British Journal of Education, Society &

Behavioural Science
10(2): 1-8, 2015, Article no.BJESBS.14556
ISSN: 2278-0998

SCIENCEDOMAIN international
www.sciencedomain.org

Provision of Special Needs Education in

Zimbabwean Primary Schools: A Case Study of
Nkayi North West Circuit Primary Schools
Alfred Champion Ncube1*, Thembinkosi Tshabalala2 and Philip Gazimbe3
1
Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, Zimbabwe Open University, Zimbabwe.
2
Faculty of Arts and Education at the Zimbabwe Open University, Zimbabwe.
3
Department of Educational Studies, Centre for Student Management, Zimbabwe.

Authors’ contributions

This work was carried out in collaboration between all authors. All authors read and approved the final
manuscript.

Article Information

DOI: 10.9734/BJESBS/2015/14556
Editor(s):
(1) Eduardo Montero García, Department of Electromechanical Engineering, Polytechnic School, University of Burgos, Spain.
Reviewers:
(1) Anonymous, Jordan.
(2) Anonymous, Brazil.
(3) Anonymous, Jordan.
(4) Svjetlana Curcic, Department of Teacher Education, School of Education, University of Mississippi, USA.
Complete Peer review History: http://sciencedomain.org/review-history/9875

Received 5th October 2014

th
Original Research Article Accepted 19 February 2015
Published 19th June 2015

ABSTRACT

This study sought to investigate the provision of special needs education in Zimbabwean primary
schools using the qualitative methodology. The study adopted the descriptive survey design. The
population comprised of all the eighteen primary schools in Nkayi North West Circuit and the
sample consisted of 30 teachers and heads from five schools. Purposive sample was made up of
17 females and 13 males. All the information was collected through the use of a questionnaire
which largely had close-ended questions and one-open ended one. The study revealed that most
special units or special classrooms were manned by teachers without the requisite qualifications
and that schools had inadequate resources to properly cater for the needs of children with
disabilities. The study recommends that the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education should
deploy more teachers with Diploma in Special Education to all schools across the country and that
there should be supervision of teachers by the District Psychological Services Unit to support their
efforts.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

*Corresponding author: E-mail: ncubeac@gmail.com;

 Ncube et al.; BJESBS, 10(2): 1-8, 2015; Article no.BJESBS.14556

Keywords: Special needs education; disability; provision; primary schools; circuit; mainstream
classes.

1. INTRODUCTION disability that may require a student to attend a

special school is intellectual disability [5]. In the
With the attainment of independence and the Zimbabwean context according to [1] every
pre-independence war cry and ideology of school can apply to open a special unit through
equality of all people regardless of disabilities, all the assistance of the District Psychological
Zimbabweans had the right to access Services officer based at each of the District
educational opportunities [1]. The inclusive Offices across the country. The special unit is a
education was born out this philosophical separate room dedicated solely to the education
thinking. The inclusive education unlike separate of students with special needs within a larger
placement which works on the philosophy that school that provides general education [1].
the child with challenges must adjust to school Ideally, these classrooms should be staffed by
environment operates on the thinking that “it is specially trained teachers, who are expected to
the school that makes adjustments to provide specific, individualised instruction to
accommodate or include the child [2]. In the late individuals and small groups of (SEND) [2]. It is
1990s the government of Zimbabwe adopted the on account of this information that this study set
policy of Inclusive Education (IE). The Jomtien out to investigate how primary schools in
Conference (1990) had affirmed the need to Zimbabwe are providing special needs
uphold the rights of all people while the education.
Salamanca Convention (1994) ostensibly
suggested IE by affirming that inclusive schools 2. LITERATURE REVIEW
are the most potent in combating discriminatory
attitudes, creating welcoming communities, According to [6] common special needs include
building an inclusive society, and achieving learning disabilities, communication disabilities,
education for all [1]. By being a signatory to the emotional and behavioural disorders, physical
Salamanca Convention of 1994, the government disabilities and developmental disabilities. As [7]
was fully obliged to implement inclusion. The argues, SEND are likely to benefit from additional
Secretary’s minute number P36, of June 1985 educational services such as different
gave school heads the mandate to enrol pupils approaches to teaching, the use of technology, a
with mild disabilities and place them in a specifically adapted area or a resource room. [8]
separate class at the same school. These asserts that whereas special education is
teachers would be assisted by specialist designed specifically for learners with special
teachers deployed to each school by the Schools needs, remedial education can be designed for
Psychological Services; a department that the any students, with or without special needs; the
government had created to cater for students defining trait is simply that they have reached a
with education needs and disabilities (SEND). In point of unpreparedness, regardless of why. For
1990, the Ministry of Education officially made example, even people of high intelligence can be
integration operational through its directive that unprepared if their education was disrupted, for
schools should provide specialised rooms for use example by internal displacement during civil
by those with mild or severe special needs. disorder or war [8].
Pressure from human rights campaigners and
coupled with resolutions of Jomtien and Fisher and Pleasants [9] state that some children
Salamanca conventions drove the government to are easily identified as candidates for special
introduce inclusive education [3]. needs due to their medical history since they
may have been diagnosed with a genetic
Soon [3] state that in recent times, places condition that is associated with intellectual
available in special schools are declining as disability, may have various forms of brain
more students with special educational needs damage, may have a developmental disorder,
and disabilities (SEND) are educated in may have visual or hearing disabilities, or other
mainstream schools. However, as [4] argue, disabilities. [10] posit that early remediation can
there will always be some children whose greatly reduce the number of children meeting
learning needs cannot be appropriately met in a diagnostic criteria for learning disabilities. [11]
regular classroom setting and will require has also suggested that the focus on learning
specialized education and resources to provide disabilities and the provision of accommodation
the level of support they require. An example of a in school fails to acknowledge that people have a
range of strengths and weaknesses and places

