International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) |Volume V, Issue V, May 2021|ISSN 2454-6186 www.rsisinternational.org Page 432 Strategies used in inclusive early childhood development classes attached to primary schools in the South Eastern district in Zimbabwe Henry Chinhara Bindura University of Science Education, Zimbabwe Abstract: The paper presents findings on strategies used by teachers in Chiredzi District-Zimbabwe to assist Early Childhood Development learners with special education needs. A mixed methods approach was used to gather data for the study. To gather data questionnaires, interviews, observation schedules and document analysis were used in twenty sampled early childhood development centres attached to primary schools. In the findings teachers were employing a variety of strategies such as differentiated instructions, small groupings of mixed learners, story games and songs to accommodate learners with special education needs. ECD teachers made attempts to modify teaching instructions and learning media in trying to assist learners with learning challenges, still they faced a lot of challenges in the process. Major barriers to inclusive education were large enrolments and lack of teacher competencies to offer expert assistance to learners with special education needs. The study recommends that the government set policies that enforce schools to stick to small teacher-pupilratios. Furthermore, extensive in-service and pre-service teacher training programmes that empower teachers for inclusivity are a critical requirement. Key words: Early childhood development 1; Inclusive education 2; Adaptation of curriculum3; Special education needs 4; Resource mobilisation 5; I. INTRODUCTION he key premises of inclusive education on which the paper is located, is on schools’provisioning of quality education for all children, irrespective of their differences. Teachers should disregard learners’ abilities, physicality, race, language and communication deficiencies, social class, culture, gender and disability as differentiation factors (Miles ad Singal, 2010). Hence, the paper explores systematic challenges encountered as determinant factors of how and what learners should learn as is frequently a norm in inclusive education schools. Ngcobo and Muthukrishna (2011) propose that, inclusive Early Childhood Development (ECD) practitioners should have abilities to accommodate all children, including those from the most disadvantaged families in the learning process as critical in ensuring children’s developmental potential. The success of inclusive education programmes depends on provisioning of more time, better resources, and adaptability of teaching methods and accessibility of learning resources that facilitated Development of children with diverse needs (Padro and Woodrow, 2014). The context of children with special education needs refers to any child, under the compulsory school age (0-18) years; but has special learning difficulties or some disabilities that call for special educational provisioning. In this paper, children with special education needs refers to children aged 0-8 years (DfE and DH, 2015) who are enrolled in early learning centres attached to primary schools. The context of inclusive education though complex, in this paper it implies to the education programme that supports the needs of learners with learning barriers. It also implies the education is characterised by provisioning of supporting structures which meet the needs of children with learning barriers. The end target is to promote key values of humanity; equality, social justice through equitable distribution of learning resources (UNESCO, 1994).In inclusive education teachers are expected to offer increased opportunities for the participation of all learners in learning processes (UNESCO, 2005).As a paradigm shift inclusive education aims to make teachers and learners comfortable with diversity, while regarding it as a challenge and an enriching learning experience (). Lesson delivery in inclusive early childhood development programmes call for highly qualified teachers with a potential to create enabling learning environments for all learners, catering for individualised pedagogy. Stakeholders call upon the current education system to offer special education support systems that accommodate learners with special education needs (Gadzikowski, 2015). There must be creation of equitable learning environments, and strategies which are responsive to all learners and which offer these learners equal chances to develop to their full capacity (UNESCO, 2014; Underwood & Killoran, 2012). Learning strategies in inclusive early childhood development programmes should not be a privilege of a few individual learners but rather a right that all learners should enjoy in meaningful education systems. Inclusive education classrooms should be characterised by teachers who support children with special education needs, by designing learning curriculum which is non-discriminatory. The implication is that every teacher assigned to an inclusive class should be keen to modify learning materials; create and utilise learning space so that it T