Inclusive Teaching-Learning Strategies to Meet Academic Needs of Learners with Special Needs in Kenya (A Case of Kakamega East Sub-county)

Abstract

The national education system has been characterised by inadequate educational management practices and facilities that do not respond well to the challenges faced by Learners with Special Needs (LWSNs). These learners are gradually and deliberately pushed out of the school system because schools are not sensitive to their learning styles and background. The purpose of this study was therefore to assess the extent to which inclusive teaching-learning strategies were employed to meet academic needs of learners with special needs in public primary schools in Kakamega East Sub-county. The study objective was to; determine the extent to which the teaching and learning strategies were employed to meet the academic needs of learners with special needs in primary schools. The study was based on the theory of Normalisation and it made use of the descriptive survey research design. The target population was 90 head teachers, 999 teachers and one Educational Assessment and Resource Centre (EARC) coordinator. The schools were stratified according to zones and simple random sampling was used to select, 18 head teachers and 200 teachers, while the EARC coordinator was selected by the purposive sampling technique. Instruments for data collection were the questionnaires, interview schedules and document analysis. Content validity was used to determine the validity of the research instruments while the test-re-test method was used to test reliability using the Pearson Product moment of correlation coefficient (r) value. Data was then analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics and the results were presented in form of frequency tables. The research findings revealed that teachers lack relevant skills to meet the academic needs of LWSNs and they rarely address learners’ needs through the individualised education programmes (IEP). The researcher recommended that regular inspections should be carried out in schools as a follow up measure of ensuring that inclusive education and its management practices are implemented to the latter. Teachers who are not trained in special needs education (SNE) should be given an opportunity to undergo training so as to equip them with the necessary skills and attitudes towards LWSNs. IEP need to be developed for every learner with specialneeds in learning, learners with special needs need to be involved in class activities.