| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of the study was to investigate the challenges facing the effective implementation of inclusive education in selected regular and special schools in Langata District of Nairobi County. The study was guided by the following specific objectives: to establish the teacher preparedness in handling inclusive education in schools, to determine the influence of teaching/learning resources and facilities on the implementation of inclusive education in Langata district, to establish the influence of learner characteristics on the implementation of inclusive education and to establish the influence of support services in the implementation of inclusive education in Langata district of Nairobi County. Descriptive survey research design was used in the study. The population for the study was primary schools in Lang‟ata district. The study targeted head teachers, teachers and pupils in schools practicing inclusive education in. Simple Purposive sampling technique was used to sample schools practicing inclusive Education, head teachers and pupils with special needs while simple random sampling was used to sample the pupils without special needs and teachers.
A total of 85 respondents were therefore targeted by the study (including 5 head teachers, 40 teachers and forty pupils) out of which a total of 81 responded (including 5 head teachers, 36 teachers and forty pupils) giving a response rate of 95 per cent. The study used questionnaires to collect data from teachers while interview schedules to collect data from head teachers. Focus group discussions were used to collect data from pupils. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics while content analysis technique was used to analyze qualitative data collected using interview schedules. In determining teacher‟s
xi
preparedness in handling special education, the study found that 52.8 percent of the respondents had Diploma, 27.8 percent of the respondents had P1, and 13.9 percent had BED, while 5.6 percent of the respondents had MED. The study established that 36.1 percent of the respondents had been in the teaching profession for 11 and above years. Regarding the influence of teaching /learning resources and facilities, the study found that 72 percent of the respondents indicated that there are no special education resources. On the influence of learner characteristics on the implementation of inclusive education, the study established that all 36 percent the respondents strongly agreed that the nature of the disability among learners affect inclusion in primary schools. Regarding the influence of support services in the implementation of inclusive education, the study established that 69 percent of the respondents indicated that support services for learners with disabilities are available. The study concluded that teachers are academically and professionally prepared in handling special education in schools even though they require additional training on special education. The study also concluded that even though teaching/learning resources and facilities were available in the schools studied, they were inadequate. The study further concluded that learner characteristics influence the implementation of inclusive education. It can finally be concluded that the provision of support services influences the implementation of inclusive education. The study recommended that the government should provide the necessary resources and facilities for inclusive education in primary schools. It was finally recommended that a study be done on ways of improving inclusive education in public schools in Kenya which was not a concern in this study | en_US |
