Abstract:

In South Africa, inclusive education is deeply rooted in social justice and human rights principles, aiming to create an educational system that caters to learner diversity and ensures access for all. Education White Paper 6 outlines the country's policy on inclusive education, emphasizing equal opportunities and the valuing of all learners. However, the implementation of inclusive education faces challenges, particularly regarding teacher capacity in responding to diverse needs. While the Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications highlight the importance of inclusive education in teacher training, the actual enactment of inclusive practice and pedagogy often falls short. Addressing diverse learning needs through inclusive pedagogies and practices such as differentiation is a current focus of initial teacher education, however what remains elusive is engagement with specific strategies that enable inclusive differentiation in diverse classes in the South African context. To bridge this gap by attempting to answer the question of how effective differentiation can be managed in diverse classrooms this article introduces the "Cups Differentiation" strategy, designed to support teacher responsiveness in diverse classrooms. Using an action research methodology, twelve Intermediate Phase teachers (Grades 4-6) in one urban school in the greater Johannesburg area implemented the strategy over the course of one teaching term and reflected on this experience in a series of individual interviews. Thematic analysis of this small-scale study revealed positive shifts in teacher thinking, increased learner engagement, and enhanced responsiveness. The findings suggest that the "Cups Differentiation" strategy effectively enabled participant teachers to engage learners in self-assessment, rethink differentiation practices, and consider new possibilities for substantive engagement. These results have direct implications for teacher training programs, emphasizing the need to equip novice teachers with inclusive pedagogical strategies like differentiation to create truly inclusive classrooms in South Africa.

Keywords:

Inclusive pedagogy, intermediate phase teaching, differentiation, diversity, responsiveness.