The case of Hellen Keller presents a great example of what a learner who is deafblind can achieve if provided with the appropriate educational accommodation in terms of content, environment, learning approach, instructional strategies, and teaching methodologies. However, access to education is not the reality for most learners who are deafblind due to their unique educational needs, owing to their dual sensory impairment. There has been an assertion that learners who are deafblind may not thrive in inclusive educational spaces, but there is a paucity of research to support or dispute this assertion. This scoping review explored what is documented in the literature on the barriers and facilitators to inclusive education for learners who are deafblind. A scoping review methodology using Arksey and O’Malley’s framework was employed. A search was conducted using six databases, including Science Direct, PubMed, Scopus Medline, ProQuest and gray literature, to identify publications focusing on the barriers and facilitators to inclusive education for learners who are deafblind. The findings from the scoping review suggest that the factors that influence the inclusion of learners who are deafblind in inclusive educational settings include the availability of educational settings; accessibility to the physical and social environment, and assistive devices; acceptability by peers and educators and the preparedness of educators; and the adaptability of classroom strategies. For learners who are deafblind to thrive in inclusive educational settings, transformational attitudes and intentional and specific strategies from multiple stakeholders are necessary. Therefore, the educational system, schools, peers and communities should be deliberate in putting in place specialized support and resources to accommodate the diverse needs of learners who are deafblind in all phases of their schooling life.

School violence is a prevalent phenomenon across Southern African Development Community (SADC), affecting children’s psychosocial and mental well-being. As part of SADC’s educational goals, access to quality education is a priority and is beneficial for the region’s economic growth and development. This goal cannot be achieved without addressing school violence at its roots. Using Arksey and O’Malley’s five-step framework, this scoping review explored evidence of contextual factors that contribute to school violence in the region. Twenty-four articles were included, and six themes were identified: home contextual factors, parental factors, community risk factors, school contextual factors, sociability factors, and demographic and individual characteristics. The findings suggest that factors contributing to school violence were from the learners’ immediate environments, including exposure to violence at home and poor parental methods, interactions with teachers and lack of appropriate disciplinary methods and processes, disruptive ideas related to masculinity, lack of understanding and intolerance to demographic and individual differences, and exposure to violence, drugs, and alcohol at the community level. To address this phenomenon, a comprehensive approach is needed, which includes developing clear school policies, teacher training on managing disruptive behaviours and professionalism, mapping incidents of school violence, and interventions involving collaboration between schools, parents, and school social workers to curb school violence.

Students and clinical educators have had to adapt to emergency telepractice during the COVID-19 pandemic without much preparation. We sought the experiences of clinical educators and students (n = 11) regarding a pediatric teletherapy practical at a university speech-language therapy clinic in South Africa, a Global South context, via qualitative surveys and a reflective focus group. Findings highlight several challenges experienced when engaging in telepractice, including allocating clients for telepractice, preparing for telepractice sessions, managing caregiver involvement in telepractice, promoting connection with clients online, and adapting supervision style for telepractice. We discuss several implications and considerations for student teletherapy practicals going forward.

Adolescence is a complex developmental stage with challenges that affect transitioning to adulthood. The success in managing the transition depends on personal capabilities, circumstances, and support systems. Contextual situations in adolescent development are understudied in developing countries. In this qualitative study, we explored what South African Grade 10 to 12 adolescents perceived to be the factors influencing their experience of psychosocial challenges at home and at school. Participants (22 Grade 10–12 learners) completed an open-ended survey structured as a written interview. Thematic analysis of the data revealed 2 main themes: home life situations (household financial difficulties, unfavourable living conditions, time-inflexible house chores, poor parent-child relationships, lack of support from families), and school life situations (peers’ inappropriate behaviour, perceptions of ineffective school leadership, teachers’ low work enthusiasm and commitment, insufficient school resources, unsafe and unfavourable geographical conditions). The findings suggest a need for psychosocial intervention by school social workers at family and school levels to support adolescents in negotiating their psychosocial developmental transition to young adulthood. The departments of education, social development and health, the police services, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) should collaborate to establish school programmes addressing learners’ disruptive behaviour and school safety concerns.

Adolescent learners around the world face a range of psychosocial challenges, which can negatively impact their well-being and academic success. In many low–middle income countries (LMICs), the lack of psychosocial support (PSS) structures in schools can exacerbate these challenges. This study explores psychosocial challenges reported by adolescent learners in grades 10–12 and the perceived support they require at school. Using a qualitative multiple-case study design, twenty-two purposively recruited adolescents aged 15–19 years from two public schools in Johannesburg, South Africa, participated in open-ended surveys. Thematic analysis revealed that the challenges faced by adolescent learners include being negatively treated by teachers, bullying from peers, decreased self-esteem and self-confidence, daily commuting difficulties, and insufficient material resources. Participants identified a need for PSS services at public schools, for the provision of mental health services (i.e., counseling and therapy) and the establishment of peer support groups to support adolescents with their developmental challenges. The initiation of community charity/funding drives for learning materials and school uniforms, that involved the learner community, was also identified as a role that PSS services could fill. This study recommends the deployment of school social workers and school psychologists to public schools in LMICs to help address the developmental challenges faced by adolescents and improve their academic performance and overall psychosocial well-being. In-service training programs for teachers may be developed by these professionals to assist them in better caring for and supporting adolescents.

The strategies employed by teachers and school social workers are deemed pivotal in aiding adolescents grappling with psychosocial challenges. Despite the worldwide acknowledgment of the importance of comprehensive support for adolescent development, there exists an evident lack of inquiry into the approaches employed by these professionals in the context of South African public schools. This qualitative exploratory pilot study, conducted with teachers and school social workers (n = 6) from a bigger research project in two Gauteng District eleven schools, explores the perspectives of teachers and school social workers on supporting adolescents with psychosocial challenges. The thematic analysis confirmed that diverse approaches were used to support adolescents, the challenges faced by these professionals in their efforts to provide support, and existing and needed multidisciplinary collaborations in the school. The study recommends that a bigger research study be undertaken focusing on this current aim and multidisciplinary collaboration efforts in schools. It also argues that teachers need to be trained to identify adolescents with psychosocial challenges and school social workers need to be deployed in school settings.