Borabu TTC - Inclusive

Borabu teachers training college
DIPLOMA IN PRIMARY TEACHER EDUCATION

(DPTE) & DIPLOMA IN EARLY CHILDHOOD
TEACHER EDUCATION (DECTE)
INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
Competence Based Curriculum
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Preface
Inclusive education focuses on the various strategies educators need to adopt in order to
accommodate all learners irrespective of their ethnicity, social
social-economic
economic background, race,
gender or disability. The competence based curriculum (CBC) requires the teacher trainees
to acquire the required skills, knowledge, attitudes and values so as to be able to
accommodate learners with diversified needs.
This book also explored on the differences of the learners because of their differences in
disability, having special gifts or ta
talents,
lents, learning disabilities, social maladjustments or
behavioral, or live in especially
lly difficult circumstances.
Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences which utilizes aspects of cognitive and
developmental psychology, anthropology, and sociology to explain the human intellect is
also touched here.
It explores on the barriers that may inhibit inclusive education in the Kenyan schools and
how teacher, parents and the community at large can overcome these barriers. Acquisition
of knowledge on the development and use of special needs education resources is important
because currently, children with special needs are included into regular schools in Kenya.
This means that as long as a children benefit from the competence based curriculum used
in regular schools, he or she should not be placed in a special school. Furthermore, teachers
are expected to make for children individualized education plan (IEP) if they appear not to
cope with the pace of the majority in their inclusive class. That is why the government of
Kenya, through the ministry of education emphasis that teachers need to be equipped with
information
ion on special needs education to enhance their knowledge and attitudes to serve
children with diversified needs.
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INCLUSIVE EDUCATION 1
Competence Based Curriculum ................................................................................................
................................ 1
Preface ................................................................
................................................................................................
.................................... 2
Introduction ................................
...........................................................................................................................
........................... 8
Inclusive Education ................................
................................................................................................
.............................................. 8
The Concept of Inclusive Education .........................................................................................
......................... 8
Essence statement of IE ................................
................................................................................................
........................................... 9
Chapter 1................................................................
................................................................................................
................................11
OVERVIEW OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION ................................................................
.....................................11
ound to Inclusive Education ........................................................................................
Background ........................11
Terms Used in Inclusive Education ................................................................
.................................................11
Arguments against inclusive education ................................................................
..........................................16
Benefits of INE to Students ................................
................................................................................................
.................................16
ar learners include: ................................................................
Benefits of INE to regular ............................................16
Benefits of INE to teachers ................................
................................................................................................
................................17
What Should Be Done to Achieve Inclusive Education ................................................17
................................
What then is a differentiated curriculum? ................................................................
.....................................19
PRINCIPLES OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION ................................................................
..................................20
Summary on principles of inclusive education ................................................................
.......................................22
The rationale for Inclusive education ................................................................
.....................................................23
Task ................................................................
................................................................................................
.........................................24
LEGAL FRAMEWORK ................................
................................................................................................
.........................................24
Article 13................................................................
................................................................................................
..................................26
Article 1: Obligation of States Parties ................................................................
..............................................27
Article 2: Definition of a Child ...........................28
Child...........................................................................................
Discrimination............................................................................................
Article 3: Non-Discrimination ............................28
Article 4: Best Interests of the Child ................................................................
.................................................28
Article 5: Survival and Development ................................................................
................................................28
Article 6: Name and Nationality .......................................................................................
.......................28
e 7: Freedom of Expression .......................................................................................
Article .......................29
Article 8: Freedom of Association ................................................................
......................................................29
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Article 9: Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion .............................................29

................................
Article 10: Protection of Privacy ........................................................................................
........................29
Article 11: Education ................................
................................................................................................
...........................................29
Part II – Safeguards for The Rights and Welfare of the Child ...............................................32
................................
. 5.Non-discrimination ................................
................................................................................................
.............................................33
6.Right to parental care................................
................................................................................................
...........................................33
10. Protection from child labour and armed conflict ..............................................................
..............................33
15. Protection from sexual exploitation ................................................................
..................................................35
16. Protection from drugs ................................
................................................................................................
........................................35
17. Leisure and recreation................................
................................................................................................
.......................................35
18. Torture and deprivation of liberty
liberty................................................................
.....................................................35
Duties and Responsibilities of a Child ................................................................
............................................35
Part III – Parental Responsibility ................................................................
....................................................36
Task. ................................................................
................................................................................................
........................................36
Effective strategies to promote inclusive education ....................................................37
................................
GENERAL CAUSES OF DISABILITIES ................................................................
...................................................40
Chapter 2 ................................
...............................................................................................................................
...............................41
1.Learners Who Are Gifted and Talented ................................................................
........................................41
Classification of Gifted and Talented ..........................................................................................
..........................41
Classification of learners who are gifted and talented ................................................42
................................
Learners who are gifted ................................
................................................................................................
.....................................42
Learners who are talented ................................
................................................................................................
.................................42
Learners who are highly motivated ................................................................
.................................................42
Learners who are creative ................................
................................................................................................
.................................43
Domains of giftedness: ................................
................................................................................................
........................................43
10. Problem Solving Capabilities ................................................................
.....................................................48
Ways of Working with The Gifted and Talented Children ............................................50
................................
1.Ability grouping ................................
................................................................................................
................................................52
Identification of The Gifted and Talented Children.....................................................54
................................
2. Learners with Visual Impairment ................................................................
................................................54
3. Learners with Physical Impairments ................................................................
..........................................57
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Educational implication of physical disabilities ................................................................

