The challenges facing teachers with regard to the management of learners with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder towards their academic achievements in schools in Vhembe District, Limpopo Province

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the challenges facing educator in the inclusion of ADHD learn r in the mainstream classroom. As an introduction to the study the challenges faced by educators' in the inclusion of ADHD learners in mainstream classes were reviewed by means of a study of available and relevant literature. Educators are people who mak learning and teaching possible and their own challenges in what is happening in the classroom are of crucial importance.

Research done in Limpopo Province of Vhembe District on challenges faced by educators in inclusive education indicated that educators in mainstream classrooms generally express negative attitudes to mainstreaming policies and thus finds themselves with many challenges. In the new education dispensation educators in mainstream classrooms have to accommodate learners with impairments, such as the ADHD child. Inclusion makes additional demands on educators because of the special educational needs of learners with impairment .

The challenges facing educators in inclusion and their efficacy in meeting the special needs of learners with impairments play a determining role in the successful implementation of an inclusi re education policy. For the purpose of the empirical investigation a self-structured questionnaire was utilized. An analysis was done of 50 questionnaires completed by educator from Vhembe District in the Limpopo Province. The data wa processed and interpreted by means of de criptive statistic .

Essentially the following were the main findings from the empirical study:

• Educators lack the necessary knowledge, skills, training and experience of learners with special educational needs. • Educators have difficulty in identifying AD D learners.

• Educator needed to change their teaching methods to accommodate learners with diverse educational needs.

The study concludes with a summary and findings from the literature study and descriptive statistics. Ba.ed on these findings the following recommendations were made:

The development of curricula, institutions and methods of assessments must include a variety of strategies to accommodate learners with special educational needs, such as ADHD learner .

The basic training of educators must include compulsory courses such as orthopedagogics that will enable them to cope with the demands for inclusion of learners with special educational needs.