Best practices for teaching life orientation to learners with special educational needs in the intermediate phase at a special school in Gauteng

• Main Author: Estran, Megan Ann
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: Physical education and training; Special education
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/3644

M. Ed. === This study investigated the experiences of intermediate phase educators who teach Life Orientation to learners with special educational needs in a special school in Gauteng. The study attempted to identify what these educators believe are the best teaching practices for teaching Life Orientation to learners with special educational needs in the intermediate phase. The researcher made use of an interpretivist, qualitative, case study design to explore the educators' experiences. The data collection methods used included: a literature review, incomplete sentence questionnaires, semi-structured individual interviews, a focus group interview as well as observations. Themes established were verified by the participating educators at the end of the data collection process. The data was analysed using thematic content analysis. Six main themes emerged for the best teaching practices for teaching LO to LSEN. Under each theme there were a number of sub-themes. The main themes were “learner focused”, “attributes of the teachers”, “Life Orientation curriculum”, “teaching methods and strategies”, “resources” and “stakeholder involvement”. These themes and the sub-themes were discussed in detail. Recommendations were made regarding what the best practices for teaching LO to LSEN in the intermediate phase should be. It also included what educators require in order to effectively teach this learning area to learners with special educational needs. The limitations and strengths of the research were explained and the research concluded with recommendations for possible future research that can be done within this domain.