...........................................58
EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTIONS .........................59
INTERVENTIONS.........................................................................................
4. Learners with Hearing Impairments ................................................................
...........................................59
Conductive hearing loss ................................
................................................................................................
.....................................61
neural hearing loss ...............................................................................................
Sensori-neural ...............................61
Mixed hearing loss ................................
................................................................................................
...............................................61
Characteristics of Learners with Hearing Impairment ...........................................................
...........................61
5. Learners Who Are Deaf-Blind ........................63
Blind........................................................................................
Deaf-Blind .......................................................
The Characteristics of the Learners Who Are Deaf .......................63
6. Learners with Autism ................................
................................................................................................
.....................................64
Characteristics of Learners with Autism for Identification ....................................................65
................................
Education implication of learners with autism .............................................................
.............................65
7. Learners with Cerebral Palsy .......................................................................................
.......................68
ll you identify a learner with cerebral palsy? ..............................................................
How will ..............................68
Educational implications for learners with cerebral palsy .....................................................69
................................
The Unique Skills Necessary for Learners with Cerebral Palsy .............................................69
................................
8. Learners with Learning Disabilities ................................................................
............................................70
Types of Learning Problems ................................
................................................................................................
.......................................70
Learners with learning difficulties experience specific academic problem ............................71
............................
The Challenges Facing Learners with Learning Disabilities ...............................................71
................................
9. Learners with Multiple Disabilities ................................................................
.............................................73
The Unique Skills Necessary for Learners with Multiple Disabilities ....................................75
................................
10. Learners with Emotional and Behavior Disorders .................................................75
................................
Causes of Emotional and behavioural disorder ................................................................
...........................................76
The Effects of Emotional and Behavior Disorders On Learning ............................................77
................................
Task ................................................................
................................................................................................
.........................................79
Learners Living Under Difficult Circumstances ...........................................................
...........................79
Categories of learners living under difficult circumstances ......................................79
................................
2. Orphaned and abandoned child ................................................................
...................................................80
Support Services for orphaned and abandoned children .......................................................
.......................80
3. Migrant Children ................................
................................................................................................
.............................................80
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Problems Resulting from Child Labour ................................................................

..................................................81
8. Child beggars ................................
................................................................................................
....................................................84
9. Child Sex Workers ................................
................................................................................................
............................................84
10. Child Suffering from Abuse ..........................................................................................
..........................84
11. Children Infected and Affected with HIV/AIDS ........................................................
........................85
14. Children Whose Mothers Are Imprisoned ................................................................
..................................86
Factors That Lead Children to Live Under Difficult Circumstances .....................................86
................................
What factors within a family can cause special needs in a child? ..........................................88
................................
The needs of children from affluent families ................................................................
.................................91
Who Are These Children from The Affluent Families? ...........................................................
...........................91
Task ................................................................
................................................................................................
.........................................93
Chapter 3 ................................
...............................................................................................................................
...............................94
AN INCLUSIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT ...............................................................
...............................94
Characteristics of inclusive learning environment ................................................................
..................................94
The Features of an Inclusive Classroom ................................................................
.................................................94
Qualities Of A Good Teacher ................................
................................................................................................
...................................95
How to advance in inclusive education ................................................................
.........................................100
Learning Styles and Multiple Intelligences ................................................................
.................................101
Learning Style ................................
................................................................................................
....................................................101
Learning Strategies for Each Learning Style ..............................................................
..............................103
The Visual Learning Style ................................
................................................................................................
................................103
The Aural Learning Style ................................
................................................................................................
.................................103
Writing Learning Style ................................................................
The Reading/Writing .............................................103
The Kinesthetic/Tactile Learning Style ................................................................
........................................103
The Multiple Intelligences Theory ................................................................
.................................................105
Fig 3: Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences ....................................................
................................ 105
Multiple Intelligence in The Classroom ................................................................
........................................110
Learner-Centered Lessons...........................................
Planning and Implementing Learner ................................ 111
elligence Theory ................................................................
Benefits of Multiple Intelligence ......................................113
Curriculum Differentiation .............................................................................................
............................. 113
The Concept of Curriculum Differentiation ...........................................113
Differentiation................................................................
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4. Develop a behavior management plan ................................................................

..............................................115
Who needs an IEP? ................................
................................................................................................
................................................115
Developing an IEP ................................
................................................................................................
.................................................118
1. Get to know the learner’s IEP .....................................................................................
.....................119
upport important life skills .......................................................................................
3. Support .......................119
5. Develop a strong behavior management plan .........................................................
.........................120
Chapter 4 ................................
.............................................................................................................................
............................. 122
Barriers to Inclusive Education ......................122
Education......................................................................................
The Contributing Factors to Inclusive Education ......................................................
......................122
Task ................................................................
................................................................................................
.......................................123
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Introduction
Inclusive Education
In Kenya inclusive schools are defined as those that are designed to respond to the diverse
needs of all learners, accommodate both different styles and rates of learning and ensure
quality education to all through appropriate curricula, organizational arr
arrangements,
angements,
teaching strategies, resource use and partnership with communities.
The current framework has set the following strategies to

address issues of inclusive education:
Designating and implementing programs that enhance inclusive education in all
institutions. Strengthening institutions that are supporting special needs education such as
Kenya institute of special education(KISE).
Expanding KISE programs to offer continuous professional teacher development on special

needs education(SNE).
Encouraging
ging research in the field of special needs education as well as inclusive education.
Adopting a flexible curriculum that is responsive to learners with special needs and
developing learning materials to support their curriculum.
Strengthening the capacity

ty of ministry of education and the schools to ensure effective
management and implementation of the curriculum in order to meet the needs of all
learners (Republic of Kenya,2005)
Inclusive education is being viewed as beneficial in the sense that, if it is carefully

implemented, it has the capacity to:
Extend appropriate education to all learners and promote social development through
interaction of learners with and without special needs, such interaction enables all learners
to develop virtues, such as accommodation, acceptance, cooperation, patience, humbleness
and the need to be supportive.
All learners would be able to share the already available resources.
The Concept of Inclusive Education

