COPING STRATEGIES FOR QUALITY INCLUSION OF LEARNERS WITH DISABILITIES IN EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS IN KENYA: A CRITICAL REVIEW

Author: Okutoyi Joel

ABSTRACT

According to Kenyan Special Needs Education Policy (2009), learners with special needs are supposed to be included in regular schools. Recent baseline survey across a nearby county, by the researcher indicated 233 learners with low vision, 267 hard of hearing and 109 physical disabilities were placed in regular Early Childhood Development (ECD) in Kakamega. However, as a result of inclusion the learners face a number of challenges. The paper is intended to identify the challenges learners with disabilities encountered in ECD and find out the teachers’ coping strategies in handling such learners.

Keywords: coping strategies, inclusive education, disability, early childhood

REFERENCES

  • Angrist, J. D., & Lavy, V. (2001). Does Teacher Training Affect Pupil Learning? Evidence from Comparisons in Jerusalem Public Schools. Journal of Labor Economics, 19(2), 343-369.
  • Davis, P. and Lani, F. (2004). Teaching Strategies and Approaches for Pupils with Special Educational Needs: A Scoping Study. United Kingdom: Queen’s Printer. Toreno (2012).
  • UNESCO, GMR Report, 2007 and UNESCO, GMR Report 2011
  • Global Partnership for Education, http://www.globalpartnership.org/about-us/faqs/, last accessed February 2012.
  • Gargiulo, R.M (2006). Special Education in Contemporary Society. USA: Thomson Wadsworth; 10 Davis Drive Belmont. Leornard Cheshire (2012).
  • Kenyan New Constitution (2010). Nairobi: Government printers. Retrieved fom……………………………………………………………
  • IAEYC (1991). Accreditation Criteria and Procedures of the NationalAcademy of Early Childhood Program. Washington, DC: International Association for the Education of Young Children (IAEYC)
  • Leornard Cheshire (2008).
  • Ndanu M. (2009). Child Rights and Child Protection. Nairobi: Longman Publishers
  • Oakes, J. & Saunders, M. (2002). Access to Textbooks, Instructional Materials, Equipment, and Technology: Inadequacy and Inequality in California’s Public Schools. Los Angeles: UCLA’s Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access.
  • Sugiharto, S. (2008). Challenges in implementing inclusive education. Available online at http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/06/07/challenges-implementing-inclusive-education.html
  • UNESCO, GMR Report 2010, for all bullet points, and Education for All Global Monitoring Report Policy Paper 04, June 2012.
  • Wanjohi, A.M. (2013). Challenges Facing Inclusive Education in Developing Countries. Retrieved from
  • World Report on Disability, 2011, the World Health Organization and the World Bank, quoting a WHO study, The global burden of disease: 2004 update. Geneva, World Health Organization, 2008.