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undue emphasis on academics by insisting that assessment, testing, anecdotal evidence, direct
students should be supported in this arena and observation and academic performance analysis,
not in music or sports. must be carefully correlated and kept secure.
That information must be clear and accessible to
Thompson and Russell [12] argue that a special parents, administrators and Ministry of
education programme should be customized to Education, so accuracy and completeness are
address each individual student’s unique needs, key [10].
and that special educators provide a continuum
of services, in which SEND receive varying In the context of this study, researchers are
degrees of support based on their individual guided by previous research to determine the
needs. Special education programmes need to extent to which findings by local and foreign
be individualized so that they address the unique scholars are consistent with how the studied
combination of needs in a given student [11]. schools were providing special education in order
SEND include those suffering from dyslexia that to expose both successes and challenges for
is failure to read and write those with attention enhancement and improvement of the system.
deficit and hyper activity and children with
physical disabilities or impairments [13]. 2.1 Statement of the Problem
Zindi [2] states that in theory, many African Most schools in Zimbabwe have created special
countries show interest in educating SEND, but units of special classrooms which are separate
what lacks is putting theory into practice. rooms dedicated solely to the education of SEND
Successful teaching of SEND depends on the within a larger school that also provides general
availability of formal and natural support which is education. There is need therefore to expose the
indispensible [14]. Formal support includes way how these special units function for the
curriculum materials and technological assistive benefit of the special needs children. The study
devices and natural support which include family, sought to answer the following research problem:
classmates and teachers. Schools therefore
should provide facilities for disabled pupils such How the studied schools were providing special
as proper furniture, toilet facilities, Braille, education in order to expose both successes and
abbreviation expanders, alternative keyboards, challenges for enhancement and improvement of
personal FM listening systems, optical character the system?
recognition, speech synthesizers / screen
readers, talking calculators, and other assistive 2.2 Purpose of the Study
devices [12].
The study sought to establish how primary
Mpofu [1] argues that, for any successful system schools were providing special education in order
to move forward, there is need for a highly to expose both successes and challenges for
trained human resource to implement it. It is vital enhancement and improvement of the system.
that those teachers who have a defined
responsibility for SEND to have considerable 2.3 Research Questions
expertise in special needs education. According
to [15] teachers should be properly trained to 1. Do schools have special units to cater for
handle children with special needs. For example, SEND?
a child with visual impairment cannot be taught 2. Do teachers who teach special needs have
by a teacher who has not been trained Braille. the necessary qualifications?
Likewise, a teacher who has not received training 3. Are resource materials for use in special
in dealing with children who have mental needs education adequate for effecting
disorders may fail to execute his or her duties implementation of the system?
[15]. 4. Do heads carry out effective supervision of
teachers teaching special needs classes?
According to [16] there are many factors which 5. Do teachers keep accurate records for
hinder progress in educating SEND and some of children under special education classes?
them are lack of proper records and supervision.
Lack of records defeats the very purpose of 2.4 Significance of the Study
special education. As [15] advise, any and all
information gathered by special education The importance of the study stemmed from the
teachers through formal and informal fact that it attempted to reveal how schools were

