On 14 February, provincial officials from Curriculum and Inclusive Education in Free State discussed a self-assessment tool for inclusive pedagogy. This self-assessment aims to support district officials, teachers and school leaders in assessing how inclusive their teaching is and if they are leading an inclusive school*. It is mainly intended as a tool for (self)reflection and awareness raising. This tool can be used to identify strengths and areas for improvement to teach inclusively.
The tool will be instrumental in the learning trajectory that FSDOE in collaboration with VVOB is setting out for departmental officials. Via a process of reflection, officials will identify their specific learning needs. They will also use the tool to identify good practices in the schools they work with. These good practices will be shared with their colleagues and used to support schools/teachers that are perceiving challenges in transforming towards inclusive practices.
The trajectory aims to bring officials from different sections (a.o. Inclusive Education and Curriculum) together to streamline and enrich the support they give to teachers. The workshop that was held on 14/2 clearly set the tone as officials from both sections engaged with the draft self-assessment tool and added insights from their respective perspectives.
*Teachers can complete the self-assessment on their own, with their colleagues or in collaboration with a district official who can clarify and inform the teacher on the inclusive policies and practices. This will help the teacher to identify his/her strengths and areas for improvement. Teachers can also request their peers to assess them.
The same process can be followed by SMT. They can complete it on their own, in collaboration with a circuit manager or ask their peers to complete it to assess them.
The tool can also be used as a whole-school self-evaluation where the school (teachers, HoDs and the principal, possibly helped by district officials) maps its inclusive practices and identifies points for improvement.
From the above, it should be clear that completing the tool is a developmental process. The tool is a starting point for your professional development. For instance, you can work on the actions for improvements with your peers in a Professional Learning Community and collect SACE CPTD points.
In the first place, the tool is developed as a self-assessment for teachers. Some sections will talk specifically to teacher practices, but other sections are assessing school leadership for inclusive education. In the tool, it is clearly indicated which section should be completed by teachers or by the principal/HoD. It is, however, strongly recommended for both teachers and SMTs to consider all sections of the tool. For instance, it is an interesting exercise for a school leader to reflect on how inclusive teachers are in her/his school. Alternatively, teachers can engage with the section for SMTs to get a better view on how leadership could drive inclusive education.
District officials can support teachers and school leaders to complete the tool in order to better support the school on their way to inclusivity. However, they can also use the tool to assess their own knowledge, skills and attitudes on inclusive education.
