An Investigation Into Factors Influencing Enrolment Of Children With Special Education Needs At Kapoche Special School In Luangwa District Of Lusaka Province, Zambia (original) (raw)
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International journal of special education, 2016
Community schools appeared in Zambia in 1992 beginning with Lusaka and they quickly spread to other parts of the country. The Ministry of General Education recognizes its obligation to provide education of good quality to all children in response to national and international protocols to which Zambia is a part. The creation of Community Schools was an initiative to increase access to basic education but they required exceptional attention from government. Since their inception Community Schools have played a critical role in meeting education demands for marginalized children. According to the Ministry of General Education 2013 statistical bulletin there were 2,896 Community Schools offering primary and secondary education. Though the Community Schools were making education more accessible they had scanty information and data on children with special educational needs. This study identified three Schools teaching children with special educational needs these were; Donata Community ...
2021
The study was looking at an assessment of the quality service provided to children with special education needs marginalized children in Zambian primary schools. Its main objectives were; to find out how teachers handle children with special education needs and the strategic plan school administrators have put in place in providing quality service to children with special needs. The study was a purely qualitative and employed a descriptive design. It targeted all primary school administrators and teachers in primary schools in Lusaka district. Data was collected using interviews (open ended questions). The collected data was analyzed using thematic analysis and the results were as follows: teachers handled learners with special needs by giving them special attention, this was done in different ways depending on the attention the teacher wanted. The study also revealed that most of the teachers made sure that the learners with special needs were always put in front of the classroom i...
Zambia’s national policy on the formal education of children with special educational needs (CSEN) began to evolve following the completion of a nation-wide campaign to reach disabled children (ZNCRDC), which was spurred by the UN declaration of 1981 as the International Year of Disabled Persons (IYDP). The campaign generated epidemiological estimates of the prevalence of various types of disability among the population of basic school age (5–15 years), that showed that existing special educational provisions were reaching less than 10 per cent of those ascertained as severely disabled. The first phase of public policy focused on programmatic expansion in the 1980s of the number of units, located within the premises of existing basic schools, and offering specialised educational support to children with one particular broad type of disability (hearing, intellectual/learning, physical/mobility, or visual). This expansion programme was retarded by a number of factors: resource constraints arising from a severe, national economic recession; refocusing of the principle of affirmative action to ensure equity to prioritise action to redress the disadvantages faced by girls (PAGE), and by children orphaned by the AIDS pandemic (OVC); and heightened emphasis on the principle of inclusion, which was often operationalised in the form of mainstreaming. Concurrently with the expansion of specialised units for CSEN, the quality of instruction and certification for specialist teachers was upgraded by the re-staffing and rehabilitation of the national college (LCTH/ZAMISE). Despite the enlarged output of qualified teachers from the College, staffing of CSEN units has remained problematic, largely due to poorly managed deployment of the college’s graduates. A recent shift in policy at the college in response to this problem has involved preparing graduates with skills to address the special educational needs of children with all four broad types of disabilities. Several lines of evidence are reviewed on these trends, including government policy documents and statistical reports, as well as a qualitative analysis of interviews with a sample of key informants. Major challenges currently faced by the government in attaining its policy objectives are itemised and some strategic options for addressing them are presented.
To my parents, Mr. Adolf. and Mrs. Idah Chabu Fulawulu whose love, understanding, patience and support I will always cherish. To my husband Webster Samakesa, my beloved daughters: Kabangu, Womba, Wana and Muzañalu and my wonderful grand children, Jessy, Kukeña and Luwi whom l love so much but whose love was deprived during the period of my studies. To all my brothers and sisters, together with their families, for their love, care and support. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to extend my profound and sincere gratitude to my supervisor who is also Assistant Dean-Postgraduate, Dr. Daniel Ndhlovu for his unwavering devotion, encouragement and tirelessness in advice and insightful guidance that helped me stay focused and clarified my thinking on this dissertation. Without him, the writing of this dissertation would not have been successful. Immense appreciations go to Dr. Beatrice Matafwali, Lecturer, HOD-EPSSE, for her all-weather support and for being an inspiration to me in all ways. I am also deeply indebted to the MESVTEE headquarters Official, all the Head teachers, teachers, learners with disabilities and parents for their active participation in the study. Cordial gratitude goes to all my course mates for the friendship and support during light and challenging times we shared together in this academic journey. Further appreciation goes to my wonderful sisters, brother and their families for their love, care and support during my studies. Immense gratitude goes to my course mates and ICT friends: Mr.
2011
Background: "Inclusion" has become a catchphrase, not only among the educationists, but also among administrators, policy makers/implementers, human rights advocates (particularly those who advocate for the rights of people with disabilities) and social workers (who advocate for social justice and empowerment of vulnerable members of society). Aim: The main aim of this study was to investigate and analyze opportunities and challenges for the social inclusion of children with disabilities within the context of inclusive education Method: This was a qualitative study, and data was collected using primary and secondary sources. Results: The findings were; people have negative attitudes towards people with disabilities; disability is associated with cursing; and poor families fail to send children to school. Girls with disabilities are vulnerable to sexual abuse because they are perceived to be HIV free and safe. Distance between homes and schools posses a challenge to people with disabilities. Infrastructure is also said to be inaccessible. Teacher-student ratio is also high, and there is lack of legal and policy frameworks to foster the inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream schools. Social workers sensitize non-disabled students on the need to embrace their peers with disabilities; CBR is being implemented to change people's negative perceptions against persons with disabilities. Standard officers have been employed to oversee the inclusion of children with disabilities in the mainstream school system. Conclusion: To promote inclusive education in Zambia, it is vital that students with and without disabilities have ongoing chances to interact with, and learn from, each other. This is the only way that stereotypes and ill-informed misconceptions about disabilities can be dismantled.
2016
A study was conducted to analyse the challenges faced by learners with special needs in mainstream schools in Umzingwane District. A descriptive study design was used to analyse the challenges faced by learners. Learners with special needs often face neglect and discrimination in mainstream schools, and this is of less benefit to them. They often lag behind their age peers because the curriculum does not cater for their individual unique needs. This poses some challenges to effective mainstreaming because learners with special needs do not benefit from the regular education system. The study results confirmed that, in Umzingwane District, the success of inclusive education is still to be realized. Mainstreaming education for learners with disabilities is to ensure that the society moves away from social and educational segregation and discrimination to complete inclusion. The study's recommendations included; teaching of Braille and sign language; awareness programmes, a multidi...
The international community is agreed that the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goal particularly number four on education is dependent on how effective inclusive education is implemented by various countries. Whereas the implementation of inclusive education is well articulated at primary and secondary school levels, the same cannot be said at Higher Education level. Thus, in this article, we explore the status of inclusive education with reference to learners with special education needs at higher education level in Zambia. The article uses a Phenomenological approach to illustrate the lived experiences of learners with special education at the University of Zambia and Mulungushi University in Zambia. Key among the study objectives include exploration of the disablers experienced by learners with special education. The study findings point to a mismatch between policy and practice, negative attitudes, inaccessible learning environment and learning content among others cited as the major disablers to the success of learners with special education needs. This state of affairs could be attributed to system failure to domesticate inclusive education and develop responsive policies in Higher Education institutions. As such, inclusive education has remained a theoretical concept, well understood by the elites but poorly implemented on the ground. This then calls for Higher Education institutional system-wide transformation in favour of inclusive education.