Inclusive education is the process of strengthening the capacity of education system to
reach out to all learners as a strategy to achieve education for all. The world Declaration on
Education for All adopted in Jomtien Thailand (1990), set out as an overall vision:
Universalizing access to education for all ch
children,
ildren, youth, adults and promoting equality.
This means being proactive in identifying the barriers that may be countered in accessing
educational opportunities and identifying the resources needed to overcome these barriers.
Inclusive moves emphasis away from pupils for whom curriculum is modified toward the
process of responding to all pupils, acknowledging that any child could have additional
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support needs at any given time. More impetus for inclusive education was given at the
world conference on Special needs education (SNE) on access and quality held in
Salamanca, Spain June 1994. More than 300 participants representing 92 governments and
25 international organizations considered the fundamental policy shifts required to promote
the approach of inclusive education, thereby enabling schools to serve all children,
particularly those with special education needs. Each child should be included in the main
stream schooling without any exclusion due to perceived differences or ssupport
upport needs.
An inclusive education system can only be created if ordinary schools become more
inclusive, that is, if they become better at educating all children in their communities. The
Salamanca conference proclaimed that regular schools with an inc inclusion
lusion orientation are the
most effective means of combating discriminatory attitudes, creating welcoming
communities, building an inclusive society and achieving education for all. Brooth (1998)
views inclusive education as a process of increasing the par
participation
ticipation of learners in the
culture and curricula of mainstream school and communities
communities‟. ‟. Bailey (1998) talks of
inclusion as “being in an ordinary school with other learners, following the same curriculum
at the same time, in the same classroom, with the full acceptance of all, and in a way which
makes the learners feel no different from other learners.
Inclusive education looks at both the rights of learner and how education systems can be
transformed to respond to the diverse groups of learners. Studi
Studies
es by Pijl et al (1997) show
that attitude of teachers towards educating learners with special needs is very important if
a school is to be inclusive. If main stream teachers do not take responsibility for the
learning needs of those with special needs as an integral part of their job, they will cause
segregation in learning to occur
in schools thus fostering stereotypes. Inclusion is about the child’s right to participate as
fully as possible in school activities and the school’s duty to accept and accommodate
accomm the
child’s right (Thomas and Vaughan, 2005).
Essence statement of IE
 IE is a practice where needs of diverse learners are catered for
regardless of gender, disabilty, ethnic, economic or cultural
background.
 Aims at equipping trainee with general understanding of IE.
 To acquire knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to support
learners in an inclusive environment.
Kenya has passed a new policy aimed at making education
accessible, so that all children with disabilities can go to school.
sc This
includes providing space, resources and training in
mainstream schools so that children with and without
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disabilities can learn alongside each other. Fredrick Haga had

to leave school when he began going blind at 16. Seven years later,
he went back
ack to school and is now the acting Director, Special Needs
Education in the Ministry of Education in Kenya.
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Chapter 1
OVERVIEW OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
Background to Inclusive Education
Many children around the world live with disabilities. Like all children, children with
disabilities have ambitions and dreams for their futures. Like all children, they need
quality education to develop their skills and realize their full potential.
All children need care and protection by virtue of their age and developmental needs. They
require proper nutrition, clothing, shelter, training in life skills, education, time, space and
equipment for play. They also require a place for rest and sleep and nee needd protection from all
types of adversaries. If not cared for, children are vulnerable to serious suffering,
developmental deficits and even death. This is because they lack knowledge, skills,
resources and even physical strength to take care of, and protec
protectt themselves.
Yet, children with disabilities are often overlooked in policymaking, limiting their access to
education and their ability to participate in social, economic and political life. Worldwide,
these children are among the most likely to be out ooff school. They face persistent barriers to
education stemming from discrimination, stigma and the routine failure of decision makers
to incorporate disability in school services
Terms Used in Inclusive Education

1. Children with Special Needs
Children
en with special needs are those who significantly deviate from the average or normal
children in mental, physical, social and emotional characteristics. They are children who
require a modification of school practices or educational of services in order to develop their
capacities to the maximum.
2. Special Needs
Special needs in children, describes important requirements, necessities or wants. It
therefore refers to the requirements that should be provided if the children have to realize
their developmental
ental potential.
3. Impairment
This is a general term indicating injury, deficiency or lessening of function. Any loss or
damage to a part of the body either through accident, disease, genetics or other factors is
therefore an impairment. A hearing impaired child, for example, may have acquired the
condition due to injury in an accident, or may have been born with a deformed ear, or may
have the auditory canal blocked by wax.
4. Handicap
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A handicap is a problem that a person with a disability or iimpairment

mpairment encounters in
interacting with the environment or from society’s attitude towards a disability. A child
who is deaf for example, cannot detect dangers posed by animals such as dogs by hearing
them bark. Such a child may not participate in games tthat
hat involves the use of sounds.
Handicaps prevent the fulfillment of roles and participation in activities that are
appropriate to the age, gender, society and culture of the individual.
5. Disability
Disability refers to functional limitations that ham
hamper
per typical development as a result of a
physical impairment, difficulty in learning or social adjustment. The term describes any
problem that limits a person’s ability to perform certain tasks that most people can do.
Deafness, blindness, being crippled a and
nd mental retardation are examples of disability.
6. Identification
This term describes the process of gathering relevant information to determine if a child
has special needs and if therefore he or she is eligible for special services.
7. Screening
Screening is a procedure in which groups of children are examine and or tested in an effort
to identify children who are most likely to have a disability. Identified children are then
referred to more intensive examination and assessment.
8. Assessment
The
he term assessment refers to gathering, sifting and weighing information for the purpose
of making changes in the curriculum provision or the learning environment.
9. Integration
 The term assessment refers to participation of learners with disabilities in regular
schools with their non-disabled
disabled peers, without necessarily making changes in the
curriculum provision or the learning environment. Is a philosopy that focuses on
the process
ocess of adjusting the home,school and the larger society to accommodate
persons with special needs including disabilities.
10. Inclusion
All individuals regardless of their differences are accorded the opportunity to interact,
play, learn, work and experience the feeling of belonging.
Persons with special needs are required to fully participate in all aspects of life;
• Education
• Employment
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• Access to consumer services eg electricity, clean water
• Recreational and social activities
• Decision making processs Decision making process
• Access to information
• Community and domestic activitie

