Inclusivity of Technical Education in the Context of Teacher Education in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Mainstreaming and integration are the roadmaps to inclusion and they continue to be an influential component within the vast array of educational strategies and plans. This paper, focusing on a case study at United College of Education, seeks to establish the extent to which primary teacher education institutions practise inclusivity in the teaching and learning of technical subjects.  A qualitative study was adopted to gather data using focus group discussions and interviews. The research sample of sixteen students and sixteen lecturers was purposively selected in order to obtain rich information and respondents were met in their own context. Findings revealed that if inclusive practice policies are effectively enacted, students with disabilities could perform extremely well in a natural environment as there are no special attributes and pedagogical skills required to teach them. Conclusions drawn from the study indicate that inclusive practices could materialise if barriers towards inclusive practices are eliminated. Recommendations put forward include restructuring of coursework assessment to cater for various handicapping conditions prevailing amongst student teachers.