Inclusion and Sport: Analysis of Selected South African Township Schools

Abstract: In 1994, South Africa adopted an inclusive system of education in line with the rest of the world. The doors of learning were opened to all learners regardless of their background or disability. However, in spite of the changes, the notion of inclusive school sport as enshrined and articulated in White Paper 6 on special needs' education published by the South African Department of Basic Education in 2001 has not been fully realized in terms of enabling a diverse inclusive sporting environment for all learners. The research on which this article is based therefore attempted to analyze the nature of school sport and suggest mechanisms for making school sport inclusive. The data of the qualitative study were extracted from interviews conducted with six principals, six sport organizers from three primary schools, and three physically disabled secondary-school learners from the Free State province of South Africa. To triangulate the data, interviews were conducted with three physically disabled secondary-school learners. A structuration theory lens and inductive analytical framework were used to analyze the data. The findings indicate that not enough provision has been made to accommodate the diverse sporting needs of learners, despite the implementation of inclusive education, and that teachers are not yet ready for inclusive school sport.