My name is Nozwelo Shanda, and I'm back again to talk about the learner support needs that came out of our TEDI research project. In this video, I focus on the educational needs of learners with severe to profound sensory or intellectual impairments in South Africa. In doing so, I'll be looking at five main themes. Social and psychological support, impairments specific curriculum and adaptation of learning and teaching support materials, access to assistive technology, appropriate language and media for learning and teaching, and lastly addressing additional barriers to learning. Let us look at social and psychological support. When you ask learners about how they felt their teachers could support them, they reported that their teachers needed to create a conducive environment for them to be able to express themselves freely. They also felt that teachers should know and understand how they feel. When discussing the kind of support needed, a learner said, "There must also know how to create that kind of environment, where you can express how you feel about certain things, and that they should understand exactly what it is that you're trying to say." This illustrates that learners need caring and empathic teachers. Moving onto impairment specific curriculum and adaptation of learning and teaching support materials, our research showed that the curriculum was not always adapted to suit the learner needs. For instance, a few blind learners reported having to complete assignments in a sighted manner, as the tasks, are not often properly adapted to fit their needs. This learner reported, "And the assignments, like some assignments I feel like it is difficult to expect it from a blind person, such as doing assignments like brochures and things like that. I think that teachers can choose which one she wants to give to the class, but I think it is not fair when they give us sometimes stuff to do like that kind of tasks." In the same token, some learners describe not having options to do subjects such as math, and physics because they were not offered at the school for learners with their impairment. In turn, this forced the learners to do subjects they did not like. A learner said, " Now you are forced to do other subjects that you don't want to do or your career choice doesn't even take, or doesn't require." As noted, learners can benefit more if they have a curriculum, learning, and teaching support material that is adapted to suit their educational needs as this would expand their education choices. When talking about access to assistive technology, a teacher shared on behalf of learners how much technology is important. "Technology, is a real need, it's really important. Because the future of education lies in technology." On the other hand, some learners discussed positive experience of having and using appropriate technologies for obtaining access to information. For some, this meant that they could do research on the internet. While for others, it simply but importantly meant they could access learning materials. This learner said, "And they also provide with laptops you can enlarge, you can print or you can copy the textbook in a laptop, then the laptop is going to be easy for you to enlarge if there is not enough papers to print. So far, I don't have a problem with the school because they provide me with everything that I need in terms of getting access." This shows that assistive technology is important for learners to access the curriculum and improve their learning experiences. Specific to the use of appropriate language and media for learning and teaching, we found that learners felt frustrated by their teachers' lack of effective communication, through use and knowledge of South African sign language, alternative and augmented communication, and braille. They express that they should be taught proficiently in their preferred medium of instruction, as this would improve their learning. A deaf learner said, "I prefer to learn everything in sign language because it's good for me; it's better when I learn sign language. If the teachers can improve on their sign language skill, everything will improve on our side." Given this, it is important that learners are taught in a language they understand, as this will improve their quality of education. With respect to addressing additional barriers to learning, learners felt that they needed teachers to be more patient, adapt the pace of learning, and exercise appropriate discipline in order to respond to learner diversity. Like this learner said, "When she explains she is fast, so we do not understand well. Teachers who are fast I cannot understand them." In addition, learners in hostels describe poor living standards highlighting another barrier to learning. For example, when discussing food preparation, a learner said, "The bread, peanut butter, they just paste it there and it's not in the right form. They just grab it and put it there and put a bread and give it to you. And also, the coffee in the morning is cold. I think they just open the geyser water and put the coffee and put it on the table." As described in this quote, it is important for learners to have school staff that is more patient, sensitive, and show concern in their learning and well-being. From this findings, it is clear that teachers require more training for them to be able to address educational needs of learners with disabilities. It is also important to make sure that learners are provided with the necessary resources and support, for them to access equal and quality education to reach their full potential.
