| dc.description.abstract | This study was an attempt to investigate factors influencing the implementation of inclusive education in Kenya with reference to Mombasa County. Inclusive education takes the Education for ALL agenda forward. It is concerned with all learners with the focus on those who have been traditionally excluded from educational opportunities. Such learners include those with special needs and disabilities. It is a system where all learners including those with disabilities participate in all activities in a community.
It is quite evident that parents with children with special needs and disabilities are not aware of this provision within the education sector and still take their children to schools which are far away from their Community to seek specialized education. According to the statistics from Mombasa EARC (2011), 6.9% of children with special needs attend inclusive schools offered only in 4 schools out of 92 public primary schools in the county. The study's objectives seek to find out how resource allocation Government policy, social-cultural factors, curriculum factors and teachers skills and attitude influence the implementation of inclusive education in Kenya with reference to Mombasa county.
The purpose of the study was to investigate factors influencing the implementation of inclusive education in Mombasa County. The study reviewed different literature related to the area of study. The literatures reviewed were on historical development of inclusive education, how inclusive education is practiced in Kenya and factors influencing the implementation of inclusive education. The sample population comprised of 10 schools with their Head teachers, 34 teachers and 24 parents of children with special needs bringing the number of respondents to 68. The study employed disproportionate stratified random sampling with the use of lottery method. The questionnaires were developed to guide the data collection with presentation and analysis. The research techniques used were the questionnaire, interview and reviewing of the related literature.
The researcher visited schools and administered interview to head teachers and parents with children with special needs and administered questionnaires to teachers. The responses were analyzed and summarized to guide the study. The findings from the study indicated that various factors hinder the implementation of inclusive education. The findings showed that most public primary schools lack resources to carter for learners with special needs. There is no clear government policy on inclusion and the curriculum is too rigid for learners with SNE. Most teachers have negative attitude towards inclusion as they see it as a bother and those children do lower their class mean score Head teachers support inclusive education.
Yet so many head teachers are not trained in SNE thus making it difficult to implement what they themselves do not know. For inclusion to be a reality then the Government of Kenya need to come up with clear policy that that will give the frame work for inclusion. Parents need to be sensitized on the importance of inclusion. All teacher training colleges should incorporate special education in their syllabus. The research can be carried out in other Counties of the Republic of Kenya in order to make inclusive education a reality. | en_US |
