Assessing Teachers‟ Preparation For Teaching Pupils With Visual Impairment In Inclusive Classrooms: A Case Of Selected Teachers‟ Colleges In Tanzania

ABSTRACT

The general objective of this study was to assess teachers‟ preparation for teaching pupils with visual impairment in inclusive classrooms in Tanzania. A cross-sectional design was employed as well as a qualitative approach with some elements of quantitative approach. Data were collected through documentary review, interviews, questionnaires and observation which involved 45 respondents. This sample was obtained through purposive sampling, simple random sampling and stratified random sampling in that order. The findings show that training offered in college „A‟ aimed at preparing teachers in teaching visually impaired learners in inclusive classrooms. On the contrary, College „B‟ aimed at training teachers in inclusive setting. It was also showed that studying inclusive education in general, caused student-teachers to graduate without enough content and competencies. Also, the challenges faced teachers‟ colleges in preparing teachers included inadequate teaching and learning materials, lack of financial support and inappropriate teaching techniques. Some of the measures to reduce those challenges include equipping knowledge and skills as well as provision of material support for student-teachers on how to teach pupils with visual impairment. Therefore, it is recommended to include more content and competencies in certificate education with specialization in certificate special education curriculum, to ensure availability of special needs materials and to consider teaching as a continuum, starting with pre-service to in-service training for certificate special education teachers in order to prepare high quality teachers for teaching visually impaired learners.