Assessment of the Management Strategies by Schools to Meet the Diversity of Learners with Special Needs in Kakamega East Sub-County, Kenya
Journal Title: Scholars Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences - Year 2016, Vol 4, Issue 9
Abstract
The national education system has been characterized by inadequate educational management practices and facilities that do not respond well to the challenges faced by Learners with Special Needs (LWSNs). These learners are gradually and deliberately pushed out of the school system because schools are not sensitive to their learning styles and background. The purpose of this study was therefore to assess the implementation of inclusive education management practices in public primary schools in Kakamega East Sub-county. The study objectives were; to assess the management strategies put in place by schools to meet the diversity of LWSNs, The study was based on the theory of Normalization and it made use of the descriptive survey research design. The target population was 90 head teachers, 999 teachers and one Educational Assessment and Resource Centre (EARC) coordinator. The schools were stratified according to zones and simple random sampling was used to select, 18 head teachers and 200 teachers, while the EARC coordinator was selected by the purposive sampling technique. Instruments for data collection were the questionnaires, interview schedules and document analysis. Content validity was used to determine the validity of the research instruments while the test-re-test method was used to test reliability using the Pearson Product moment of correlation coefficient (r) value. Data was then analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics and the results were presented in form of frequency tables. The research findings revealed that inclusive education and its management practices have not been effectively implemented in public primary schools in Kakamega East Sub-county; whereby LWSNs are rarely involved in student leadership activities, and the local administration rarely works in liaison with the school to make the community responsive to LWSNs. The results also indicated that teachers lack relevant skills to meet the academic needs of LWSNs and they rarely address learners’ needs through the individualised education programmes (IEP). The findings also revealed that the attitude of teachers towards inclusive education was negative whereby most teachers believed that inclusion of LWSNs is quite demanding and it results to poor syllabus coverage, lack of curriculum and examination adaptation and modification to suit individual needs of LWSNs are key barriers to inclusion and that the school infrastructure is not modified and adapted so as to meet the needs of LWSNs thus making these learners find it difficult to fit into the school environment. The researcher recommended that regular inspections should be carried out in schools as a follow up measure of ensuring that inclusive education and its management practices are implemented to the latter. Teachers who are not trained in special needs education (SNE) should be given an opportunity to undergo training so as to equip them with the necessary skills and attitudes towards LWSNs. There is need for further infrastructural, social adaptations and modifications so as to curb barriers to inclusion. Keywords: Educational Assessment and Resource Centre (EARC), LWSNs.
Authors and Affiliations
Otundo Dennis Tsisindu, Khasakhala Edward, Okutoyi Joel
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP378816
- DOI -
- Views 102
- Downloads 0
Militarization of Football Reporting in Kenyan Newspapers
Football is considered a chief global entertainment sport. Millions of soccer fans throng football stadiums to watch the live matches while others are always glued to the television and radio sets whenever their teams ar...
Leadership Skills as Antecedent for Competitive Advantage in Meeting Strategic Goals in Kenyan’s Banking Sector
There has been a crisis of leadership in most organizations during present decade and last one. It is in this period that there has been a fall of a number of firms while others are under the statutory management. Attemp...
Case Study Based Methodology of Teaching & Research in Imparting Learning in Social Sciences
Abstract:One of the most crucial aspects of learning is, learning is complex, in case if the content fails to get delivered or difficult to be delivered. When it becomes complex to get delivered the content, a need arise...
Impacts of Hinduism in Medieval Manipuri SSociety and Culture
Abstract: The purport of this paper is to explore the impacts given by the Hindu religion in transforming and trans creating the Meetei indigenous religious beliefs in Manipur, its growth of ideas, rituals and beliefs, i...
Home-Work Interface and Perceived Stress among Working Women in Nigeria
Abstract:This article examined the relationship between home-work interface and perceived stress. The major objective of the study was to assess the work-home interface and experience of stress among working women in Bor...