Challenges Facing Curriculum Implementation Of Inclusive Education In Public Secondary Schools In Mutitu Sub-County Of Kitui County, Kenya

ABSTRACT

The study investigated challenges facing the implementation of inclusive education in public secondary schools in Mutitu Sub-County of Kitui County. This was based on the fact that children with special needs who pass through inclusive education curriculum in primary schools are forced to pursue their secondary education in special schools while others do not proceed to secondary school. The objectives of the study were to examine challenges in the enrolment of SNE learners, human resource-related challenges, challenges in the provision of learning facilities, challenges faced in curriculum delivery and challenges in relation to teachers‟ attitudes towards the implementation of inclusive education. The study may provide crucial information to educational stakeholders on the need to promote inclusive education in secondary schools. The study adopted a descriptive survey design and targeted 11 principals and 60 teachers from which a sample of 10 principals and 40 teachers was selected. The study instruments included questionnaire for teachers, interview schedule for principals and an observation guide. Pilot study was done to establish validity and reliability of research instruments. Content analysis was used to analyze qualitative data while descriptive statistics were used to analyse quantitative data. The results show that majority of schools have not embraced the inclusive education programme. The results also show that majority of teachers have not been adequately trained on how to handle SNE learners and that majority of schools did not have well-structured learning facilities while those that had the facilities were very inadequate. The study findings equally showed that majority of schools were ill-equipped with teaching and learning resources for SNE. It was also revealed that most teachers feel that the current curriculum is not suited for SNE learners which may explain why most schools are yet to implement the inclusive education curriculum. Lastly, the findings revealed that teachers have a positive attitude towards inclusive education but are sceptical about participating in the implementation of the curriculum. In view of the findings, the study recommended that the Ministry of Education compels schools to ensure that SNE learners are admitted in public secondary schools under the inclusive education programme. The government should also allocate funds to public secondary schools to help them procure SNE facilities and facilitate the pre-service and in-service training for SNE teachers. Sensitization campaigns to parents of special needs children on the importance of taking their children to mainstream schools under the inclusive education programme should be done. A study should be replicated to the rest of the country and also include private secondary schools. A similar study should also include SNE students and parents whose views could contribute towards establishing challenges facing enrolment of SNE learners in public secondary schools.