Challenges facing Participation of Girls with Special Needs in Inclusive Primary Schools in Chuka Division in Tharaka Nithi County
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Date
2013-11-06
Authors
Tiira, Micheni Monica
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Abstract
Since the early years, children with learning disabilities were enrolled in special schools
and this led to their segregation from regular schools. They were basically looked down
upon in the society. Today, the government and key educational stakeholders have put
great efforts in trying to include these learners into mainstream schools where they learn
with the regular pupils. This has not been successful since not all children with special
learning needs and who have attained the school age are enrolled in schools. The main
concern of the study was to investigate the challenges facing the participation of school
going girls with special needs in Chuka Division of Meru South District. The researcher
also sought to establish the prevalence of girls with special needs and the different
measures to address these challenges. Social learning theory by Vygotsky (1981) guided
the study. The study established that social interaction by girls with special needs in the
school environment precedes learning. This is in agreement with Vygotsky's social
learning theory who also maintains that mainstream schools are better placed to offer
inclusive education but have been slow to promote environment in which learners are
actually involved in their education. Descriptive case study design was used. A total
population of 74 respondents participated in the study. Purposive sampling was used to
achieve a sample of educational officers, teachers, parents and girls with special needs. In
Meru South District, Chuka Division has more schools that offer inclusive education and
therefore these respondents. Stratified random sampling was used to get a sample of
"normal" children through dividing the children into groups of boys and girls and then
using simple random sampling to get a sample of 10 boys and 10 girls. Four sets of
instruments were used. These were observation by the researcher, questionnaire for
education officers and teachers, interview schedule for parents and girls with special
needs and focus groups discussions for "normal" children. The instruments were valid
and reliable in collecting data since they were first piloted in one primary school and
changes made accordingly. Further the instruments content validity was ascertained by
the supervisors who are experts in the department. Quantitative data were analyzed using
descriptive statistics whereas qualitative data was analyzed thematically in line with the
objectives of the study. The major challenges identified were: - Low self-esteem, lack of
facilities/inaccessible, overloading of teachers, discrimination due to disability and lack
of role models. Counseling for girls with special needs and national campaigns on what
entails inclusive education were some of the major recommendations that came up
strongly. These will help the policy makers to address the unique needs of girls with
special needs and to make programs that address their diverse challenges.
Description
Department of Gender and Development, 2013