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Notes for chapter 3

Overcoming barriers to learning through mediation

Policy document that deals with barriers to learning is found in South African White Paper no 6 (2001)
special needs: building an inclusive education and training system. This policy document emphasise that
learners with impairment and special needs should not be separated from other learners any more but
rather be supported.

The role of special education co-ordinators (SENCO)

The department of education took initiative to establish district support teams that address the possible
needs of learners with barriers. Teams should also be established at school level and each and every
school must have their own policy document on how they will address the issue of inclusivity.

Types of barriers are discussed below:

1. Socio-economic factors causing barriers to learning

Poverty, crime, violence, unemployment etc. can be detrimental to learners’ education. For example a
learner cannot concentrate on empty stomach and learners from poor family background often lack self-
confidence.

Proposal for supporting learners with socio-economic issues

 Mediate goal seeking, goal setting and goal achieving behavior in these learners
 Help set realistic goals and way to achieve them.

Ways to give support

1. Improve their reading ability

2. Teach them study techniques
3. Keep learners’ experiences, background, needs and expectations in mind

2. Barriers caused by language

If learners do not understand the language of learning and teaching used in the classroom, their
performance will be dramatically affected. (Refer back to chapter two on LOTL)
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3. Medical factors causing barriers to learning

Medical factors causing barriers to learning can either be visual or auditory impaired, chronic and
infectious diseases.

(a) Visual impairments

Visual impairments include the blind and weak sighted

 Impact of visual impairment on learning

Leaners with visual impairment find it difficult to learn, eye strain my lead to headaches, they read
slowly, they have low self-esteem and they find it difficult to participate in groups with fellow learners.

 Proposal for supporting these learners

 Ensure that teaching is mostly verbal

 Make use of audio tapes
 Enlarge reading materials
 Make use of special books and equipment
 Supply background information
 Ensure learners’ physical safety
 Acknowledge achievement
 Ask for help

(b) Auditory impairments

Learners with auditory impairments find it difficult to engage with other learners because other they do
not understand implications and limitations of their impairments. Leaners with auditory impairments
often recall negative experiences they have had and this can affect their approach to learning.

Proposal to support visual impairment learners in the classroom

 Show respect for their human dignity

 Ensure that learners are accepted by others
 Make sure that they can see you well by standing in front of the class when speaking to the
learners
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 Make sure that the learners understand the content by asking them directly whether they
understand or not
 Keep to the point
 Remember that these learners can do only one thing at a time, where possible use
transparencies and handouts so that they have to make notes
 Supply them with written material
 Visualize information
 Provide for poor reading abilities and limited vocabulary
 Use the oral deaf approach
 Use the new method called Oral Deaf Approach, this new method is used to teach deaf and
hearing impaired children, it requires intensive effort, but it provides learners with the
opportunity to enter mainstream education.
 Seek help at special schools for deaf or auditory impaired learners in your district or province

(c) Physical impairment

Physical impairment learners are physically challenged.

Proposal to support physical impairment learners

 Find out if they need support

 Ensure physical accessibility to this learners so that they are able to move around freely
 Help them to catch up

(d) Chronic and infectious diseases

Study learner profiles of your classes so that you will be aware of their medical conditions. Identify
learners with chronic diseases. Research more on the chronic diseases you discovered among your
learners and how they may affect their studies, then find ways to support them.

Proposal for supporting learners with chronic and infectious disease

 Help them to catch up if they were absent from school

 Acknowledge their efforts
 Make provisions for learners with diabetes and give them support where necessary
 Care for asthma suffers, make sure you know what to do if a learner becomes asthmatic
 Help learners to believe in themselves
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 Guide against overprotectiveness and excessive sympathy

4. Barriers caused by learning problems

Some learners experience learning problems as a result of impaired intellectual development, while
others with average or above average also experience learning problems. These learners struggle with
either verbal or non-verbal abilities.

Impact of learning problems on learning

Many learners have challenges in their short-term memory and in their cognitive processing of
information.

Proposal for supporting learners with learning problems in the classroom

 Adapt teaching activities

 Plan classroom groups carefully, reduce the sense of isolation of these learners
 Try to prevent distractions
 Seat them in front or in the middle, so that you can be able to observe and give them attention
more easily
 Get them alternatives to help them learn in a comfortable environment
 Encourage them to work hard
 Repeat information
 Give oral comments
 Support them with reading
 Adjust activities, give them more oral work and less writing activities
 Help them to remember
 Adapt assessment

5. Barriers caused by behavioral problem

Learners with behavioral problem have serious difficulty relating to almost everyone, their performance
is not satisfactory and they have negative behavior that disrupts their own learning and the rest the
class.

Impact of behavioral problems on learning

Learners who can’t keep up with work in the classroom due to intellectual limitations often develop
behavioral problems; same applies to learners who are highly gifted in one or more learning areas.
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Proposal for dealing with these learners

 Provide emotional support, bearing in mind that a behavioral problem can often be a cry for
help.
 Seek help
 Establish the learner’s weaknesses and strengths
 Analyze the learner’s behavior
 Keep the learners busy
 Let the learners help, give them responsibilities, it will Improve their self-esteem
 Establish rules
 Use positive reinforcement to encourage them to continue with good behavior

6. Gifted learners

Gifted learners they sometimes have learning and behavioral problems because their personal needs are
not addressed.

Proposal for dealing gifted learners

Keep the following in mind:

 You will have to develop the skills to identify gifted learners

 Use stimulating material and activities
 Consider different and new teaching approaches for a learner with an outstanding ability
 Contact MENSA, it is international organizations that cater for the needs of the gifted persons.
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