Institutional factors influencing implementation of inclusive education in public primary schools in Ugenya district, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate the institutional factors influencing implementation of inclusive education in public primary schools in Ugenya district. It sought to provide valuable information on the challenges to educational planners and other stakeholders and suggest recommendations to curb the problem. The objectives of the study sought to determine the extent to which teachers‟ attitudes, suitability of physical facilities, teachers‟ qualifications and appropriateness of teaching resources influenced implementation of inclusive education in public primary schools in Ugenya district, Kenya. The study was conducted using descriptive survey design. The target population was 20 public primary schools in Ugenya district. The target respondents consisted of 20 head teachers, 110 teachers and 340 STD 8 pupils. From 470 members of the target population the researcher used purposive sampling procedure to select a sample size comprising 36 teachers, 18 head teachers and 102 pupils. The research instruments used included questionnaires and interview schedules. The analysis done was both qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative analysis considered the conclusions from the respondents' opinions. Quantitative analysis involved use of frequency counts and distribution, tabulation, totals and calculation of percentages aimed at condensing the data collected into meaningful groups and tables for further analysis. Data collected were analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). In the study it was found out that inclusive education implementation in public primary schools in Ugenya District was faced by numerous challenges and the most prominent challenges were lack of trained teachers in special needs education, lack of physical facilities suited for challenged learners and inappropriateness of teaching and learning material. Therefore, the researcher concluded that inclusive education in public primary schools is not fully implemented in Ugenya district. This calls for concerted efforts between key educational stakeholders to conduct aggressive campaigns to sensitize the public on importance of the inclusive education programme. The government should come up with a comprehensive policy on inclusive education. More teachers should be trained on special needs education and schools to be provided with adequate and appropriate resources to cater for the challenged pupils. The researcher suggested that more studies should be conducted on institutional factors influencing inclusive education in secondary schools.