Teachers’ agency and wellbeing in inclusive education: challenges and opportunities.

Abstract

This article explores the contexts of work environment, agency and psychological wellbeing of teachers who handle inclusive classrooms in foundation phase education. This article argues that inclusive classroom environment is complex, and teachers are not only required to focus on the learners and meeting the inclusive requirements, especially in under resourced contexts, but also need to take cognizance of their general wellbeing which is essential for better learning outcomes. Unlike mainstream classrooms where teaching and learning activities follow traditional approaches/strategies, teachers of inclusive classrooms at the foundation phase schools in under-resourced contexts are sometimes required to go beyond their scope of training and forced to re-imagine teaching and learning strategies to accommodate most of their learners in the absence of collaboration, care, and other support structures. The teachers’ resilience and agency of their own wellbeing is emphasized. This article brings to the fore the diversities within complex diverse classrooms, cultural, socio-economic, and linguistic backgrounds among others. This article is framed within the epistemological assumptions of resilience perspectives.