Incomplete resourcing of inclusive education in South Africa: Implications for the reading crisis

In 2021, teachers instructing the average Grade 4 student in South Africa faced reading abilities spanning almost four grade levels in one classroom (Böhmer & Wills, 2023). In this context, curriculum or instruction differentiation is a necessary classroom strategy. The South African curriculum and inclusive education policies recognise learner diversity and envisage class teachers as responsible for curriculum differentiation supported by district and circuit experts. As discussed in this paper, however, large gaps exist between expressed policy on curriculum differentiation and learner support and the actual realities in the system. Combining findings from existing empirical studies with new analysis of administrative data, we consider whether teachers have received sufficient training in curriculum differentiation and whether they receive the support they need as envisaged in the 2014 Screening, Identification, Assessment and Support Policy. The evidence is clear that curriculum differentiation is not a common practice in foundation phase classrooms. Teachers are insufficiently trained in this area. Furthermore, administrative data reveals a dearth of learning support specialists in districts and circuits. Delays in finalising inclusive education policies, a human resources plan and a funding strategy for inclusive education are likely contributing to the current vacuum in learner support. Whereas inclusive education policy in the area of curriculum differentiation should be an enabler for identifying and supporting children at significant risk of not learning to read, incomplete resourcing for these policies has stunted the effectiveness of inclusive education policy as tool in addressing the reading crisis in South Africa