MST-Department of Special Needs Education
Permanent URI for this community
Browse
Browsing MST-Department of Special Needs Education by Author "Chege, Fatuma N."
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Factors affecting braille competency among learners with total loss of vision in Kenya(2011-08-10) Njue, Wanja Serah; Njoroge, M.N.; Chege, Fatuma N.This research was a study of factors affecting Braille competency among lower primary and pre school pupils with total loss of vision in Kenya. The study Is conducted in two out of the six primary schools for learners with visual impairments in Kenya namely, Thika School for the Visually Impaired and St Lucy School for the Visually Impaired. The two schools chosen were distinguished by their varying geographical locations as well as their history which ranked them among the oldest in the country. The two schools were also among the three largest schools for learners with visual impairments, the third being Likoni school in Coast province. The objectives of the study were to establish the academic level and professional qualifications of teachers of Braille, identify the resources and facilities available for teaching Braille to young beginners, establish the methods used in teaching Braille and establish whether reading rediness skills were taught to beginners. A survey research design was used. Three types of instruments were used for data collection. Those were two sets of questionnaires one set for head teachers and the other one for teachers who taught Braille. Both sets had own and closed ended items. Interview schedules and observation guides were also used to supplement the questionnaires. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, blowing text-based themes. Key findings of the study showed that furniture used by learners with visual impairments was not appropriate, secondly, there was no Braille, proficiency policy, Braille equipment and materials used by those learners were both inappropriate and inadequate and there was a high teacher-pupil ratio which affected performance. Pre reading skills were also not taught to beginners. It was expected the:, the results obtained from the study would benefit institutions training teachers of earners with visual impairments and the government of Kenya in terms of making policies on the education of learners with total loss of vision. From the findings, the study recommended that the government came up with Braille proficiency policy, teacher-learner ratio was reduced to 1:5 at most, adequate and appropriate furniture was availed to those, schools and reading readiness skills were taught to beginners. Fewer materials available in Braille disadvantaged those learners using it and that could significantly affect their progress in achievement. Continuous learning opportunities were essential for personnel who gave direct services in Braille literacy. The study further recommended that a study be done on teaching of Braille to newly blinded adults and also focus on effects of Free Primary Education (FPE) on Special Needs Education (SNE).Item Factors Enabling Transition to University for Students with Blindness in Kenya: a Case of Kenyatta University.(2014-02-27) Orangah, Josephine; Mugo, John Kabutha; Chege, Fatuma N.University students who are categorised as "blind" hardly receive research attention regarding their educational experiences including milestones that mark their educational success from .primary, secondary and eventually university. The study investigated factors that have made it possible for relatively few learners with blindness to succeed in education when majority of these students do not go beyond the primary school level by exploring what are perceived as JililliluniYeJ:sity_s1u.illm!0uccess stories in education. The location of the study was Kenyatta University's Main Campus, in Nairobi. The research employed a qualitative research approach using a narrative design that enabled the researcher to capture subjects' voices and represent experiences vividly. Interviews in form of biographies (life stories) were collected from ten students (five male and five female) with blindness using interview guides. The independent variable in the study was on the one hand, factors enabling transition of learners with blindness to university such as a barrier-free environment as well as relevant curriculum adaptations. On the other hand, transition to university was the dependant variable. The key objective of the study was to establish factors that have enabled transition of learners with blindness to university in Kenyatta University. A pilot study was conducted at Kenyatta University on a similar population; the four students in the pilot study did not take part in the actual study. The respondents were sampled purposively based on degree of blindness and level of university education (from PhD downwards). Recording of the interviews was done by use of a digital recorder. Interviews were transcribed to yield text data which were then coded and analysed qualitatively using Atlas ti computer software. From the study, a major finding is that forging of social relationships (friendships) with both sighted and learners with blindness and other persons in the surrounding was the main enabling factor in the transition of students with blindness to the university. The findings also show that schooling is a major emancipator of persons with blindness. A major recommendation is that the Ministry of Education should subsidize the cost of Braille textbooks to make them affordable. Further, Ministry of Education should translate supplementary text books used by learners with blindness into Braille to help reduce reliance on readers. The study findings may form part of the emancipatory lessons that may be used to inform and encourage other students with blindness. The findings may also be used in, planning, monitoring and evaluating programmes which aim at improving access and retention of students with blindness in higher education in Kenya.