Quality of Education offered to Children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in the era of Free Primary Education (FPE) in Rural Kenya: Perspectives of Educationists, Teachers and Parents

<p>The education of children with special educational needs (SEN) has been a focus of international inquiry. There is a strong advocacy for the inclusion of children with SEN in regular schools although this remains contentious and challenging. Despite an emphasis by the Kenyan government that children with SEN should be included in regular schooling, there has not been substantial investigation especially in rural settings on how these children can receive quality education. This thesis seeks to address this issue by exploring the perspectives of educationists, teachers and parents on the quality of education offered to children with SEN in the era of free primary education in a rural setting. A qualitative interpretive approach to research was used to generate data through interviews with government officials, teachers and parents, focus group discussions with regular teachers and observations in three schools spread over three rural districts. Thematic analysis was employed in analysing the data. A critical theory approach focussing on social justice and rights of children as enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) was used as a lens. The findings revealed that despite policy articulation, children with SEN occupied the role of “others” in schools and the society and were described in negative terms. Participants, especially regular staff and parents were emphatic that children with SEN required “experts” and “special” resources both of which were not available in regular schools. The participants felt that the available curriculum was relevant for “normal” children and therefore could not meet the educational needs of children with SEN. The broad conclusion drawn from this study is that there is need to distinctly define the terms inclusive education, special education and mainstream education in a way that the core stakeholders can understand, interpret and implement within their contexts. Designing a means of progress monitoring other than national examinations may help motivate both regular teachers and parents to see the need to have children with SEN in regular schools. There is need for further investigation on how regular teachers can be persuaded from existing beliefs that they are not qualified to teach children with SEN and how to convince parents that their children are worthy of an education.</p>

Quality of Education offered to Children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in the era of Free Primary Education (FPE) in Rural Kenya: Perspectives of Educationists, Teachers and Parents

<p>The education of children with special educational needs (SEN) has been a focus of international inquiry. There is a strong advocacy for the inclusion of children with SEN in regular schools although this remains contentious and challenging. Despite an emphasis by the Kenyan government that children with SEN should be included in regular schooling, there has not been substantial investigation especially in rural settings on how these children can receive quality education. This thesis seeks to address this issue by exploring the perspectives of educationists, teachers and parents on the quality of education offered to children with SEN in the era of free primary education in a rural setting. A qualitative interpretive approach to research was used to generate data through interviews with government officials, teachers and parents, focus group discussions with regular teachers and observations in three schools spread over three rural districts. Thematic analysis was employed in analysing the data. A critical theory approach focussing on social justice and rights of children as enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) was used as a lens. The findings revealed that despite policy articulation, children with SEN occupied the role of “others” in schools and the society and were described in negative terms. Participants, especially regular staff and parents were emphatic that children with SEN required “experts” and “special” resources both of which were not available in regular schools. The participants felt that the available curriculum was relevant for “normal” children and therefore could not meet the educational needs of children with SEN. The broad conclusion drawn from this study is that there is need to distinctly define the terms inclusive education, special education and mainstream education in a way that the core stakeholders can understand, interpret and implement within their contexts. Designing a means of progress monitoring other than national examinations may help motivate both regular teachers and parents to see the need to have children with SEN in regular schools. There is need for further investigation on how regular teachers can be persuaded from existing beliefs that they are not qualified to teach children with SEN and how to convince parents that their children are worthy of an education.</p>

INFLUENCE OF SCHOOL RESOURCES ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF VISUALLY IMPAIRED LEARNERS IN INTEGRATED PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN BARINGO COUNTY, KENYA