activities
INCLUSION IS ABOUT THE FOLLOWING

• welcoming diversity
• Benefiting all learners with special needs and disabilities.
• Providing equal access to education of all children.
• Identification
tification and removal of barriers, stimulating creativity and problem solving by
all
• Learners who risk marginalization, exclusion and /or underachievement.
• Improving learning environment and providing opportunities for all children.
Education is deemed to be inclusive when students from diverse backgrounds learn side by
side in the same classroom. Students with different physical and learning abilities are
placed in age-appropriate
appropriate general education classrooms. They participate in field
fi trips and
after-school
school activities together and attend the same sports meets and plays (word doc for
images)
11. Inclusive education

Phisophy of ensuring that schools, centres of learning and educational systems
are open to all children. This enables lelearners
arners to be included in all aspects of school life.
It also means identifying, reducing or removing barriers within and around school that may
hinder learning.
NB: For this to happen teachers schools and systems need to modify the physical
and social environment so that they can fully appreciate the diversity of learning
needs that learners may experience.
11. Inclusive enviroment

(Also least restrictive environment)
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Situation where all learners including those with special needs and disabilities participate
part
in all activities in a community. The learners are identified and their needs addressed as
much as possible.
It means including all children who are left out or excluded from school and can be catered
for in both formal and informal setting.
12. Mainstreaming/integration
Refers to participation of learners with special educational needs in regular education
without demanding changes in the curricular provision. Little or no support is given to
them and are expected to adapt to the regular school a arrangements.
NB: Integration is mostly used in Europe and Kenya while mainstreaming is commonly
used in America.
 Learners’ Diversity ……. This term refers to the variations of

abilities and differences found among any group of learners in any
given setting.
 What is a resource room? ….. This is a room in a regular or special school,
which is equipped for enriching learning for learners with special needs.
ipatetic teacher ……This is a teacher who is
 Itinerant or peripatetic
trained in special needs education and mo moves
ves from school to school
where children with special needs are included. The role of this
teacher is to advise the regular teacher and give technical support
where need arises. This teacher is also assigned to assist
particular learners with special needneeds.
 Integration/Mainstreaming ……The term refers to the participation of
learners with special educational needs in regular education without
curricular provision
demanding changes in the curr
There are three main forms of integration.

These are:
i. Functional integration …This is a form of integration where the child with special needs is
placed in the regular class
ii. Locational/physical integration ….. learner with special needs
eeds is placed in a special
unit located in the regular school
iii. Social integration ……learner er with special needs is placed in a special unit for learning
purposes, but joins the peers in the regular classes for social activities like physical education,
mes and other co curricular activities.
games
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Importance of Studying Inclusive Education as A

Component
ponent of Teacher Education
Inclusive education has many benefits all teachers and learners in an inclusive
environmental setting. Some of these benefits include:
 It increases community awareness of special need education and eliminate the

stigma often attached to learners with special needs.
 It extends appropriate education to all.
 Inclusive education ensures that learners with disabilities are educated in the
least restrictive environment (LRE)
 Inclusive education helps in the development of positive attitudes in parents,
peers and the community at large.
 It promotes social development through interaction of learners with or without
special needs. Such interaction enables all learners to develop virtues, such as
accommodation, acceptance
 Trace the development of inclusive education as a practice of promoting
education for all.
 All teachers and learners ners gain the virtues of being accommodating, accepting,
cooperative and patient.
 Regular learnerss gain some valuable virtues such being considerate as they
support their peers.
 Some learnersners with special needs are gifted with special abilities that benefit
their peers.
 Teachers share ideas with each other, parents etc and work as a team to
address challenges.
 Creates “A A School For All All” where everybody benefits.
 Improves self esteem of SNE child .
 Is cost effective and gives equal opportunities to all children, hence promoting
the rights of all to education.
 calls for equal opportunities for all lear
learners
ners to experience normal mainstream activities,
while making deliberate and appropriate measures to ens ensure
ure quality education for all.
 calls for a child centred curriculum and the learner to attend the school that he/she
would naturally go to in his community if she/he had no special needs.
 advocates for accessibility to the learning process and the curriculum by all learners by
differentiating the learning and assessment process a ccording to the learners needs.
according
 addresses the needs of all learners wiwith

th visible or invisible learning difficulties such as
visual, hearing, physical, intellectual, communication, behavioural and emotional,
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bereavements from HIV and AIDS, child abuse, poverty, malnourishment, emotional
effects of wars, divorce and family sseparation
eparation and living on the street.
 recognizes and caters for individual differences in race, religion, abilities, disabilities or
circumstances. Differences are only seen as challen
challenges.
 plans for positive learning opportunities with support to learners with special needs as
an integrall part of the ordinary school.
 requires change of attitudes, behaviours, teaching methods, curricula and environments
to meet the needs of all learn ers, hence overcoming barriers to learning and
learners,
development.
 calls on special
cial needs education service providers to work closely with others within the
community such as health and social workers emphasizing prevention and intervention
strategies to minimize the occurrence and the impact of disabilities in the
community.
Arguments
ts against inclusive education
 the teacher may end up with very big classes of learners with varying
abilities making teaching difficult.
 If resources are not available and teachers not appropriately trained, it may fail.
fail
 if attitudes are not changed the child wouldld still be seen as a problem.
 learners with disabilities achieve better school results in inclusive setting.
 it provides opportunities to build social networks, mutual assistance, and
trustworthiness.
Benefits of INE to Students

