Adaptation of Instructional Strategies and Learning Environment for Learners with Developmental Disabilities : A Case Study of Special Classes and Resource Units in Chitungwiza District, Harare Province In Zimbabwe

Abstract

The focus of the present study is to investigate the adaptations that teachers make to their instructional strategies and the learning environment when teaching learners with developmental disabilities. The study sought to answer the following question: how do teachers adapt their instructional strategies and organise the learning environment to meet the needs of learners with developmental disabilities? The study was conducted in four different schools from one district of Harare province in Zimbabwe. The study was qualitative and an explorative case study design was used. A purposively selected sample that consisted of eight teachers was drawn from the four schools. The aim was to investigate how the teachers adapted their instructional strategies by letting them teach while the investigator observed, to capture the details of the adaptations. In order to gain more in-depth information and clarification on the teachers’ actions, follow-up interviews were conducted immediately after the observations for the teachers to give their own reasoning for the actions and their own perspective of the adaptations that they made. Overall findings showed that even though some teachers truly adapted and differentiated their instructional strategies and the learning environment for learners with developmental disabilities, others needed to be made aware of the need for some adaptations when teaching and taught the various ways that teachers can use adaptations in their instructions that can benefit the learners. The study also led to the discovery and finding of some of the impediments to adaptations that included large class sizes and inflexible environments which need to be addressed. The results however were only representative of the schools studied and could not be generalized to the whole teaching population. The study concluded with some recommendations to the findings that included reduction of the teacher to pupil ratio, the need for constant upgrading of teachers through workshops and in-service training.