Extensiveness of School Committees in Maintaining Infrastructure to Enhance Access to Education for Pupils with Special Education Needs in Public Primary Schools in Mvomero District, Tanzania (Published)
This study examined the extensiveness of school committees in maintaining infrastructure to improve access to education for pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in public primary schools in Mvomero District, Tanzania. It adopted a convergent mixed-methods design underpinned by Social Theory, involving 15 schools, 15 head teachers, 99 pupils, 158 teachers, and 136 school committee members. Data were collected through questionnaires, interviews, observations, and focus group discussions. Validity was ensured by MWECAU experts, while reliability was confirmed with Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.931 (teachers) and 0.914 (committee members). Trustworthiness of qualitative data was achieved through triangulation. Analysis employed SPSS for descriptive statistics and thematic analysis for qualitative data. Ethical standards were observed through permits, anonymity, confidentiality, and informed consent. Findings revealed that committees maintained ramps and handrails, inspected infrastructure, allocated resources, and collaborated with parents. The study concluded that committees effectively maintained infrastructure, enhancing SEN access, and recommended continuous training in inclusive education and infrastructure standards.
Keywords: Infrastructure, Maintaining, Public Primary Schools, Pupils., access to education, school committees, special education needs