From overt to covert exclusion: Implications of inclusive education policy statements on the education of the mathematically gifted learners in Umlazi District of South Africa

Abstract

In most of the countries that signed the Salamanca Statement, there seems to be a gap between policy formulations and realisations of inclusive education. Much of this gap has been blamed on the deficit or narrow view to inclusive education that focuses only on the education for disabled students, against the broader view of inclusive education, which deals with all students in danger of marginalisation. In the deficit/narrow view, mathematically gifted students are neglected, and this is detrimental to national efforts towards producing the much-needed 21st century skills. The question at stake then is the origin of this narrow view—is it how inclusive education is conceptualised in the policy framework or is it more about the discretion of the actors in the implementation context? This paper analysed 3 international, 3 national inclusive policy documents and surveyed 51 foundation-phase teachers’ perceptions and practices with the aim of understanding the extent to which gifted students were accommodated in those policy documents and practices. Vygostky’s defectology theory was used as a lens to judge whether the dominant view to inclusive education was narrow or broad. Results show that although both the narrow and broad views are mentioned, the dominant view in both policy and practice was the narrow view to inclusive education. Similar South African studies have shown how an egalitarian and equalising approach to education would leave the gifted learner with minimal attention. Consistent with previous studies, our recommendation is that respect for difference can only be cultivated if those responsible for enacting educational practices are supported by consistent and coherent policy messages, which value skills development by challenging the deficit view to inclusive education.