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providing special needs education to the children the researcher can use her / his research skill
with special needs in order to come up with and prior knowledge to choose respondents.
recommendations to improve where there are Data were gathered by means of a questionnaire
weaknesses and to build on the existing which was largely made up of close-ended
strengths of the system in the schools. The questions and one open-ended question. The
researchers hoped to consolidate awareness to questionnaire was chosen because of its ability
the importance of special education to education to reach many respondents who live in widely
authorities in particular and to other stakeholders dispersed addresses and preserves anonymity
in general. which encourages greater honesty [20].
However, as Blumberg argues, the questionnaire
2.5 Limitations of the Study generally has a low response rate and is
inflexible in that it does not allow ideas or
The study employed the case study method comments to be explored indepth and many
which according to [17] lacks generalisability questions may remain unanswered.
because of its reliance on small samples”. In
view of the small size of the sample used, the 3.1 Findings and Discussion
findings of the study will have limited
generalisability. It has to be pointed out also that The study set out to investigate how schools
attitudes about an issue are essentially were providing special education in Zimbabwean
subjective and cannot be measured accurately. primary schools. This section is presented in two
In other words, attitudes have no universally parts, namely, presentation of data and
acceptable scales of measurement; and discussion, thereof.
measures that were used in this study cannot be
considered to be absolutely accurate. Table 1. Category of respondents (N=30)

2.6 Delimitation of the Study Category Frequency Percentage

Teachers 25 83
The researchers delimited the study to the Heads 5 17
provision of SEND by five (5) primary schools in Totals 30 100
Nkayi North West Circuit through the creation of
special units. The study was not concerned with Teachers constituted 83% of the respondents
special education provided in ordinary and heads were 17% of the sample.
classrooms. Views from 25 teachers and five (5)
heads of schools were used. Views from other Table 2 shows that overally there were more
key stakeholders were outside the purview of this females than males (57% female; 43% male).
study.
Table 2. Distribution of respondents by
3. METHODOLOGY gender (N=30)

The study employed the qualitative methodology Sex Heads Teachers Totals
and made use of a case study research design. F % F % F %
According to [18], “the case study is an approach Male 3 60 10 40 13 43
to studying a social phenomenon through a Female 2 40 15 60 17 57
thorough analysis of individual case.” [18] goes Totals 5 100 25 100 30 100
on to argue that, “This approach rests on that the
case being studied is typical of cases of a certain However, there were more male heads than
type so that through intensive analysis, female heads (60% male; 40% female). The
generalisations may be made that will be datum is considered of statistical significance in
applicable to other cases of the same type.”The that it implies that although the majority of
study’s population comprised of 300 teachers teachers in the schools are female [21] it is still
and 20 heads of schools from primary schools in not easy for them to rise to post of headship.
Nkayi North West Circuit in Nkayi District in
Zimbabwe. The study employed a purposive Table 3 below shows that only 17% of the
sampling technique to select a sample of 25 respondents were in possession of the Diploma
teachers and 5 heads of schools. Purposive in Special Education. The rest (83%) had the
sampling was chosen because as [19] observes, general professional qualifications to teach all