 students with disabilities have greater success in achieving Individualized Educational
Programme goals than those in traditional programmes.
 students with special needs in education in general classes do better academically and
socially than counterparts in nonnon-inclusive settings.
 students with special needs gain self esteem, acceptance by class mates and social skills.
 the academic progress of non
non-disabled
disabled students is not slowed down by having peers in
the classroom.
regular learners include:

Benefits of INE to regul
o reduced fear of human differences
o increased comfort and awareness
o growth in social cognition
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o improvement in self concept

o development of personal principles
o warm and caring friendships.
parents confirmed improved outcomes ffor their children without disabilities

bilities when
children with disabilities were included in the classroom.
Benefits of INE to teachers

 teachers learn a lot about disabilities from the learners and about treating
each other with respect or openness by watching the learners interact.
 they move
ove from using paper and pencil to using more manipulative and
creative methods of teaching
 they use more collaborative problem solving approaches between learners.
 the class feels as a family hence all expected to participate in general form of
activities.
 teamwork is promoted between teacher and support teacher, speech/
occupational/physio therapists in order to reaching all children
Characteristics of Inclusive Education as an Approach

in The Provision of Education for Al
All
 Learners with disabilities attend their neighborhood schools or the schools
they would attend if they were not disabled.
 Each learner is in an age
age-appropriate
appropriate general education classroom.
 Every learner is accepted and regarded as a full and valued member of the
class and the school community.
 Special education supports are provided to each learner with a disability
within the context of the general education classroom.
 All learners receivee an education that addresses their individual needs.
 No learner is excluded based on type or degree of disability.
 All members of the school (e.g., administration, staff, learners, and parents)
promote cooperative/collaborative teaching arrangements.
 There is school-based
based planning, problem
problem-solving,
solving, and ownership of all
learners and programs.
What Should Be Done to Achieve Inclusive Education

 Establishment of classroom routine that is sensitive to individual needs and
cultural norms of learners.
 Ensuring
uring that classroom responsibilities are inclusive and not stereotyped.
 Provision of instructional resources that reflect diversity of learners.
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 Ensuring that all learners feel accepted and gain a sense of belonging.
 Provision to each learner a ba balance
lance of challenge and support to scaffold new
learning.
 Emphasis and modeling values of fairness acceptance, kindness, respect and
responsibility to and for all people.
 Making education relevant to llearners‟ needs and interests.
 Teaching and modeling independent learning skills.
 Recognition and value for learner improvement and acknowledging success of
each individual learner.
 Use of evaluation methods that are equitable and take into account the
diversity of learner’s life eexperiences
xperiences and learning needs for example refugee
experience.
 Use of flexible approaches to eliminate barriers and transform learning
experiences.
N/B Teachers should provide differentiated instruction by acknowledging that

learners learn at different rates
ates and in different ways.
Inclusion does not mean…

i. Placing learners with disabilities into general education classrooms without careful
planning and adequate support.
ii. Reducing services or funding for special education services.
iii. Placing alll learners who have disabilities or who are at risk in one or a few designated
classrooms.
iv. Teachers spending a disproportionate amount of time teaching or adapting the

curriculum for learners with disabilities.
v. Isolating learners with disabilities socially, physically, or academically within the general
education school or classroom.
vi. Jeopardizing the achievement of general education learners through slower instruction or
a less challenging curriculum.
vii.
i. Relegating special education teachers to the role of assistants in the general education
classroom.
viii. Requiring general and special education teachers to team together without careful
planning and well-defined
defined responsibilities.
The Strategies Invo

Involved
lved in Achieving Inclusive
Education
Inclusive education can be achieved by practicing multicultural education.
Willy yegon –(0721775920) 18

Multicultural education is defined as one that allows full development of the potential and
critical abilities of all children regardless of their differences (racial, ethnic, gender, class
stratification, disabilities, and sexual orientations).
Multicultural approach emphasizes that:
 Every learner must have an equal opportunity to achieve to her or his full potential.
 Every learner must be prepared to competently participate in an increasingly
intercultural society.
 Teachers must be prepared to effectively facilitate learning for every individual
learner, no matter how culturally similar or different from her
her- or himself.
hims
 Schools must be active participants in ending oppression of all types, first by ending
oppression within their own walls, then by producing socially and critically active
and aware learners.
 Education must become more fully learner
learner-centered and inclusive
clusive of the voices and
experiences of the learners.
 Educators, activists, and others must take a more active role in reexamining all
educational practices and how they affect the learning of all learners: testing
methods, teaching approaches, evaluati
evaluation
on and assessment, school psychology and
counseling, educational materials and textbooks, among others.
 Approaches to The selection of subject matter content should be culturally inclusive,
based on up-to-date
date scholarship. This inclusivity should incorpor
incorporate
ate opposing
opinions and divergent interpretations.
 The subject matter content selected for inclusion should represent diversity and unity
within and across groups.
 The subject matter selected for inclusion should be set within the context of its time
and place.
 The subject matter selected for inclusion should give priority to depth over breadth.
 The subject matter content should be treated as socially constructed and therefore
tentative as is all knowledge.
 The teaching of all subjects should dr
draw
aw and build on the experience and knowledge
that the learners bring to the classroom.
 Pedagogy should incorporate a range of interactive modes of teaching and learning in
order to foster understanding (rather than rote learning), examination of controversy,
controve
and mutual learning.
What then is a differentiated curriculum?

