Original Research

A study of inclusive education provision in Zambia: Curriculum reform

Mbulaheni O. Maguvhe, Allan Mutambo
African Journal of Disability | Vol 12 | a1067 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/ajod.v12i0.1067 | © 2023 Mbulaheni O. Maguvhe, Allan Mutambo | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 05 May 2022 | Published: 31 July 2023

About the author(s)

Mbulaheni O. Maguvhe, Department of Inclusive Education, School of Educational Studies, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
Allan Mutambo, Department of Inclusive Education, School of Educational Studies, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa

Abstract

Background: The study is conducted to investigate whether curriculum reform for learners with special education needs (SEN) is taking place in Zambia.

Objectives: The study objective were to investigate the extent to which curriculum had been reformed to facilitate the inclusion of children with SEN in Zambia; and determine stakeholders understanding of inclusive education policy, to evaluate the success of an inclusive programme in supporting the full inclusion of learners with SEN.

Method: This study used a mixed method research design which involved data collection in seven provinces of Zambia. The researchers employed purposive sampling. The largest number of respondents were SEN teachers and administrators. The qualitative data collection tools included semi-structured interviews of individuals and focus groups. The quantitative data came from a questionnaire completed by teachers and supervisors as well as from government documents. The quantitative data were analysed using SOFA Statistics, while the qualitative data were analysed using ATLAS-TI 7.

Results: Limited curriculum reform remains one of the main impediments to the implementation of the inclusive policy for children with SEN in Zambia.

Conclusion: It is concluded that without curriculum reform the implementation of inclusive education in Zambia will be challenging.

Contribution: There is a dearth of information regarding curriculum reform in Zambia. This is one of the studies that is attempting to plug the information gap on curriculum reform.


Keywords

inclusion; inclusive education; curriculum; curriculum reform; policy implementation; universal design for learning; Zambia; special education needs.

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