Despite the provision of school resources by Kenyan government through the Ministry of Education, there has been an outcry from stakeholders owing to dismal performance among Visually Impaired Learners at Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examination in Marigat and Kabartonjo Sub-Counties. The purpose of this study was to establish the extent to which school resources influence academic performance of visually impaired learners in integrated primary schools in Baringo County. The study adopted mixed methods methodology where data was collected by use of questionnaires, interview, and observation guides to obtain both quantitative and qualitatively data, respectively. The target population involved501 participants comprising 2 head teachers, 68 regular teachers, 49 VI learners, 380 sighted learners and 2 Educational Assessment Resource Centers (EARC) officers. From this population, a total sample of298 participants was drawn. Simple random sampling technique was used to draw 59 regular teachers, 191 sighted learners and 44 VI learners, while 2 EARC officers and 2 head teachers were purposively sampled. Data was collected using questionnaires for teachers and sighted learners, interview guide for heard teachers and EARC, and observation checklist for Visually Impaired respondents. The tools were piloted to establish their reliability and adequately validated. The quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics while thematic analysis was used for qualitative data. The study found out that inadequate learning materials was a major cause of low academic performance of VI learners in Marigat and Kabartonjo integrated public primary schools. It further established that there were inadequate learning resources, support services and a learning environment that was not conducive for VI learners. The study recommends that the government provides more learning resources to VI learners and school management to provide barrier free learning environment. This study results would be of great value to teachers, parents, head teachers, schools, stakeholders, and Ministry of Education in enhancing academic performance of the V.I learners in Integrated schools. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0781/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

The Implementation of the Whole School Approach on Social and Emotional Guidance in Rural Primary Schools in Sarawak, Malaysia: The Perspectives of Regular Teachers

This study explored the implementation of the whole school approach (WSA) on social and emotional guidance (SEG) in rural primary schools in Sarawak, Malaysia. Regular teachers (<i>N</i> = 2,532) in Sarawak responded to an electronic survey. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the socio-emotional guidance model were employed to explore the level of implementing the WSA on SEG among the respondents. Factors affecting the intention to be involved in SEG were also explored. This paper provides insights for policymakers and educational administrators to promote the social and emotional well-being of rural students in a developing country.

The Implementation of the Whole School Approach on Social and Emotional Guidance in Rural Primary Schools in Sarawak, Malaysia: The Perspectives of Regular Teachers

This study explored the implementation of the whole school approach (WSA) on social and emotional guidance (SEG) in rural primary schools in Sarawak, Malaysia. Regular teachers (<i>N</i> = 2,532) in Sarawak responded to an electronic survey. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the socio-emotional guidance model were employed to explore the level of implementing the WSA on SEG among the respondents. Factors affecting the intention to be involved in SEG were also explored. This paper provides insights for policymakers and educational administrators to promote the social and emotional well-being of rural students in a developing country.

FACTORS THAT LED TO THE DECLINING STANDARD OF PRIMARY EDUCATION IN ADAMAWA STATE, NIGERIA

The study assesses the Factors that led to the Declining Standard of Primary Education in Adamawa State, Nigeria. The study involves 1,966 primary schools of Adamawa state and a total of 335 respondents. Percentage, Frequency and mean score statistical tools were used in analyzing the data. The general objectives of the study is to assess the Factors that led to Declining Standard of Primary Education in Adamawa State, Nigeria, below are the specific objectives: To identify the human factors that lead to the declining standard of primary education in Adamawa State, Nigeria. To identify the non- human factors that lead to the declining standard of primary education in Adamawa State, Nigeria and to develop policy and recommendation for the improvement of primary education in Adamawa State, Nigeria. The findings of the study indicated that highest average value 3.70 mean score of the factors led to declining standard of primary education in Adamawa state, Nigeria. The study recommended the following: Recruitment, training and regular teachers workshops, conducive learning environment must be provided by government, teachers salary scheme to be reviewed, adequate teaching materials to be provided, establishing good rapport between teachers and the community. Reviewing the Curriculum Structure and further research should be carried out periodically.

Swimming against the tide: Comparative lessons from government efforts to prohibit private supplementary tutoring delivered by regular teachers

Private supplementary tutoring, widely known as shadow education, has become a global phenomenon. It has a range of providers, including commercial companies, university students desiring extra pocket money, and regular school teachers who provide tutoring as a sideline activity. This paper focuses on the last category.Governments are commonly ambivalent about the existence of shadow education, and may especially disapprove of regular teachers providing private supplementary tutoring in part because they fear that the teachers will neglect their main duties. With such matters in mind, some governments have attempted to prohibit teachers from providing private tutoring. However, such prohibitions are difficult to implement. This paper analyses situations in Korea, Mauritius, Kenya and England in order to derive comparative lessons from experience. It demonstrates the importance of wider contextual factors including alignment of macro-level aspirations with the micro-level perspectives of families finding themselves in increasingly competitive environments.