Örjan Bäckman
08-12 07 64 22
orjan.backman@specped.su.se
Rolf Helldin
08-12 07 64 40
rolf.helldin@specped.su.se
The cooperation is part of the Swedish educational support to
the Government of South Africa. Within this support there are funds
set aside for cooperation with Sweden in the area of teacher
education and research. The main objective is to assist the
Department of Education in the implementation of the first phase of
The former Stockholm Institute of Education (SIE) was identified by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) as a possible partner for cooperation with the Directorate for Inclusive Education in the Department of Education and Teacher Training Institutions in South Africa.
Several exploratory visits were undertaken to South Africa 2003-2005 by Örjan Bäckman and Rolf Helldin, and reports were presented to the South African Department of Education (DoE) and Sida with proposals of collaboration.
The DoE and the former SIE agreed on the Terms of Reference, and a Contract between Sida and SIE was signed on October 26, 2005. The contract was transferred to Stockholm University on 1 January 2008.
The South African Constitution (Act 108 of 1996) states that all citizens of South Africa have the rights to an education system based upon equality and human dignity. White Paper 6 is a policy guideline for achieving these goals.
CooperationOur cooperation is based on this policy guideline and other governmental documents. It is important to emphasise that the cooperation is a mutual commitment, and the overall goal is to enable the Department of Education/Directorate for Inclusive Education to benefit from Swedish professional experience and research in the field of inclusive education and vice versa so as to further assist in developing already established programmes and new services for children facing barriers to learning.
The agreed areas of cooperation included in the Terms of Reference are:
- Coordination
- Training of (special) teachers
- Transformation of special schools into resource centres
- Research
- Study visits and staff exchange
Two Study visits by South African professionals in inclusive
education to Sweden. Workshops for special teachers:
- on inclusion, the counselling role of the special teacher,
professional cooperation empowerment and communication
- on transformation of special schools into resource centres
- on visual impairment/low vision
- on hearing impairment/deaf education
- Collaboration with University of South Africa (UNISA). Ongoing comparative study on South African and Swedish special teachers' attitudes to inclusive education (South African researchers involved from UNISA: Anna Hugo, Norma Nel, Helene Müller; Swedish researchers involved from Stockholm University: Rolf Helldin, Örjan Bäckman, Helen Dwyer, Anders Skarlind)
- Visit to Sweden by two South African researchers from UNISA
The present contract expires on 31 December 2008. Both parties have expressed interest in future cooperation. The South African Department of Education is expected to present a proposal to the Swedish Embassy in Pretoria in due time.
ReferencePossibilities of cooperation with the Directorate for Inclusive
Education of the Department of Education and Teacher Training
Institutions in South Africa.
Possibilities of cooperation with the Directorate for Inclusive
Education of the Department of Education and Teacher Training
Institutions in South Africa.
Cooperation between the Department of Education, South Africa
and the Stockholm Institute of Education, Sweden, 2005-2007.
Cooperation between the Department of Education/Directorate
Inclusive Education, South Africa and the Stockholm Institute of
Education, 2005-2007.
Cooperation between the Department of Education/Directorate
Inclusive Education, South Africa and the Stockholm Institute of
Education, 2005-2007.
