© Kamla-Raj 2014 Int J Edu Sci, 7(1): 77-86 (2014) Multi-Grade Teaching and Inclusion: Selected Cases in the Free State Province of South Africa T.M. Makoelle * and M.J. Malindi ** Department of Educational Psychology, University of Johannesburg, South Africa E-mail: * <tmakoelle@uj.ac.za>, ** <mmalindi@uj.ac.za> KEYWORDS Inclusion. Inclusive Pedagogy. Integration. Mainstreaming. Multi-grade Teaching ABSTRACT Multi-grade teaching is a commonly used pedagogic strategy in rural schools. However, this form of teaching continues to present challenges to both the teacher and the learner in particular since the advent of inclusive education in South Africa. The policy on inclusive education is silent on how it could be enhanced in a multi-grade class. This paper therefore attempts to analyse and deconstruct the tensions, contradictions and anomalies within the practice of inclusion as a pedagogic discourse in a multi-grade teaching system. The qualitative study on which this article is based employed a critical emancipatory lens and critical realist analysis as instruments with which to analyse narratives from selected cases at multi-grade schools in the Free State province of South Africa. The findings of the study indicated that, while the knowledge and skills teachers need to enhance inclusion within a multi-graded system were limited, well-designed teaching practices in a multi-grade class may enhance an inclusive pedagogy and promote inclusive learning. INTRODUCTION There is a global movement towards accom- modating learners with special educational needs in regular classrooms. The Department of Edu- cation in South Africa has made it clear that spe- cial education as it existed in the past will be replaced with an inclusive model of education in line with international developments (Makoelle 2014). This includes schools with multi-grade classrooms, especially in rural areas. The in- crease in the number of learners requiring speci- alised education and the implementation of in- clusive education have become a global agen- da. Inclusive education looks at how all learn- ers, regardless of their individual differences, could be taught in regular mainstream school classrooms (Makoelle 2013). The first challenge facing the theory or ideology of inclusion is the on-going debate about how this can be achieved. Trends have emerged from what is termed inte- gration as opposed to full inclusion, as ex- plained in the following quotation: “All forms of integration assume some type of assimilation of the disabled learners into the mainstream school largely unchanged. Inclusion is not a static state like integration. It is a con- tinuing process of school ethos and change. It is about building school community that accepts and value differences” (Florian 2007: 37) Therefore, simply placing learners in a main- stream school without adequate measures to respond to their needs is contrary to the ideal of full inclusion. In this regard, Ainscow and Far- rell (2002) distinguish between integration and inclusion by referring to integration as the place- ment of learners in terms of three broad ap- proaches: Location: classes are located within the mainstream campus. Social interaction: learners meet and inter- act during social activities at schools, for example at meal times. Functionality: learners with difficulties are placed in the mainstream classes alongside their peers. Inclusion, according to the latter approach, means that learners should be welcomed as full members of the class regardless of their differ- ences (Ainscow 2013). In South Africa, inclu- sion and integration were clearly spelled out in White Paper 6 (DoE 2001: 17) on education. Ta- ble 1 illustrates the differences between the two are approaches. The emphasis in White Paper 6 (DoE: 2001) is on the significance of support that should be provided to all learners rather than focusing on individuals. Given the challenge of operational- ising inclusion in the classroom, lessons can be drawn from the definition of inclusive education by UNESCO (2001) in an attempt to arrive at a common understanding. The main features of the definition of inclusive education include the following: Inclusive education: acknowledges that all children can learn and that all need some form of support for learn- ing;