The aim of this paper is to investigate the quality of experience of students with and without SE... more The aim of this paper is to investigate the quality of experience of students with and without SEN in everyday life in general and when relating to peers in particular: (1) How do they experience everyday school life vs. leisure time? (2) How much time per week do they spend with peers outside school? and (3) How do they experience those peer contacts? The data comprised 120 grade 8 (20%) and grade 9 (80%) students from the German-speaking part of Switzerland, with a mean age of 15.8 years (SD = 0.8 years). Of these students, 42 were diagnosed with SEN, of which 32 were taught in regular classes and 10 in special classes. Students were asked to report their current affective states on about 31 randomly selected occasions during one week, with a total of 3758 'snapshots' of their activities and their emotional experience in everyday life. Data were collected using the experience sampling method. Momentary affective states were measured by the PANA short-scales. The findings show, first, that students with and without SEN from regular classes interact as often with peers during leisure time, while students with SEN from special classes are presumably more likely to interact with family. Second, adolescents experience leisure activities more positively than instruction. Third, social interactions generally have a positive effect on the quality of experience. The quality of experience is especially good for teenagers when they are with peers-best with peers during leisure time. There are no differences between the student groups.
We report on the relationships that exist between the critical thinking skills and the academic l... more We report on the relationships that exist between the critical thinking skills and the academic language proficiency of a group of first-year prospective teachers at a South African university (n = 89). The results revealed the nature of the critical thinking skills as well as the academic language proficiency of the students. Significant correlations between academic language proficiency and making inferences, as well as between academic language proficiency and critical thinking as a general competency, were noted. The article concludes with recommendations on how to enhance critical thinking and language proficiency in the teacher-training curriculum.
This book provides deep insight into the social situation of students with different kinds of spe... more This book provides deep insight into the social situation of students with different kinds of special needs in various European countries. Research findings concerning students' attitudes towards peers with disabilities, and teachers' feedback on students' social behaviour, are also presented. Full inclusion of students with special educational needs in mainstream education requires equity in each student's chances for academic and socialemotional development, and their participation in society. In the context of inclusive education, it is important to take students' social participation into consideration. Are students with special educational needs (SEN) accepted by their peers? Do they interact with their peers during breaks and classes? Do they have friends, or do they feel lonely in their class? This book seeks to answer such questions, seeing social participation as a crucial ingredient, as well as an outcome, of inclusive education. This topic is critical because many previous studies show students with SEN having a high risk of social exclusion. This volume will be of interest to everyone studying special needs education, especially those concerned with future improvement of social participation for all students.
The South African journal of communication disorders. Die Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir Kommunikasieafwykings, Dec 31, 1988
Die doel van die studie was om die aard en prevalensie van middeloordisfunksie by graad I stedeli... more Die doel van die studie was om die aard en prevalensie van middeloordisfunksie by graad I stedelike swart kinders te bepaal. 146 kinders uit. 'n primere skool het 'n oor-,neus-en keelondersoek, suiwertoon-en immittansiemetings ondergaan. 92,8Ψο van die ore was beide otologies en oudiologies normaal. Die prevalensie van middeloorpatologie was 7,2Ψο. Die algemeenste middeloorpatologie was sereuse otitis media. Uit die 292 ore het 18 ore met sereuse otitis media, 2 met 'n retraksie van die timpaniese membraan en slegs 1 met 'n perforasie voorgekom.
The needs and perceptions of South African Grade 4 educators, teaching English second-language (ESL) learners
Africa Education Review, 2005
... Beeld, 1 Julie. Kilfoil, WR and C. van der Walt. 1997. Learn 2 Teach. English language teachi... more ... Beeld, 1 Julie. Kilfoil, WR and C. van der Walt. 1997. Learn 2 Teach. English language teaching in a multilingual context. Pretoria: Van Schaik. LANGTAG Report. ... Practical research. Planning and design. New Jersey: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall. Lemmer, E. and J Squelch. ...
Inclusive Education Working Towards a Humane Society: A Perspective on Reality <sup>∗</sup>
International perspectives on inclusive education, Jun 29, 2023
Introduction: Teachers' sense of self-efficacy has been identified by research as a key factor in... more Introduction: Teachers' sense of self-efficacy has been identified by research as a key factor in the successful implementation of inclusive education. This article reports on disabling factors in South Africa that are reportedly influencing inclusive Full-Service school (FSS) teachers' sense of self-efficacy to implement inclusive education successfully. Methodology: A qualitative study, using semi-structured individual and group interviews as well as collages, was employed. Results: The findings revealed that the disabling factors included internal and external factors. Internal factors comprised a lack of knowledge and skills, including a lack of self-confidence, FSS teachers seeing themselves as a barrier, and physical and psychological problems. External factors were also identified. They are ineffective implementation of inclusive education, inadequate training, incompetent education department officials and managers, a lack of support from the education department, curriculum constraints, as well as disabling factors within the school system. Negative media perceptions were also mentioned. Conclusion: It was concluded that it is important for the basic and higher education departments of education to be aware of the identified disabling factors and purposefully attempt to improve the external factors, while ensuring that FSS teachers' capabilities are developed and sustained in in-service and pre-service teacher education. This could contribute to developing and improving their sense of self-efficacy.
