Presented at ISEC 2000

Training Workshops for Teachers Employed in Special Units Attached to Mainstream Primary Schools

Lucy Robertson - Educational Psychologist, London Borough of Newham, UK

Contributions from: Njeru Muchiri.

Abstract

This paper will describe work carried out jointly by the Education Assessment and Resource Service (EARS) in Meru North, Kenya, working collaboratively with a visiting British educational psychologist employed by Maua Methodist Hospital's Disabled Children's Centre (a CBR project funded by the Methodist Church in Kenya). The psychologist worked in Kenya between September 1998 and July 1999. The focus of the educational psychologist's work was to develop educational provision throughout the district for children with disabilities.

The project included three major elements:

• establishing the Disabled Children's Centre, at Maua Methodist Hospital, where multi-disciplinary assessment and therapeutic intervention were co-ordinated;
• working closely with two local primary schools to raise awareness of inclusive education issues;
• a series of training workshops for teachers employed in special units attached to mainstream primary schools.

The ISEC presentation will focus on the third aspect of the project. Training materials used included the Save the Children Fund pack "Preparing Teachers for Inclusive Education" and the UNESCO "Special Needs in the Classroom" resources. The presentation will describe the rationale behind the training programme, its implementation and evaluation, and developments in special education within the district since the project ended. The paper will be presented by Njeru Muchiri (Co-ordinator of the Meru North EARS team) and Lucy Robertson (Educational Psychologist).

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