her home. Qondi and his grandmother take turns to look after the garden, either in the morning or evening. His schoolwork suffers, because he is always tired and cannot concentrate for a long time. After school, Qondi is expected to collect water from the tank which comes every afternoon, because there is no one else at home. No one is monitoring or assisting him with his homework or signing his school diary, as his grandmother comes home very late and is sometimes very frustrated if her sales did not go well. When he is at school, he often finds it difficult to concentrate and follow what the teacher is saying, because he is usually hungry and tired. During classroom activities he is unable to grasp letter-sound relationships, confuses letter-sounds when reading or writing, and complains that he cannot see what is written on the board. When he writes, he uses a modified tripod grasp to hold the pencil, and he usually does not finish his written work. He complains about his hand getting tired. The teacher placed him at the back of the classroom as he is taller than the other kids. He does not participate in classroom discussions but is able to answer questions when the teacher directly asks him questions. He enjoys working alone and listening to music. The teacher does not know why Qondi is always tired and comes to school late. She shouts at him for not doing his work and for his poor performance in class. Qondi gets nervous when the teacher shouts at him and hides at the back of the class so that he will not be noticed. However, Qondi is partially sighted and cannot see the board from the back of the class. No one knows about Qondi's visual impairment, because his eyes have never been tested. His academic performance is getting worse and worse. The teacher has noticed that the learner's diary is not signed regularly, and that homework given is not done. The teacher has tried several times to contact the parents, but there is no response.

Question 1.

Read the principles which underpin Inclusive Education and its definition as outlined in Education White Paper 6. As a Foundation Phase teacher, critically analyse how you can implement these principles to respond to the diverse learning needs of all the learners in your classroom by giving practical examples.

Question 2.

Differentiate between intrinsic and extrinsic barriers to learning. Based on the case study, identify the barriers to learning (intrinsic and extrinsic) experienced by Qondi that might affect his teaching and learning.