Enhancing access to braille materials for optimal Learning at Kibos primary school for the blind, Kisumu County, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to enhance access to Braille materials for optimal learning at Kibos primary school for the blind, this study was guided by four main objectives, which were: Establish the enrolment of learners who use Braille materials at Kibos primary school for the blind; Identify academic subjects most affected by inadequate Braille materials at Kibos primary school for the blind; Determine the causes of the shortage of Braille materials at Kibos primary school for the blind; Find out participants' views on enhancement of access to Braille materials at Kibos primary school for the blind. Kibos Primary School for the Blind was the locale for the study. The study employed a case study research design with a target population comprising 26 teachers, one transcriber, a librarian and a resource person. Interview schedules and questionnaires were administered to different groups of respondents. A pilot study was conducted at St. Oda Primary School of the blind. Census was used to acquire the needed information from the target population since it was small, and the researcher had no control. Qualitative data was analyzed qualitatively using narrative, while quantitative data was analyzed using a statistical package for social sciences version 17. The findings noted that the school enrollment of both male and female pupils was on the rise. However, the enrollment of male pupils was higher. The results also revealed that mathematics and science subjects were most affected by the shortage of braille learning materials. Among the identified causes of shortage of Braille learning materials were: inadequate funding, regular change of syllabus and delay by producers of the materials. This study recommended that to enhance the access to Braille learning materials at the school; the government should give adequate funds and build the capacity of the transcribers. The study was necessary since the government policy on education for all did not seem to cater for braille learning materials for learners with visual impairment.