Kayla van Deventer
6396 – 630 – 1
ETH306W Exam Prep
ETH306W – Exam Prep
Special Educational needs
Study Guide Summary
The summary consist of:
- Section A (Learners who experience barriers to
learning)
- Section B ( The development of special education to
education for all)
- Section C (Educational support services)
- Section D (Additional Information – Appendices)
(from the only study guide for ETH306W)
1
, Kayla van Deventer
6396 – 630 – 1
ETH306W Exam Prep
Section A:
Learners who experience barriers to
learning:
Study unit 1: Who are these learners who experience
barriers to learning.
What will be covered in this unit?
- The terms “learners with special educational needs”
and “learners who experience barriers to learning”
- Manifestations of barriers to learning
- The interrelationship between barriers to learning
- Phases in which barriers to learning and development
come to fore
- Classification of learners who experience barriers to
learning
- Degrees to barriers of learning
2
, Kayla van Deventer
6396 – 630 – 1
ETH306W Exam Prep
What does other people think about the term “Learners with special
educational needs?
- According to Gous & Mfazwe (1998:1) this is as follow:
o People in general find it difficult to establish relationships and to talk to learners who are expecting
barriers to learning.
o In some cultures perfection and beauty are seen as requirements for acceptability and in fact are
so highly regarded that when someone is unable to meet these requirements the common reaction
is to feel uncomfortable.
o People are afraid that they won’t understand anyone who is different from themselves.
o Feeling of sympathy towards the learner who is experiencing barriers to learning make people feel
helpless and incompetent.
o In some cultures people with handicaps are treated as if they are possessed by the devil or likely to
pass on an infectious disease.
- The fact that learners with barriers to learning are treated “differently” by other people is one of the
main reasons why they come to see themselves as DIFFERENT.
- Gous & Mfazwe (1998:1) say that “…learners with special needs would like to lessen the feelings of
difference between themselves and their peers.”
- For self-explanatory read page 2 and 3 in the study guide.
What is the term, learners with special educational needs?
☺ “Learners” implies both “learners” and “pupils”
☺ It refers to learners who have special educational needs – hence not just “learners”.
☺ It acknowledges that learners do not necessarily still have to be learners and that young people and
adults may also have “special educational needs” .
☺ This development is very useful for the situation in our country where, for eg. , there are many
learners who , for some reason or another, do not complete their schooling and now wish to resume
their studies, or learners who are already in their 20’s and who are still at school.
☺ The phrase “special educational needs” implies these learners have needs that are different from
those of the average learner.
☺ That is why these needs are called “special”.
- These needs may take various forms, for example:
o a simplified, or more complex, curriculum because what the other learners are learning
would be too difficult, or too easy.
o Extra time to complete assignments
3
, Kayla van Deventer
6396 – 630 – 1
ETH306W Exam Prep
o A special seat in class – perhaps nearer to the chalkboard to assist the learners to see
more clearly what is written on the board.
o Additional help in a certain learning area, (language, maths or another learning area)
because the learner concerned is having difficulties there.
o Extra tuition because he has fallen behind with the work in all learning areas.
o Additional attention from the teacher because the learner concerned tends to disrupt the
class routine with his unacceptable behaviour.
o Special encouragement because the learner concerned has no faith in his own ability to solve
problems and quickly become discouraged.
- In easy words: learners have special educational needs when the teacher find it necessary to
make modifications to their teaching methods in order to accommodate that learner or a group
of learners with similar difficult.
☺ This is also known as LSEN.
☺ This term is fairly recent invented.
☺ This term was used for the first time in 1978 in England where it appeared in a very important report
about education, the Warnock Report on Special Educational Needs.
☺ Subsequently it was incorporated into educational legislation in England and ever since it has been
used increasingly in other countries, including SA.
☺ It was used in the Report of the Working Committee: Children with Special Educational Needs (HSRC
1981), in the White Paper on Education and Training in a Democratic SA (1995) and also in the South
African School Act 84 of 1998 (SASA).
☺ The Minister of Education appointed 2 commissions to inquire into the policy on and support to
learners with special educational needs.
- This happened at the end of 1996.
- The 2 commissions was the following:
o The National Commission on Special Needs in Education and Training (NCSNET)
o The National Commission for Education Support Services (NCESS)
- These 2 Commissions amalgamated under the chairmanship of Professor Sandy Lazarus of the
University of the Western Cape (UWC).
o Their report named, Quality education for all: overcoming barriers to learning and
development, was published in November 1997.
o This report makes provision for far-reaching changes in the policy on and support provided
for these learners.
o The policy of “inclusion” or “inclusive education” was accepted, in terms of this policy all
learners should be accepted into main stream of education .
