Impact of Inclusive Remedial Teaching on Performance of Pupils with Mathematics Difficulties in Lower Primary Schools in Butere District, Kenya

Abstract

Our world now regards being educated so highly making education a human right. Consequently, it is now expected that every child, regardless of their social status, physical or any other disability should access to quality education. Education for All (EFA) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in education are major international commitments to the achievement of universal primary education for all children and the inclusion of children with SNE in education at all levels. Globally: Recent statistics from UNESCO's EFA Global Monitoring Report indicate that approximately 27 million children in the Common wealth do not attend school due to special needs education such as those with Mathematical Difficulties. While there are no hard figures to illustrate how many children with Mathematics Disabilities are not in school, studies indicate that 10 -20% of children in a regular class in India have MD and 6-10% in the US (Jordan, 2010). In Kenya 20 – 24% children in regular primary schools have MD These children struggle a lot in their education, become stigmatized and may drop from schooling if early intervention is not given. Since most of them are in the regular primary schools, effective intervention can be done in the same schools. The UN Secretariat's Education Section adopted the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities inn March 2007 and started the process of compiling lessons from promising practices in the provision of inclusive education, especially for children with disabilities such as MD. In Kenya: The Kenyan Government conducted a National Survey for Persons with Disabilities in 2008 and found that 4.6% of Kenyans experience some form of disability, comparing favorably to the WHO's estimate of 10% globally. From studies reviewed, children with MD form a population of about 20% of the entire population in the regular primary schools and hence the need to practice inclusive remedial teaching to avoid them becoming stigmatized and excluded from education due to a mixture of fear, shame, and ignorance. Purpose: this study sought to examine the effectiveness of inclusive remediation of children with MD in primary schools in Butere Sub County, Kakamega County by; assessing the status of early identification of MD and the Impact of Remedial Teaching in a regular primary school (inclusive set up) on the mathematics performance for pupils with MD. Selective factors influencing effectiveness of the inclusive education in the study area were also examined. Research Design: quasi experimental with a pretest and posttest exams to assess the impact of the inclusive remedial teaching on the mathematics performance for pupils with MD and descriptive survey design to gather demographic data from class three mathematics teachers and pupils with MD. Sampling: Stratified sampling was used to sample public and private primary schools for the study plus pupils based on their gender. Purposive sampling was used to sample four private schools (experimental and control), eight class three mathematics teachers and eighty pupils identified with MD respectively for the study. Four public primary schools were sampled systematically (nth=13) and proportionally to the sample size of private schools. A sample frame of 8 teachers and 80 pupils was used in the study. Process: Pupils were screened for MD. Administration of a pre and post Remedial Teaching Test followed. (Samveda Remedial Teaching Model). Questionnaires gathered background data from the teachers. The data was prepared and analyzed by SPSS. Findings: both public and private regular primary schools conducted Early Identification for MD plus Remedial Teaching. Pupils with MD. Remedial Teaching improved performance. Recommendations: To address the marginalization of children with disabilities, and its limiting outcomes, the Kenyan government should commit to make policies that enhance early identification and inclusive remedial teaching for pupils with MD. Furthermore, it should emphasizes inclusive education with particular focus to marginalized groups, especially children with special needs and those with disabilities. However, the extent to which this program (of inclusivity) has made an impact on the ground is still a bone of contention.