, 6 Case study You have been appointed as a teacher at Dilokong primary
school. This is the same school where you did your teaching practice while
you were still a student teacher. You are therefore allocated a Grade 3 class.
The class has fifty (50) learners aged 8 to 10 years old. Although you are a
dedicated teacher, you are overwhelmed by the large class size and lack of
adequate support from experienced teachers. The school lacks sufficient
resources, including teaching assistants, special education experts, and
necessary teaching materials. There is also limited teacher training on how to
accommodate diverse learning needs, however, the inclusive education
module you have done has prepared you to face such challenges. In your
classroom, you have learners such as 10-year-old Thandiwe who struggles
with basic number concepts and has difficulty understanding addition and
subtraction. She cannot grasp the concept of place value and often reverses
numbers when writing them. Furthermore, she has significant challenges with
reading. She is unable to recognise common sight words and struggles with
phonemic awareness. Her reading level is far below that of her peers. You
have heard from other teachers that Thandiwe is an orphan, and she stays
with two of her siblings who are 8 and 5 years old. The ASSIGNMENT 4 IFP 7
class teacher, Ms Mkhuli, gives Thandiwe the leftovers from the school
nutrition programme daily and all learners in the classroom are aware of that
and always remind their class teacher about giving Thandiwe the leftovers in
class. Furthermore, you also have Thabo, who is a 9-year-old boy in your
class. Thabo is an enthusiastic learner diagnosed with moderate cerebral
palsy, which primarily affects his motor skills and speech. Despite his
intellectual capabilities, Thabo is on par with his peers. However, Thabo
experiences significant barriers in a non-inclusive classroom setting because
he uses a wheelchair. The classroom is not wheelchair accessible, and he
struggles to navigate between desks. There are no assistive devices available
to help Thabo participate fully in class activities, such as a speech-to-text
device or modified writing tools. The curriculum is not differentiated to cater for
Thabo’s needs. All learners are expected to complete the same tasks in the
same manner, which often disadvantages Thabo. Standardised assessments
do not consider Thabo's motor skill challenges, affecting his performance and
self-esteem. Due to his physical limitations, Thabo is often left out of group
activities and playground games, leading to social isolation. As a result, Thabo
occasionally faces teasing and bullying from some classmates due to his