4
6396 – 630 – 1
ETH306W Exam Prep
ETH306W – Exam Prep
Special Educational needs
Study Guide Summary
The summary consist of:
- Section A (Learners who experience barriers to
learning)
- Section B ( The development of special education to
education for all)
- Section C (Educational support services)
- Section D (Additional Information – Appendices)
(from the only study guide for ETH306W)
1
, Kayla van Deventer
6396 – 630 – 1
ETH306W Exam Prep
Section A:
Learners who experience barriers to
learning:
Study unit 1: Who are these learners who experience
barriers to learning.
What will be covered in this unit?
- The terms “learners with special educational needs”
and “learners who experience barriers to learning”
- Manifestations of barriers to learning
- The interrelationship between barriers to learning
- Phases in which barriers to learning and development
come to fore
- Classification of learners who experience barriers to
learning
- Degrees to barriers of learning
2
, Kayla van Deventer
6396 – 630 – 1
ETH306W Exam Prep
What does other people think about the term “Learners with special
educational needs?
- According to Gous & Mfazwe (1998:1) this is as follow:
o People in general find it difficult to establish relationships and to talk to learners who are expecting
barriers to learning.
o In some cultures perfection and beauty are seen as requirements for acceptability and in fact are
so highly regarded that when someone is unable to meet these requirements the common reaction
is to feel uncomfortable.
o People are afraid that they won’t understand anyone who is different from themselves.
o Feeling of sympathy towards the learner who is experiencing barriers to learning make people feel
helpless and incompetent.
o In some cultures people with handicaps are treated as if they are possessed by the devil or likely to
pass on an infectious disease.
- The fact that learners with barriers to learning are treated “differently” by other people is one of the
main reasons why they come to see themselves as DIFFERENT.
- Gous & Mfazwe (1998:1) say that “…learners with special needs would like to lessen the feelings of
difference between themselves and their peers.”
- For self-explanatory read page 2 and 3 in the study guide.
What is the term, learners with special educational needs?
☺ “Learners” implies both “learners” and “pupils”
☺ It refers to learners who have special educational needs – hence not just “learners”.
☺ It acknowledges that learners do not necessarily still have to be learners and that young people and
adults may also have “special educational needs” .
☺ This development is very useful for the situation in our country where, for eg. , there are many
learners who , for some reason or another, do not complete their schooling and now wish to resume
their studies, or learners who are already in their 20’s and who are still at school.
☺ The phrase “special educational needs” implies these learners have needs that are different from
those of the average learner.
☺ That is why these needs are called “special”.
- These needs may take various forms, for example:
o a simplified, or more complex, curriculum because what the other learners are learning
would be too difficult, or too easy.
o Extra time to complete assignments
3
, Kayla van Deventer
6396 – 630 – 1
ETH306W Exam Prep
o A special seat in class – perhaps nearer to the chalkboard to assist the learners to see
more clearly what is written on the board.
o Additional help in a certain learning area, (language, maths or another learning area)
because the learner concerned is having difficulties there.
o Extra tuition because he has fallen behind with the work in all learning areas.
o Additional attention from the teacher because the learner concerned tends to disrupt the
class routine with his unacceptable behaviour.
o Special encouragement because the learner concerned has no faith in his own ability to solve
problems and quickly become discouraged.
- In easy words: learners have special educational needs when the teacher find it necessary to
make modifications to their teaching methods in order to accommodate that learner or a group
of learners with similar difficult.
☺ This is also known as LSEN.
☺ This term is fairly recent invented.
☺ This term was used for the first time in 1978 in England where it appeared in a very important report
about education, the Warnock Report on Special Educational Needs.
☺ Subsequently it was incorporated into educational legislation in England and ever since it has been
used increasingly in other countries, including SA.
☺ It was used in the Report of the Working Committee: Children with Special Educational Needs (HSRC
1981), in the White Paper on Education and Training in a Democratic SA (1995) and also in the South
African School Act 84 of 1998 (SASA).
☺ The Minister of Education appointed 2 commissions to inquire into the policy on and support to
learners with special educational needs.
- This happened at the end of 1996.
- The 2 commissions was the following:
o The National Commission on Special Needs in Education and Training (NCSNET)
o The National Commission for Education Support Services (NCESS)
- These 2 Commissions amalgamated under the chairmanship of Professor Sandy Lazarus of the
University of the Western Cape (UWC).
o Their report named, Quality education for all: overcoming barriers to learning and
development, was published in November 1997.
o This report makes provision for far-reaching changes in the policy on and support provided
for these learners.
o The policy of “inclusion” or “inclusive education” was accepted, in terms of this policy all
learners should be accepted into main stream of education .
4
