Influence of teachers' efficacy in the implementation of inclusive education in Public and Private primary schools, Kikuyu District Kiambu County

Abstract

Inclusive Education is based on the value that supports the rights of all children, regardless of their diverse abilities, to participate actively in a regular education set up. However, meaningful inclusion is much more than just inviting a child with special needs in a general Education class with hisI her peers. Successful inclusion requires a team approach and commitment from all the team members that is the teachers, school administrators and Education officers. It is also important that teachers have all the resources necessary to make inclusive a successful endeavour. This coupled with appropriate teacher training and use of appropriate pedagogical approaches would raise teachers' efficacy hence making inclusive education a successful venture. It is against this background that this study sought to establish the disparity of the influence of teacher efficacy in the implementation of inclusive education between public and private primary schools in Kikuyu District. The disparity in tenns of enrolment of special needs children between the two as evident on table 29 and 30 gave the study more impetus.

The prime objective of the study was to research the effect of the variables identified as well as making recommendations for effective implementation of inclusive education. The research design for the study was descriptive survey, which involved collection of data using questionnaires; random sampling was employed to generate a sizeable sample to be used in the study. The subjects included teachers, headteacbers, and managers of both public and private schools and Quality Assurance and standards Officers. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data. The findings were presented using frequency tables and percentages.

The results indicated that teachers in public schools have a higher sense of efficacy in implementing inclusive education compared to teachers in private schools. The government 1brough the ministry of education could ameliorate . the situation by enhancing teacher training and retraining through seminar and workshops so as to enable all teachers handle inclusive eduaItion. More should be done in terms of financial support both in public and private schools so as to make the schools less restrictive and responsive to the needs of aIIleamers