Care workers' perceptions of the programme for learners with severe to profound intellectual disabilities in Nkangala District, Mpumalanga: "Nothing about us without us"

Abstract

Baclground:  The South African Department of Basic Education (DBE) has recently implemented a learning programme for learners with severe to profound intellectual disabilities (LSPID) in the stimulation care centres.  Outreach education teams, including multicisciplinary rehabilitation professionals and education speciatists, provide LSPID learning programme training to capacitate and equip care workers in stiumulation care centres (SCCs) to afford the previously marginalised children an opportunity to receive quality funder education and rehabilitation.  A staff audit of SCCs in the Western Cape revealed that 40% of care workers were parents of children enrolled in the centres.  However, there care workers, along with others, lacked formal training in early childhood development, health, and rehabilitation essential for providing education support to learners with severe to profound intellectual disabilities (SPID), a condition prevalent in the Nkangala district of Mpumalanga Province.  In response, curriculum specialists and therapists developed a learning programme to train care workers across the country.  However, little is known about the experiences and expectations of the care workers, as there has been limited research in this context.  For instance, it remains unclear whether the training introduced in 2018 adequately met their needs.  To address this gap, it would be beneficial for the DBE to collaborate with care workers by exploring their experiences and creating a platform for their input in policy formulation.  Furthermore, care workers were excluded from executive planning, which impacts the outcoes of the LSPID programme, even though they are key role players whose support is crucial for implementing DBE strategies and activities.  Consedquently, care workers may be hesitant to fully engage with the learning programme and training if they feel they have not had an active role in shaping decisions and outcomes.

Aim of study:  To explore the perceptions of care workers in special care centres supported by the Department of Social Development in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa about the learning meme and the training provided by the outreach education team.

Method:  A descriptive, explorative qualitative study was used to explore the perceptions of 12 care workers who were purposively selected.  Data  collected using semi-structured key informant interviews were thematically analysed, using inductive coding.

Findings: The care workers appreciated the learning programme, which they believe capacitated them to provide comprehensive intervention, stimulation, and formal education to the children in their care.  Tis programme also contributed to better-resourced working environments.  Despite their positive lived experiences of the changes facilitated by the LSPID learning programme to services provided over the years, the care workers felt side-lined and undermined.  The Department of Basic Education did not seek their collaboration in major decision-making and the training they received was not accredited.  Addditionally,, the care workers did not receive recognition in terms of remuneration for the extra set of responsibilities and duties that came with the implementation of the LSPID learning programme.

Conclusion: the LSPID learning programme is experienced as partially solving the problems that it was intended to address.  The care workers expressed a desire to receive formal acccredited training towards a qualification in providing care and education to learners with SPID and be remunerated for implementing the programme.

Implications for practice:  

• The contributions of the outreach education team can potentially improve outcomes of the programme and give care workers the tools to confidently address challenges encountered in providing the LSPID learning programme


• The care workers' views have the potential to inform the DBE policy to cater for their needs and those of the learners with SPID in the SCCs.