Supervision of Learners with Intellectual Disabilities in a Special School: In loco Parentis of Teachers as a Wellness Perspective

Abstract

This chapter addresses a study that was conducted at a special school for learners with intellectual disabilities in the Bojanala region of South Africa’s North West Province. After all, the learners are the heartbeat of the school; in their absence, the school, its buildings and facilities, and even the teachers would be rendered pointless. The aim of this study was to explore ways in which learners are supervised and cared for, considering their mild, moderate and (in a few cases) severe intellectual disabilities. This longitudinal study took place over a period of three years and was embedded in a community engagement project conducted at a particular special school in said region. Due to the nature of a project, action research was selected as the approach most likely to yield useful results over an extended period of time. Additionally, Hettler’s Wellness Theory (1980) was used as the theoretical framework by which to investigate how this school’s teachers and other personnel adhered to the in loco parentis principle - i.e. teachers’ legal imperative to assume some of parental functions and responsibilities, including protecting learners’ physical and psychological wellbeing. As such, the school management team (SMT) and teachers made up the study’s participants. Data were collected by means of questionnaires, interviews and observations. In their encounters with the school management team, the researchers realised that it is particularly crucial to ensure learner safety at special schools. Initial findings also revealed that most of the teachers employed at the school had not received training on teaching at a special school.