Investigating School-Based Support Teams' Roles in Supporting Children With Cerebral Palsy During the National Lockdown

The demand for mainstream South African schools to adopt inclusive education research recommendations is rising exponentially. The COVID-19 pandemic effects compound curriculum access difficulties for children with cerebral palsy. In addition, the COVID-19 virus emergence exposed longstanding home-schooling endangerments. As part of a larger study, this chapter is a sequel to a qualitative, descriptive multiple case study interviewing 15 teachers from three schools, three coordinators of the school-based support teams, and the district-based support team coordinators in Limpopo Province. The study drew from Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems, Piaget's cognitive development, and Vygotsky's sociocultural theories to investigate stakeholders' understanding of inclusive education. During the lockdown period, follow-up online interviews with the school-based support team (SBST) identified a continuous fragmentation of IE stakeholders' responsibilities. They recommended a community of practice (CoP) approach that advocated expediting the implementation of recommendations.