The Elusiveness of Inclusive Education in Kenya

Abstract

Notably, research effort on education of persons with disabilities has been expended on primary and secondary education. However, research on barriers to inclusion of learners with disabilities has not been adequately explored in Kenya.  To fill this gap, a descriptive survey was utilised to address the objectives of the study which included: determining socio-cultural, curriculum, economic, physical and structural barriers to inclusion. The sample consisted of 22 teachers, one head teacher and 6 parents. The sample was drawn from a regular primary school with a special unit that caters for learners with intellectual disability in Kakamega County, Kenya. Purposive and simple random sampling techniques were utilised to select the sample. Findings revealed that the barriers were socio-cultural (stigma, opposition from parents, lack of awareness of the importance/benefits of inclusion), curriculum (lack of learning resources, lack/poor syllabi adaptations and shortage of trained teachers) physical/ structural (lack of support employees, absence of structural modifications in the school environment) and economic. It was thus, recommended that the government conducts awareness programmes targeting parents on the benefits of inclusion and develop an adopted curriculum/syllabus that would be responsive to the needs of learners with disabilities among others.