Barriers of inclusive education: the case of Wenchi Senior High School in the Wenchi Municipality

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Date
NOVEMBER 2016
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Abstract
For general education teachers to effectively include special needs students in their classrooms, they should be knowledgeable in the concept of inclusion. Also the physical environment should be built to meet the needs of students with visual impairment and resource materials should be available to facilitate inclusion. With the introduction of inclusion in Ghana, many students with special needs have been admitted in some of these schools together with their peers without special needs and are being taught by general school teachers. The study assessed the performance of Wenchi Senior High School as an inclusive education institution. The study involved all teachers and students at Wenchi Senior High School. The study utilized qualitative data collection method, and a purposive sampling technique to select 10 regular classroom teachers, the head master and 3 resource teachers as well as 36 visually impaired students for an in-depth interview. The findings of the study indicated generally that, the teachers had no adequate knowledge of inclusive education before the programme was introduced. Besides this major finding, the study also revealed other setbacks to inclusion such as inadequate material resource to facilitate inclusion and the physical environment not being disability friendly. In conclusion, it is recommended that teachers should have more observation training on teaching special needs children in an inclusive setting to enable them to handle all categories of disabilities in the classrooms effectively. Also, Ghana Education Service, (GES) in collaboration with special education division, should organize workshops, seminars for a as well as symposiums aimed at establishing good rapport and collaboration among the stakeholders of inclusive education. Furthermore, it is suggested that the physical environment should be built to address the needs of persons with visual impairment. Consistent in-service training should be organized for all regular teachers in the school to refresh their knowledge and equip them with best inclusive practices to enable them manage the students.
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A Thesis submitted to the Department of Community Health, College of Health Sciences in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science (Disability, Rehabilitation and Development).
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