This paper outlines a project carried out by the Education Assessment and Resource Service in Meru North, Kenya, in collaboration with a visiting educational psychologist from the UK, between September 1998 and July 1999. The work of the psychologist was funded by the Methodist Church in Kenya Disability Programme, and formed part of a more extensive Community Based Rehabilitation programme for children with disabilities in the district.
Meru North is a district in Kenya's Eastern Province. The district covers an area of 4,057 km2 and has a population of approximately 630,240 (195/km2).There are 52km of tarmac road (9/14 divisions have none), and STD telephone facilities are available in 5 divisions. Electricity is available in 8 divisions and tap water is available in only two towns. The district immunisation coverage is 53% (national average is 88%), the doctor: patient ratio is 1: 65,757. Infant mortality is 74 per 1000.
Within this context many children are excluded even from primary education, for a range of reasons. When the project began the provision for children with disabilities or special educational needs consisted of a series of 13 units attached to mainstream primary schools, and one special school. The aim of the project was to increase the confidence of staff working in these special units in meeting the diverse needs of their students, and wherever possible to encourage a greater degree of inclusion within the mainstream schools.
Barriers Towards Inclusion
Many barriers towards inclusion of students with disabilities exist within the local community. As well as generally negative attitudes towards people with disabilities, many factors more specific to the educational system exist. School systems are highly examination oriented, meaning that for students who are unlikely to succeed in national examinations, the benefits of schooling are not always clear. Additionally, very large class sizes mean that it is very difficult for teachers to differentiate work, or allow individualised programmes of study. The poor accessibility of schools (most are only accessible on foot) means that for most students with physical disabilities, attendance at school is impossible. Finally, there are very few teachers who have received any specialised training in the area of special educational needs, and those without training often lack confidence in their ability to adapt their skills to teaching pupils with special needs.
Overcoming the Barriers
The main objective of the project was to begin to overcome these barriers, in a variety of ways.
> Changing attitudes.
A number of strategies were adopted in an attempt gradually to change the attitudes existing in the community towards people with disabilities:
A. School Systems
3. Class Sizes
B. 4. Accessibility of schools
The majority of children with multiple disabilities are not able to get formal education, hence we have introduced:
5. Training in Special Educational Needs
A comprehensive training programme was established, which began during the initial period of the project, but is continuing to be implemented. This included:
Impact and Achievements of the project.
Since the beginning of the project there has been a clear impact of the strategies implemented. There has been an increase in the enrolment of pupils with S.E.N. receiving formal education from 173 to 345 in the units attached to mainstream schools. The enrolment of students with SEN in mainstream classes has increased from 56 to 126. Two new Special Educational Zones have been created in the district out of the existing 24 educational zones. These provide a forum for support and joint problem solving and training for SEN teachers. Eight new units have been established, adding to a total of 20 units in the district. Two teachers with SEN training have been seconded to the CBR programme 3 days per week, to provide outreach services for children with physical disabilities and training for their parents.
Future Plans and Targets
The project has been very successful. Some of the plans for the future are outlined below.
Appendix 1
Training programme for SEN teachers
An Overview
> C. Day 1 (Jan) - Pre-training questionnaires
Expectations
Attitudes to disability
Reflecting on ourselves as learners
> Day 2 (Feb)
Introduction to IEPs
Baseline assessment
> Days 3-6 (April)
Revision- what we know about learning
Hearing impairment
Visual impairment
Speech and language development
Physical disability
Behaviour management
> Days 7-10 (May)
Learning and learning difficulties
Cognitive development
Curriculum adaptation
Literacy skills
Numeracy skills
> Days 11-12 (June)
Syllabus adaptation Lesson planning Post-training questionnaires
Themes running throughout the training
It was hoped that focusing on the above themes would facilitate inclusion through enabling teachers to differentiate and plan for pupils with special needs.
Evaluation of the training
The success of the training was evaluated in four ways:
Analysis of the questionnaire
| Area | Mean pre-training score | Mean post-training score |
| Identification of SEN pupils | 5.8 | 8.79 |
| Assessment | 3.15 | 8.16 |
| Disigning IEPs | 3.46 | 5.9 |
| Evaluating progress | 5.9 | 8.54 |
| Syllabus adaptation | 4.76 | 7.75 |
| Adapting teaching methods | 5.76 | 7.91 |
| Managing bahaviour | 5.3 | 7.45 |
| Hearing impairment | 2.6 | 6.79 |
| Visual impairment | 0.46 | 3.75 |
| Learning difficulties | 4.9 | 8.2 |
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