ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the inclusion of deaf children in mainstream and special secondary schools in Zimbabwe. The chapter discusses the evolution of the concept of the least restrictive environment, with particular focus on deaf learners. The chapter employs an empirical study that looked at the extent to which deaf children experience education as inclusive or exclusionary in mainstream and special school settings. In the study, data from key informant interviews with 18 school-leavers were analysed using thematic content analysis. The study established that both special and mainstream schools do not meet the criteria of ‘schools for all’. This is because there is inadequate training of teachers in Sign Language and there are no teaching materials for this language in the schools. These inadequacies have created environments that are unsuitable for the effective participation of children who are deaf. The chapter argues that inclusive education should not mainly be about placement but successful participation in learning. The chapter concludes that the practice of inclusive education for deaf children should enable not just their physical access to schools but also their epistemological access, regardless of whether this occurs in mainstream or special schools.
