Challenges Encountered By Students with Visual Impairments and Teachers In An Integrated School Environment: A Case Of Integrated Secondary Schools In Kericho District, Ainamoi Division, Kenya (Published)
The government’s effort in dealing with access and equity in the provision of education and training to children with special needs has encountered numerous challenges some of which include; lack of clear guidelines on the policy implementation of integrated education, inadequate tools and skills in identification and assessment and lack of data of children with special needs among others. This paper sought to establish the challenges encountered by students and teachers in the integrated education program for students with visual impairments. The study was carried out in Kericho District adopting a case study design. Data collection was done by use of questionnaires, focus group discussion and document analysis. A total of 200 respondents participated in the study and data was analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The study cited a number of challenges that are experienced by the visually impaired students such as; the administration view them as a burden to school and many times they do not meet their needs like providing the necessary learning materials even though they pay fees and academic performance significantly indicated the nature of evaluation among the students in these secondary schools was clear that they are conscious about the needs of others. The government, through the Ministry of Education should provide teaching / learning resources for the visually impaired and blind students. Training for all teachers on special education should be performed. Informative campaigns at the community level with emphasis on the fact that disability is not inability are also advocated for.
Keywords: Challenges, Integrated school environment., Students with visual Impairments., Teachers