Stigma and Self-Acceptance of Vulnerable and Disadvantaged Learners in Zimbabwean Inclusive Education Settings. An Exploratory Study

The purpose of this study was to explore of the existence of stigma and its effects on self-acceptance on vulnerable and disadvantaged learners learning at an inclusive education school in Chinhoyi Urban in Zimbabwe. A constructivist lived experience perspective underpinned this research, in which multiple case studies were used to interact with the participants on inclusion, stigma and self-acceptance of vulnerable and disadvantaged learners from an inclusive education in Chinhoyi Urban. Purposive sampling was used to select 6 participants (3 males and 3 females). Data were collected through face-to-face interviews and transcribed verbatim. Four themes emerged from the thematic analysis of data sources. It was found out that participants were facing stigmatic problems and reported low levels of self-esteem, poor self-acceptance, low level of self-worth and a decline was noted in their self-goodness. The findings of this study should enable inclusive education policy makers and researchers to better understand stigmatic issues in inclusive education settings and its effects on the self-acceptance of vulnerable and disadvantaged learners learning in inclusive education setting