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Primary school educators in South Africa often experience difficulties in applying recommended adaptive assessment methods in large multilingual classes, with these challenges being exacerbated when teaching and assessing English as First Additional Language (EFAL). In this article, we report on a study that explored Grade 6 educators' knowledge and use of adaptive assessment methods when teaching EFAL. The national Policy on Screening, Identification, Assessment and Support ([SIAS] Department of Basic Education [DBE], Republic of South Africa [RSA], 2014) underpins our study as a theoretical framework. We followed a qualitative research approach to examine the knowledge as well as the classroom practices of 6 purposively selected educators who taught EFAL. The study was grounded in the interpretivist paradigm and investigated educators' lived experiences integrating adaptive assessment procedures into the teaching of EFAL in Grade 6 inclusive classrooms. We relied on semi-structured interviews, observation, and document analysis to collect data and performed thematic analysis to identify, analyse and report repeated patterns. The findings from our study indicate that the participating educators perceived their training in inclusive education and their use of adaptive assessment methods as inadequate, especially in the context of large, under-resourced classrooms. As a result, we recommend that educators should receive the necessary support from the school-based support teams and the district-based support teams to use adaptive assessment methods when teaching EFAL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educators are one of the stakeholders in the education system working to ensure learner success. According to the Minimum Requirements For Teacher Education Qualifications, educators must fulfil 7 roles in their quest to impart education. In the study reported on her, we investigated Grade 6 educators' knowledge and use of mediation as one of their roles in teaching English as First Additional Language (FAL) in Grade 6 inclusive classrooms. We further investigated how educators responded to learners who had diverse learning needs in English as FAL in Grade 6 inclusive classrooms. Six educators who taught English as FAL were purposively selected to participate in this study. Data were collected using qualitative research methods such as in-depth interviews and observations, in addition to document analysis. The participating educators indicated that large classes, a lack of training on inclusive education, and the scarcity of teaching resources made their mediation roles in teaching English as FAL in Grade 6 inclusive classrooms very challenging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diversity in education is not about different races only; in the South African context it also refers, for instance, to types of schools or different learning styles. Inclusivity in education thus refers to all learners, regardless of their abilities, being noticed and encouraged to share and learn in the same space. However, the South African education system is still struggling to ensure that learners with disabilities, especially those with visual impairment, are fully catered for in mainstream schools. In the study reported on here a qualitative research methodology was used to collect data through semi-structured interviews and observations with selected participants to explore challenges experienced by partially sighted learners in mainstream schools. It was found that even though learners with visual impairment are now physically integrated in mainstream classes, they are not truly included. Furthermore, teacher training should be enhanced, and teacher support reviewed while involving parents of visually impaired learners in their children's schooling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]