FACTORS INFLUENCING TEACHERS’ PREPAREDNESS IN MAINSTREAMING OF LEARNERS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN MASABA SOUTH SUB COUNTY, KISII COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

ABSTRACT All over the world, learners with special needs experience difficulties in learning and have traditionally been marginalized within or excluded from schools. This has led to numerous campaigns and advocacy on the adoption of mainstreaming. Mainstreaming promotes education for all learners in mainstream schools. Teachers play a critical role towards the realization of this process. Although the government has trained many teachers in special needs education and is funding programs for learners with special needs, it is not clear whether teachers are ready for mainstreaming of these learners in regular public primary schools. The purpose of this study was to examine factors influencing teachers’ preparedness towards mainstreaming of learners with special needs within regular public primary schools in Masaba South Sub County in Kisii County, Kenya. The study was guided by four objectives which included: To establish the extent to which teachers’ attitude influence mainstreaming, to find out whether teachers’ experience influence readiness towards mainstreaming, to examine the effect of training in influencing teachers’ readiness towards mainstreaming and to assess strategies used by teachers in readiness for mainstreaming of learners with special needs in public primary schools in Masaba South Sub County, Kisii County. The study borrowed ideas from the Social Model of Disability theory as highlighted by Rieser (2002). The target population comprised of 784 teachers in the 82 public primary schools in Masaba South Sub County. Simple random sampling was used to select a sample of 234 teachers from 25 schools which were used in the study. 25 head teachers were purposively selected from the sampled schools. The study used questionnaires and interview schedules as instruments for collecting data. A pilot study was carried out in one of the schools within the study area. The study adopted survey research design to investigate the study variables. Both qualitative and quantitative procedures were used in analyzing data. The findings of the study found out that teachers’ attitude, professional development and experience influence mainstreaming. The study also observed that for mainstreaming to be achieved, the curriculum needs to be structured, teachers should be trained in special needs education, and the school environment should meet the needs of learners with special needs. School administration should support teachers and teachers should equally desist from cultural beliefs that hinder mainstreaming. It is therefore recommended that since the named constraints were negatively affecting mainstreaming in Masaba south Sub County, the government of Kenya through the ministry of education should make efforts to allocate more funds to special education under mainstream education to enable teachers to be able to handle learners with special needs. The government and all education stakeholders should also jointly provide for expansion of facilities in the already established schools. This will encourage all teachers, trained or not to be ready to handle all categories of learners in the mainstream settings in Masaba South Sub County