Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to determine intervention strategies used by teachers to support learners
with communication disorders in mainstream primary schools in Kericho County, Kenya. The study
was guided by the developmental psychology theory that aided in understanding of communication
disorders among children. Stratified and lottery technique of random sampling was used to select a
sample of participating schools and respondents. Data for the study was gathered using two
instruments which included: face to face interviews with class teachers and questionnaires for teachers
and pupils in mainstream primary schools in Kericho County. The respondents comprised of class 3
pupils since it was randomly selected from the other 8 classes in the school. The independent variables
were the communication disorders and performance was a dependent variable. The sampling design
which was used included stratified sampling and simple random sampling. A descriptive survey
design was adopted in this study where 384 pupils’ questionnaires and 48 teachers’ and head teachers’
questionnaires were formulated to tap the respective CD effects on performance of the learners from
the sampled public mainstream primary schools. The data collection procedures adopted for this study
involved appropriate appointments with the respondents where the researcher made familiarization
visits with sampled schools to hold discussions with heads of the respective schools to make necessary
arrangements for the actual data collection. Data analysis was done with help of SPSS programme and
findings were presented using frequency tables and graphs. Content analysis used in processing of
qualitative data from the open ended questions. In addition, a multivariate regression model applied to
determine the relative importance of each of the variables with respect to academic performance of
learners with communication disorders. The study found out that teachers use different strategies to
support pupils’ learning. There was no one strategy that worked for all learners with CD however;
strategies that succeeded for many pupils had several characteristics in common. There were few
differences between the general learners and CD learners in the use of these strategies, although pupils
with CD were more likely to receive additional support. The findings are useful to the Special Need
Education and its various organs in formulating appropriate mechanisms that will ensure that
performance of CD learners is significantly improved for assurance of quality to students, parents,
teachers and other stakeholders. The ministry needs to review policies which guide students’
assessment to enhance good performance, through intensified in-service training of teachers.