This means attempting to modify the regular curriculum to meet the individual needs of your
learners. You can do this by:
i. ipulating the environmental factors.

Manipulating
ii. adapting the teaching approaches and time schedules
iii. modifying the content.
iv. adapting the exam questions and assessment procedures.
v. Providing appropriate learning materials to meet the learner’s individual needs
Willy yegon –(0721775920) 19

vi. including other relevant and vital subjec

subjects for lifelong education required by some learners
with special needs in education such as:
 Independent living skills
 Sign language
 Braille
 Orientation and mobility among others
The following are some important support services that should be made available to the
learner with special needs in the regular class
 resource room
 itinerant services
 educational resources
 parental support
 technical support such as sign language interpreter and braille tran
transcriber
 teacher –aide
 peer support
 physiotherapy
 guidance and counseling
 occupational therapy
 speech therapy
 community support
 equipment
PRINCIPLES OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

Inclusive education makes children living with disabilities to have a positive self-esteem.
self
Introduction
For learners and teachers, classrooms and communities, research shows that inclusive
education works. Small changes can lead to larger transformations, and these can ripple
across the classroom and school system.
However, different understandings of inclu

inclusion
sion mean that some educators can struggle to
implement initiatives.
The most key principles of what defines an inclusive education include:
PRINCIPLE 1: Diversity in The Classroom Enriches and

Strengthens Education .
Every learner is unique and every g
group
roup of learners is different. Diversity in schools is a
given. Learners have different experiences, cultures, beliefs and values.
This diversity is something all teachers come across. It can present challenges for teachers,
learners and their parents. It also creates opportunities for growth and better connection in
personal, social and academic achievement.
Willy yegon –(0721775920) 20

Inclusive educators are those who draw on the knowledge and experiences of their learners.
They question their own beliefs about learner learning. T
They
hey are flexible and ready for a
challenge. And most of all, they embrace diversity in their classroom
PRINCIPLE 2: A Strength
Strength-Based and Personalized
ed
Curriculum
Strength-based
based approaches are a key principle of in
inclusive
clusive education. They recognize
recogniz each
learner
rner has inherent strengths and talents.
These strengths, as well as a learner’s specific needs, should be placed at the centre of
curriculum planning and implementation. This optimises opportunities for both teachers
and learner learning.
A strength-based
ed and personaliz
personalized curriculum improves:
a) Learner engagement
b) Motivation
c) Academic outcomes for all learners

learners.
This approach celebrates diversity and difference, and facilita

facilitates
tes opportunities for
personalized learning.
PRINCIPLE 3: Learner Engagement, Urgency and Voice

Seeking the perspectives of learner ensures they make a meaningful contribution to their
schooling and educational experience. The ability to have a voice influences both learner
participation and agency.
Learner roles are often

ften consultative, rather than active, even when matters directly affect
them. The key to listening well is to have a belief in learners’ capabilities, and to develop
relationships of trust and respect. It’s not one
one-sided:
sided: learners need to trust their teacher
teac
too.
When learners are given a platform to share their voice, schools gain insider knowledge and
better understand the learner experience. It sends a clear message that learner
engagement is important.
But how do you make this authentic?
 Facilitate multiple different ways for young people to b bee heard, regardless of their ability.
 Consider tools such as drawing, writing, talking, paintings, photographs, and videos to express
agency.
 Ask learners, as critical stakeholders, to identify indicators of w
what
hat an inclusive school looks like
and measureure the school against them.
PRINCIPLE 4: Engaging with All Critical Stakeholders
Willy yegon –(0721775920) 21

An inclusive education is one where all learners of all capabilities have the opportunity to
grow and learn.
This means providing

g each learner and parent with access to accurate information on their
learning through ongoing formative and summative assessment of each learner’s progress.
Schools can also model positive behaviour and feedback, while still offering areas of
improvement. t. For example, low reading confidence can be turned around with sharing
positive stories of school success where learners have improved or progressed.
Over time, this approach creates a positive community perception of the school and raises
awareness aboutut a positive school culture.
PRINCIPLE 5:: Inclusive Teachers Need Commitment,

Knowledge And Practical Skills
Good teaching is good teaching for all not just for some. Teaching in inclusive classrooms
requires teachers to have the 3Hs: the heart (commitment), the head (critical knowledge)
and hands (practical strategies).
Teachers must be fully committed to inclu

include
de all learners. They need to understand
inclusive practices benefit all learners, regardless if they have additional needs.
Inclusive education also benefits teachers. Strategies are used that make classrooms more
engaging, and it can lead to improved pr
professional satisfaction.
Inclusion requires teachers to acquire critical knowledge and skills to teach learners who
differ in their abilities and their learning styles.
It does not require teachers to become superhuman but it does require them to know about
ab
some of the most powerful evidence
evidence-based
based teaching strategies that engage learners across
the board:
 Assessment for learning

 Peer tutoring
 Co-operative learning.
A teacher with the heart, head and hands of an inclusive teacher will be effective for all
a
learners, not just for those who need additional support.
A teacher with all 3Hs need to be adequately supported by the school leadership team to
use and sustain inclusive practices.
Summary on principles of inclusive education

 Calls for equal opportunities to all learners
 Calls Quality education for all
 Calls for child centered curriculum
Willy yegon –(0721775920) 22