This study aimed to investigate the job demands-resources profiles and work capabilities of speci... more This study aimed to investigate the job demands-resources profiles and work capabilities of special education teachers in Namibia and their effect on work engagement and intention to leave. A convenience sample was taken of teachers from seven different regions across Namibia (N = 200). The Capability Set for Work Questionnaire, the Job Demands-Resources Questionnaire, the Work Engagement Questionnaire, and the Intention to Leave Questionnaire were administered. Using latent profile analysis, four job demands-resources profiles were identified: resourceful job, demanding job, poor job, and rich job. A poor job was negatively associated with the capability to use knowledge and skills, while resourceful and rich jobs were associated with developing new knowledge and skills, being involved in important decisions, building and maintaining relationships, and setting own goals. Job experience was negatively associated with five of the seven capabilities. Resourceful and rich jobs and the capability set predicted a large percentage of the variance in work engagement and a moderate percentage of the variance in intention to leave. High emotional demands, coupled with overload and a lack of resources interfere with teachers' functioning (e.g., work engagement and intention to leave).
Evidence suggests scarcity of investigations on the relationship between critical thinking (CT) a... more Evidence suggests scarcity of investigations on the relationship between critical thinking (CT) and students' achievement in quantitative reasoning (QR) in Nigeria. This correlational study adopted a quantitative model to investigate critical thinking skills as correlates of achievement in quantitative reasoning among 1500 junior secondary school students in Lagos State, Nigeria. The study involved three research questions and two valid and reliable instruments {California Critical Thinking Skills Test-Form B (CCTST with KR-20=0.88 and the Quantitative Reasoning Achievement Test (QRAT with KR-20=0.92)} were used for data collection. Data collected were analysed by deploying the statistics of mean, standard deviation, Pearson productmoment correlation coefficient, and multiple regression analysis at 5% level of significance. The outcome of the study showed a prevalent shortfall of quantitative reasoning among the junior secondary school students in Lagos State. Results showed statistically weighty associations amid critical thinking and its gauges (analysis, deductive reasoning, inductive reasoning, evaluation, and inference) with students' quantitative reasoning achievement. In addition, the five gauges or indicators were weighty forecasters of quantitative reasoning achievement among the junior secondary school students. Based on the outcomes of this study, it was recommended that mathematics teachers should abstain from deploying teachercentered pedagogies that are hostile to students' comprehension of mathematical concepts and critical thinking. In conclusion, mathematics teachers should endeavour to integrate everyday life experience of the students into the mathematics taught in the classroom to enable purposeful utilization of mathematics.
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Some Grade 4 educators have expressed feelings of ineptitude regarding the support of ESL (Englis... more Some Grade 4 educators have expressed feelings of ineptitude regarding the support of ESL (English Second Language) learners with limited English proficiency as they do not know how to support these learners effectively. Their litany emphasises ESL educators' need for supportive and preventive intervention. A Story-based Language Enrichment Programme (SLEP) was compiled to suit the needs of educators teaching Grade 4 ESL learners with limited English proficiency. The programme was designed to maintain or improve the English proficiency of ESL learners. An intervention research method was followed to test the efficacy of SLEP. Forty teachers implemented SLEP over a six-week period. Thirty-nine teachers provided constructive feedback at the end of this period. Between 92% and 100% of the participants rated SLEP positively. Rural participants suggested some refinements to the program m e. The overall conclusion was that SLEP makes a useful contribution to ESL practice.
The purpose of this study was to develop a deeper understanding of a group of South African Engli... more The purpose of this study was to develop a deeper understanding of a group of South African English Second Language (ESL) Foundation Phase teachers' understanding of, skills in, and training needs to teach phonological awareness (PA) effectively. A qualitative research approach placed within an interpretative paradigm was utilised in two phases. The findings of the first phase reported in this article emphasised Foundation Phase (FP) teachers' inadequate knowledge of PA and their inability to teach PA effectively as a result of insufficient training coupled with their own limited proficiency in English. The findings therefore suggested that a strategy aimed towards developing support is likely to enhance PA teaching and learning in ESL.
Investigating the effectiveness of institutional‐level support teams at full‐service schools in South Africa
Support for Learning, May 1, 2021
In South Africa Education White Paper 6 introduced the establishment of Institutional‐Level Suppo... more In South Africa Education White Paper 6 introduced the establishment of Institutional‐Level Support Teams (ILST) at school level to support the learning and teaching process by identifying and addressing learner, teacher and institutional needs. The core priority of these teams is to implement properly co‐ordinated learner and teacher support services. This paper therefore explores the effectiveness of the ILSTs in providing support services at Full‐Service Schools (FSS). In this article the Rubin, Plovnick and Fry's GRPI model of team effectiveness (1977) was used to explore the effectiveness of the ILSTs in selected schools. By means of focus group interviews, data was generated from two strata, namely ILST members and district officials working directly with FSS. The study was a case study within a qualitative research design. Data was analysed using an inductive analytical framework and a group interpretive data analysis method. The results indicate some efficacy of support provision, but with numerous challenges regarding attention to the desired results, agreement on the standards and expectations, misunderstanding of the boundaries in which ILSTs operate, individual and shared responsibilities, conflict resolution, and effective methods for dealing with conflict.
Uploads
Papers by Mirna Nel