An Evaluation Of Primary Schools’ Preparedness To Integrate Learners With Visual Impairments Into Inclusive Education In Bomet County, Kenya

Abstract

Inclusive Education is an approach in which learners with special needs receive services and support appropriate to their individual needs within the regular education setting. The policy of the Kenya government on inclusive education states that Special Education should follow a policy of integrating the challenged children in society where they are not segregated in Special Schools instead their education be provided within the community where they are expected to take up their places in adulthood. The study sought to find out on the preparedness of regular public primary schools to integrate the learners with visual impairments into inclusive education in Bomet County, Kenya. The objectives of the study were: to investigate the determinants of primary schools’ preparedness to integrate the learners with visual impairments into inclusive education; to determine the extent of primary schools’ preparedness to integrate the learners with visual impairment in inclusive education; to determine if gender of the learners with visual impairment influence their enrolment into inclusive education in integrated primary schools. The study provided information that would help the Kenyan government to improve on the implementation of inclusive education for learners with VI. The research adopted descriptive survey design as this allowed description of issues as they were. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the sample population. Questionnaires were used to obtain data from teachers, head teachers and Educational Assessment Resource Center, EARC, coordinators while interviews were designed for learners with visual impairment, VI. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and presented in graphs, pie-charts and frequency tables for interpretation. The study was pegged on constructivist theories of Zone of Proximal Development, ZPD, of Lev Vygotsky and Maria Montessori. The study found out that integration of inclusive education for the learners with VI faced many challenges which included; insufficient skills by teachers due to lack of training in Special Needs Education, most did not have braille skills and could not teach the learners with VI effectively with the other learners without VI. The school environment posed a great challenge since no majoradaption was made to suit the learners with visual impairment. There were no pavements to ease their mobility for proper orientation within the school compound. Negative attitudes and poor cultural beliefs affected learners with VI greatly. The curriculum they followed has not been reviewed to meet their specific needs. Gender however did not affect their enrolment in schools, both boys and girls were cited as being enrolled equally. Major recommendatios therefore were: schools should adapt the environment to suit the learners with V.I, teachers be trained adequately to teach learners with V.I effectively, the government to allocate more funds to support Special Needs Education, SNE, programmes in schools, more SNE personnel to be employed to supervise these programmes, the education curriculum to be used by learners with V.I to be reviewed to suit their diverse needs. Parents to be sensitized on the importance of educating children with visual impairments.