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children in the primary schools. This would mean officers did not assess the special needs classes
that the 17% were the teachers teaching the in their schools (heads: 100%; teachers: 100%).
special needs classes in the schools understudy.
Table 6. Responses to the question: “Does
Table 4 shows that all the schools had a special your head supervise teachers taking special
education unit where children with special needs needs classes?” (N=30)
were accommodated to receive special attention.
Category of Heads Teachers Totals
Table 3. Professional qualifications of resources F % F % F %
respondents (N=30) Regularly 1 20 0 0 1 3
Seldomly 1 20 5 20 7 23
Qualifications Heads Teachers Totals Not at all 3 60 20 80 22 74
F % F % F % Totals 5 100 25 100 30 100
Certificate in 0 0 2 8 2 6
education Table 7. Responses to the question: “Do
Diploma in 0 0 15 60 15 50 officers from the psychological services
education assess the special needs classes in your
Diploma in Special 0 0 5 20 5 17 school?” (N=30)
education
Degreed 5 100 3 12 8 27 Category of Heads Teachers Totals
Totals 5 100 25 100 30 100 responses F % F % F %
Regularly 0 0 0 0 0 0
Table 4. Responses to the question: “My Seldomly 0 0 0 0 0 0
school has a special education unit” (N=30) Not at all 5 100 25 100 30 100
Not sure 0 0 0 0 0 0
Category of Frequency Percentage Totals 5 100 25 100 30 100
responses
Yes 30 100 Table 8 below shows that 80% of the heads
No 0 0 indicated that there were no comprehensive
Totals 30 100 records kept in the schools for special needs
classes. All the teachers (100%) concurred with
Table 5 shows that all the respondents (100%) the heads about the non-existence of records in
indicated that their schools’ special needs units their schools for the special needs classes.
did not have adequate resources.
Table 8. Responses to the question: “Are
Table 5. Responses to the question: “Does there comprehensive records for special
your school have adequate resources like needs classes kept by the teacher and the
special rooms and assistive devices for the head of school?” (N=30)
special needs children? (N=30)
Category of Heads Teachers Totals
Adequacy of Heads Teachers Totals responses F % F % F %
resources F % F % F % Yes 1 20 0 0 1 3
Yes 0 0 0 0 0 0 No 4 80 25 100 29 97
No 5 100 25 100 30 100 Not sure 0 0 0 0 0 0
Not sure 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 5 100 25 100 30 100
Totals 5 100 25 100 30 100
The questionnaire had one-open ended question
Information on Table 6 shows that both heads which complemented data from the close-ended
and teachers were congruent that the heads did questions. The question asked respondents to
not supervise teachers teaching special needs add any information they deemed relevant about
classes (Heads, 60%; Teachers, 80%). 40% of the subject at hand. The most popular issue was
the heads and 20% of the teachers indicated that that to do with the low teacher-pupil ratio for
the heads supervised these classes. special needs classes.

Table 7 also shows that both teachers and heads Most respondents argued that because the
were in concord that Psychological Services special needs classes had low teacher-pupil

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ratios (between 5 and 7 pupils per teacher) some putting theory into practice. Successful teaching
heads officially allocated these classes to of children with special needs depends on the
themselves at the beginning of the year but went availability of formal and natural support which is
on to abandon the children during the course of indispensible. For example, as [18] posit, formal
the year due to demands from their offices. As a support includes curriculum materials and
result, these pupils became a burden to other technological assistive devices. Schools
teachers in the school not to mention that they therefore should provide proper facilities for
were not given attention at all. Teachers teaching SEND such as proper furniture, alternative
special needs classes stated that because of the keyboards, talking calculators, Braille material
low teacher-pupil ratio for special needs classes, and other assistive devices [12].
some heads gave them extra loads since they
thought they were not doing much. This also Information also shows that heads did not
compromised the attention that special needs supervise teachers teaching special needs
children had to receive from their teachers. education. This could be because the heads
themselves are not equipped with skills to
4. DISCUSSION supervise the teachers. As [1] state, supervision
provides teachers including those teaching
Data reveal that most of the teachers in the special needs classes, direct assistance as it
schools did not possess the relevant continuously focuses on improvement of
qualifications for teaching SEND classes. classroom instruction, curriculum implementation
However, some of the teachers had obtained the as well as individual attention teachers give to
Diploma in Special Education offered to qualified pupils. This is particularly so for SEND who
teachers who wish to teach SEND. Whether require more attention from teachers and if
these are the only teachers handling special teachers are left to do as they please in their
needs classes in the schools could not be classrooms, they may neglect the children.
established. However, it is likely that some
schools may have more than one special unit Data also show that officers from the
due to the low teacher-pupil ratio for the special Psychological department both from the District
classes. This then implies that there is a Offices and Provincial Education offices were not
shortage of specialist teachers in the schools. As visiting the special units in the schools to assess
[2] postulates, ideally, special unit classes should the processes of teaching and learning. [22], the
be staffed by specially trained teachers, who are Zimbabwe School Psychological Services and
expected to provide specific, individualized Special Education (SPS and SE) department has
instruction to individuals and small groups of the primary responsibility for supporting schools
SEND. in the special needs practices. It provides in-
service training and support in the application of
Findings from the study also reveal that the applied behaviour analysis and teaching SEND
entire schools understudy had opened a special and also provides a wide range of counselling
unit class to cater solely for SEND. These are services [22].
applied for through the District Psychological
Officer who verifies the availability of the required Findings from the study also revealed that
number of special needs children and authorizes special unit class teachers did not maintain
the creation of the special unit in concurrence comprehensive records for SEND. Lack of
with the District Education Officer. This is in records defeats the very purpose of special
tandem with [9]’s observations, that there will education. As [15] postulate, any and all
always be some children whose learning needs information gathered by special education
cannot be appropriately met in a regular teachers through formal and informal
classroom setting and will require specialized assessment, testing anecdotal evidence, direct
education and resources to provide the level of observation and academic performance analysis
support they require. must be carefully correlated and kept secure.
That information must be very clear and
Data from the study reveal that all the schools accessible to parents, administrators and
did not have adequate resources for the special Ministry of Education; so accuracy and
unit classrooms. This dovetails with observations completeness are key [10].
made by [2] who argues that, in theory, many
African countries show interest in educating Information also shows that some heads were
pupils with special needs but what lacks is offering to take the special unit classes because