 Advocates for accessibility to the learning process by all.
 Addresses the needs of all learners eg visual, hearing, physical, intellectual,

communication, beh
behavioral
avioral and emotional, bereavement from HIV and AIDS,
child abuse, poverty, malnourishment, emotional effects from wars, divorce
and separation and living in street.
 Caters for individual differences in race, religion, abilities, disabilities and

circumstances.
 Plans for positive learning opportunities with support of learners with special
needs as an integral part.
The rationale for Inclusive education

• Education is a human right and as such, every learner is entitled to education
educat irrespective
of diversity •To
To achieve integration of learners with special needs in the society
• Provide self-reliant
reliant and lifelong skills to all
• Achieve social equality
• Achievement of universality in the society
• Enable children to keep close to families and acc

access education
Barriers to the effective implementation of Inclusive

Education
• Cultural prejudice, Misconceptions, and negative attitudes towards persons with
disabilities
• Inadequate training of teachers in special needs education
• Inadequate identification,
dentification, functional assessment, and appropriate placement of learners
with special needs including the gifted and talented
• Lack of or inadequate policies on all matters of inclusivity,
• Inadequate and inappropriate resources including assistive devices among others
• Environmental constraints such as inadequate adaptations and modifications
• Lack of Curriculum for some groups of learners such as that of the gifted and talented
learners
Recommendations of overcoming the barriers to

effective implementation of IE
Willy yegon –(0721775920) 23

• Implementation of the affirmative action
• Reform education and training of teacher educators are in line with the demands of
learners and diversity that there is.
• Sensitize the community on the needs and nature of special nee

needs
ds and disabilities.
• Develop a Specialized curriculum for learners with special needs.
• Provision of appropriate resources for learners with disabilities
• Training of teachers in SNE
• Development of valid and reliable tools for the identification of learners.
Task
i. How can schools and teachers create welcoming and focused environments that
include, motivate and challenge all learners?
ii. Do teachers have high expectations of learning, effort and engagement
ement for all their
learners?
iii. What has the government of Kenya done to promote inclusive education?
LEGAL FRAMEWORK
The International, Regional and National Legal Instruments That
Support Implementation of Inclusive Education
Introduction
Globally agreed on rights and freedoms of children are enraved in covenants and
conventions also termed as international instruments on child rights and child protection.
These Instruments Include:
i) The Declaration On the Rights of a Chi

Child
ld (Declaration of
Geneva)-1924
A declaration in this context refers to a statement that urges one to follow the principles it
contains. It is a widely accepted guidelines but has no binding status. The league of nations’
declaration on the rights of a ch
child declare that:
 Mankind owes to the child the best it has to give.

 All men and women of the world have a duty to give the child means and necessities for
development.
This is a non-binding
binding declaration reflecting on the norms and values, which all nations
nati
should aspire for in relation to the rights of a child.
Willy yegon –(0721775920) 24

Although its principles are broad and non

non-specific,
specific, they have been interpreted to mean that
the child:
 Must be given means needed for its normal development both materially and spiritually.
 Should bee fed if hungry, treated if sick, rehabilitated if delinquent and sheltered and
cared for if homeless or orphan.
 Must be first to receive relief in times of distress.
 Must be put in a position to gain a livelihood and must be protected against every form
f of
exploitation.
 Must be made consciousness that, his or her best qualities are to be used in the service of fellow
men.
ii) The universal declaration of human rights

rights-1948
This legal instrument was intended to be a standard for countries rathe
ratherr than a binding
instrument. In its 30 articles, the instrument embodied children’s rights among human
rights. This included children’s entitlement to education and to special care and assistance.
It however, did not specifically address the issues of chil
childd rights and child protection.
iii) The declaration on the rights of the child

child-1959
This was the first international document to reflect clearly on the rights of a child. It
introduced the principle of the “best interest of the child” to guide all those who would be
involved in making decisions that affect children.
This principle was later incorporated into the united nations conventions on the right of the
child(UNCRC) in 1989 and the African charter in 1990.
The Geneva declaration incorporated into tthe

he principles of the 1924 declaration, but added
the following:
 The child must be protected beyond and above all considerations of race, nationality
or greed.
 The child must be cared for with due respect by the family as an entity.
 The child that is physically
sically challenged must be provided for and the maladjusted
child reeducated.
 The child must enjoy full benefits provided by social welfare and social security.
These declarations brought out the aspect of care and protection more specifically than the
previous
revious one. In addition, it singled out children with special needs as a unique group that
needed particular attention, it therefore provided the framework and the context for further
development and refinement
finement of children’s rights.
iv) The international covenant on civil and political rights (the

political covenant)-1966
1966
An international covenant is a binding legal agreement between states. The political
covenant provides for the rights and freedom of individuals, adults and children alike,
Willy yegon –(0721775920) 25

without discrimination based on ra race, colour, ethnicity ,religion, Sex, Political or other
opinion, social, origin, poverty, birth or other status.
These rights include the right to life, liberty, peaceful assembly and expression. Special
emphasis is laid on the child’s right to protection of marriage.
It also recognizes the need to have a child registered immediately after birth, have a name
and the right to have a nationality.
v) International Covenant On Economic, Social and Cultural

Rights (Social Covenant)
Covenant)-1966
This covenant requires that the government take special measures to protect children from
economic and social exploitation.
Article 13
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to education.
They agree that education
cation shall be directed to the full development of the human
personality and the sense of its dignity, and shall strengthen the respect for human rights
and fundamental freedoms. They further agree that education shall enable all persons to
participate effectively
fectively in a free society, promote understanding, tolerance and friendship
among all nations and all racial, ethnic or religious groups, and further the activities of the
United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
2. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize that, with a view to achieving the
full realization of this right:
 Primary education shall be compulsory and available free to all;

