Insights into Regional Development

Enter to SUSTAINABILITY FOR
REGIONS page

Navigation

Membership:

Recommended tools:

Join a global community of researchers using Kudos:

Received: 2026-05-10 | Accepted: 2026-07-30 | Published: 2026-09-30

Title

The essence of teacher training quality in implementing inclusive education at a higher education institution in South Africa

Abstract

This study sought to examine the essence of quality teacher training in implementing inclusive education at a higher education institution in South Africa. Inclusive education in the South African education context is a reformatory tool to welcome diversity amongst learners in one classroom. Drawing on a multi-method South African policy discourse and teacher education for inclusion, the study interrogates how pre-service and in-service training prepare teachers to teach diverse students in higher education contexts. Inclusive education policy, as stated in Education White Paper 6, establishes teachers as the primary implementers of inclusion. Yet, systematic evidence points to gaps between policy ideals and actual teacher preparation, practice, and support within higher education settings. Qualitative data for this study was drawn from student teachers and lecturers from a selected university. All participants in the study were members of the faculty of education. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. In this study, semi-structured interviews served as a well-established qualitative data collection method suited to exploring complex stakeholder perspectives. Semi-structured interviews offered the flexibility to elicit in-depth insights from diverse participants while preserving comparability across interviews. The purposive sampling technique was selected because it enables the identification and selection of participants who are particularly knowledgeable and experienced with the phenomenon of interest. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data. The findings of this study revealed that student teachers are not being prepared to meet the needs of diverse learners that they will teach at school. Respondents frequently reported gaps in knowledge, practical competencies, and confidence to implement inclusive strategies in diverse classrooms. The study concludes that both the theory and the practical implementation of inclusive education for student teachers are paramount to transforming the educational landscape in South Africa. This points to the need for strengthened teacher education for inclusion within South Africa's higher education programs.

Keywords

quality teacher training, inclusive education, higher education, policy

JEL classifications

R58

URI

http://jssidoi.org/ird/article/266

DOI

DOI 10.70132/y2549592292

Pages

55-67

Funding

This is an open access issue and all published articles are licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Authors

Mpahla, Ntando Elliot

Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa https://www.wsu.ac.za

Articles by this author in: CrossRef | Google Scholar

Journal title

Insights into Regional Development

Volume

Number

Issue date

September 2026

Issue DOI

DOI 10.70132/j7356948637

ISSN

ISSN 2345-0282 (online)

Publisher

VšĮ Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, Vilnius, Lithuania

Cited

Article views & downloads

HTML views: 98 | PDF downloads: 72

References

2020-0094 Naseer, M., & Hameed, H., 2024. Implementation of inclusive education in a selected school in malé, maldives: teachers’ experiences. Asia-Pacific Journal of Futures in Education and Society https://doi.org/10.58946/apjfes-3.3.p2