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of the low teacher-pupil ratio that applies to these 6. RECOMMENDATIONS

classes and yet did not give the children the
adequate attention they deserve. In most cases, In light of the findings of this study, the
(if not all) these heads were not in possession of researchers would like to make some
the requisite qualifications. As [1] argues, it is recommendations:
vital that those teachers who have a defined
responsibility for children with special needs to  The Ministry of Primary and Secondary
have considerable expertise in special needs Education should make it mandatory for all
education. According to [15] teachers should be those teaching special unit classes to have a
properly trained to handle SEND. For example, a Diploma in Special Education or a relevant
child with a visual impairment cannot be taught degree.
by a teacher who has not received training in  Schools should prove first of all that they
dealing with Braille. have the requisite facilities and resources to
open special unit classes instead of allowing
The information also reveals that teachers who every school to open the units.
teach special unit classes are always interrupted  Heads should prepare a sound supervision
in their work by being given more work loads in programme for special needs education in
addition to dealing with their classes, since it is the schools and put it into effect if schools
assumed by some heads and teachers that they are to help the special needs children
have little work to do due to the low numbers of properly.
children they handle. Special needs teachers  The Psychological Services Department
need more time than any teacher because they should constantly visit schools offering
are dealing with unique learners. As [12] state, a special needs education in order to provide
special education programme should be expert guidance and counselling to teachers
customized to address each individual students’ and heads.
unique needs and that special educators need  Teachers teaching special unit classes
more time to implement these individualized should be staff developed on best ways of
education programmes. assessing the learning of special needs
children as well as accurately recording all
5. CONCLUSIONS the activities and marks.
 Heads should not allocate themselves
Given the background of the above findings, the special needs classes because their jobs
researchers make the following conclusions: make it impossible for them to provide
genuine guidance to pupils with special
 Most teachers and heads in the schools do needs.
not possess the relevant qualifications for  Teachers teaching special needs classes
teaching special needs. should be allowed to work on their children
 All the schools had opened a special unit without interference as this affects the
class to cater solely for children with special individualized programmes they offer to
needs. SEND. The low teacher-pupil ratios in the
 All the schools did not have adequate special unit classes should not be used as
resources for the special needs classes. an excuse to overload these teachers with
 Heads did not supervise teachers teaching extra work as it disturbs the learning
special needs education. process.
 Officers from the Psychological Services
Department did not visit the special units in COMPETING INTERESTS
the schools.
 Special unit class teachers did not maintain Authors have declared that no competing
comprehensive records for special needs interests exist.
children.
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