Several studies echo the role of participation and interaction in learning activities as crucial to valorise all students equally. Inclusive pedagogy should recognize the disputed nature of inclusive education and the subsequent unpredictability in teaching practices as a means of identifying students requiring additional learning support particularly amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Such variability raises significant questions about the nature and value of educational provision, around the globe, but particularly in the South African multicultural higher learning context. Having applied a transformative learning methodology this paper explores the influence of inclusive learning pedagogies in shaping preservice teachers’ repertoires in multicultural higher learning contexts. The findings suggest that transformative learning promotes specific practices such as trusting relationships within the learning context and an appreciation for diversity and inclusivity, opportunities for critical reflection, shared and collective learning, and transformative leadership development. Ultimately, when circumstances permit, transformative preservice teachers move toward a frame of reference that is more self-reflective, integrative and inclusive of experience. In conclusion we suggest that stakeholders in higher education contexts consider creating institutional spaces for preservice teachers to change their frame of reference in approaching their own teaching and learning repertoires in transformative and inclusive ways.
In exercising their power and authority, School Management Teams (SMTs) should engage in transformative leadership which commences with interrogations regarding social justice, democracy and social responsibility. According to Freire’s philosophy of education it is further expected of SMT members to support and shape the belief that autonomy is a condition arising from the responsible engagement with decision-making; that we are ‘unfinished’ in our development as human beings; and that we are responsible for the development of a critical consciousness as a necessary condition of freedom and the creation of democratic and equitable learning spaces. In a transformative leadership context, authority must inform all critical practices of pedagogical intervention and goal setting should support in-service teacher’s autonomy, self-worth and develop their potential and the level of intrinsic motivation to flourish in inclusive school settings. This paper reports on a qualitative pilot study conducted with SMT members and teachers in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa to gain their insights regarding their roles as leaders in devising mechanisms to invest in radical democratic principles and the promotion of inclusive school practices. The key findings indicate that the SMT’s role require that they interrogate their frame of reference and transform their thinking in terms of social justice in multicultural school settings and create opportunities for in-service teachers to develop professionally and use digital technology creatively to enhance teaching and learning. As a force for transformation, we conclude that transformative leadership may be a catalyst to engage school leaders and teachers in individual and combined processes of awareness of inclusive practices and action.
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