Abstract:

This paper focuses on the experiences of teachers regarding the implementation of the Life Skills Curriculum and Assessment policy statement (CAPS) for learners with severe intellectual disabilities (SID) in schools for learners with special educational needs. The Constitution of South Africa of 1996 emphasises that each child has the right to have quality basic education without any discrimination. The state must provide support systems that learners with special educational needs can have equal access to basic education. The high dropout statistics of learners out of the basic school system and the need for skills development is discussed in The National Development Plan (The Presidency, 2012). The government must ensure that all resources will be developed for learners with special educational needs to develop to their full potential (Department of Basic Education, 2014a).

The curriculum for SID learners was developed to ensure that the needs of learners who have special educational needs will be met by reducing the depth and width of the national CAPS used in ordinary public schools. The curriculum was also written at a more functional level so that their cognitive abilities will be considered.

A sequential explanatory mixed method research design was applied in the study. The quantitative phase consisted of a self-developed questionnaire sent to 21 pilot special schools in all nine provinces of South Africa. Collages and arts-based focus group discussions were used to generate data for the qualitative part.

In the qualitative phase of the study, the findings were divided into three categories and eleven themes:
Category 1: the opinion of the participants on the CAPS for SID learners and the different sections of the Life Skills CAPS for SID learners
Category 2: Aspects that influence the implementation of the Life Skills CAPS for SID learners
Category 3: The influence of the implementation of the CAPS for SID learners on the teachers.

The categories were divided into eleven themes: The implementation of the CAPS for SID learners; The life skills CAPS for SID learners Creative Arts, Beginning knowledge and Personal and Social well-being and Physical Education; The relevance of the world of work included in the CAPS for SID learners; Resources; Training for the implementation; Assessment included; Degree of difficulty; Workload and Time management of the teachers.

Most of the participants agreed that it was good to have a structured curriculum that gave teachers guidelines and lesson plans so that they knew what was expected of them. However, issues such as workload, assessment, time management, resources and training were still problematic in some schools.
There are room for creativity, innovation, and originality if the training of teachers will continue and if the management of schools give support to teachers. The written electives that were implemented for learners 14-18 year contributed to the world of work and the opportunity to get work for learners with special educational needs.

The findings of this research were used to help teachers collaborate to develop a manual that can be used to train beginner teachers who never worked with the CAPS for SID learners and to form a community of practice.

Keywords:

CAPS for SID learners, curriculum for special schools, learners with special educational needs, Life Skills curriculum, SID learners, special schools.