 Secondary education in its different forms, including technical and vocational
secondary education, shall be made generally available and accessible to all by every
appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free
education;
 Higher
gher education shall be made equally accessible to all, on the basis of capacity, by
every appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free
education;
 Fundamental education shall be encouraged or intensified as far as possible for those
persons who have not received or completed the whole period of their primary
education;
 The development of a system of schools at all levels shall be actively pursued, an
adequate fellowship system shall be established, and the material conditions
conditio of
teaching staff shall be continuously improved.
3. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have respect for the liberty of
parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to choose for their children schools, other
than those establishedd by the public authorities, which conform to such minimum
educational standards as may be laid down or approved by the State and to ensure the
religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions.
Willy yegon –(0721775920) 26

4. No part of this article

ticle shall be construed so as to interfere with the liberty of individuals
and bodies to establish and direct educational institutions, subject always to the observance
of the principles set forth in paragraph I of this article and to the requirement that the
education given in such institutions shall conform to such minimum standards as may be
laid down by the State.
iv) United Nations Convention On the Rights of the

Child(UNCRC)-1989
THE UNCRC was adopted by the united nations general assembly in 19 1989.
89. This is the most
widely accepted convention in the world and therefore services as a major point of reference
in many issues relating to children.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child is a universally agreed set of non -negotiable
standards and obligations.
ligations. These basic standards — also called human rights — set
minimum entitlements and freedoms that should be respected by governments. They are
founded on respect for the dignity and worth of each individual, regardless of race, colour,
gender, language,
religion, opinions, origins, wealth, birth status or ability and therefore apply to every
human being, everywhere.
The four core principles of the Convention are:
 Non-discrimination
 Devotion to the best interests of the child
 The right to life, survival
urvival and development
 Respect for the views of the child.
The Convention protects children's rights by setting standards in health care, education,
and legal, civil and social services.
v) The African Charter On the Rights and Welfare of the Child-

Child
1990
The idea to develop the African charter on the rights and welfare of the child emanated
from a conference in 1987 organized by the African network for the prevention and
protection against child abuse and neglect(ANPPCAN).
The charter recognizes the virtues

rtues of African heritage and values of African civilization
which should inspire and characterize the content of the rights of the African child.
Article 1: Obligation of States Parties

1. Member States of the Organization of African Unity Parties to the present Charter shall
recognize the rights, freedoms and duties enshrined in this Charter and shall undertake to
the necessary steps, in accordance with their Constitutional processes and with the
Willy yegon –(0721775920) 27

provisions of the present Charter, to adopt such legislative or other measures as may be
necessary to give effect to the provisions of this Charter.
2. Nothing in this Charter shall affect any provisions that are more conductive to the
realization
on of the rights and welfare of the child contained in the law of a State Party or in
any other international Convention or agreement in force in that State.
3. Any custom, tradition, cultural or religious practice that is inconsistent with the rights,
duties
ties and obligations contained in the present Charter shall to the extent of such
inconsistency be discouraged.
Article 2: Definition of a Child

For tile purposes of this Charter. a child means every human being below the age of 18
years.
Article 3: Non-Discrimination
Discrimination
Every child shall be entitled to the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms recognized and
guaranteed in this Charter irrespective of the child's or his/her parents' or legal guardians'
race, ethnic group, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national and
social origin, fortune, birth or other status.
Article 4: Best Interests of the Child

1. In all actions concerning the child undertaken by any person or authority the best
interests of the child shall be the prim
primary consideration.
2. In all judicial or administrative proceedings affecting a child who is capable of

communicating his/her own views, and opportunity shall be provided for the views of the
child to be heard either directly or through an impartial repre
representative as a party to the
proceedings and those views shall be taken into consideration by the relevant authority in
accordance with the provisions of appropriate law.
Article 5: Survival and Development

1. Every child has an inherent right to life. Th
This
is right shall be protected by law.
2. States Parties to the present Charter shall ensure, to the maximum extent possible, the
survival, protection and development of the child.
3. Death sentence shall not be pronounced for crimes committed by children.
Article 6: Name and Nationality

1. Every child shall have the right from his birth tto a name.
2. Every child shall be registered immediately after birth.
3. Every child has the right to acquire a nationality.
Willy yegon –(0721775920) 28

4. States Parties to the present Charter sshall

hall undertake to ensure that their Constitutional
legislation recognize the principles according to which a child shall acquire the nationality
of the State in the territory of which he has been born if, a
att the time of the child's birth he
is not granted nationality by any other State in accordance with its laws.
Article 7: Freedom of Expression

Every child who is capable of communicating his or her own views shall be assured the
rights to express his opinions freely in all matters and to disseminate his opinions subject
to such restrictions as are prescribed by laws.
Article 8: Freedom of Association

Every child shall have the right to free association and freedom of peaceful assembly in
conformity with the law.
Article 9: Freedom of Thought, Conscie

Conscience and Religion
1. Every child shall have the right to freedom of thought conscience and religion.
2. Parents and where applicable, legal guardians shall have a duty to provide guidance and
direction in the exercise of these rights having regard to the evolving capacities, and best
interests of the child.
3. States Parties shall respect the duty of parents and where applicable, legal guardians to
provide guidance and direction in the enjoyment of these rights subject to the national laws
and policies.
Article 10: Protection of Privacy

No child shall be subject to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family home
or correspondence, or to the attacks upon his honour or reputation, provided that parents or
legal guardians shall have the right to exercise reasonable supervision over the conduct of
their children. The child has the right to the protection of the law against such interference
or attacks.
Article 11: Education

1. Every child shall have the right to an education.
2. The education of the child shall be directed to:
i. the promotion and development of the child's personality, talents and mental and
physical abilities to their fullest potential;
ii. fostering respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms with particular
particula
reference to those set out in the provisions of various African instruments on human
and peoples' rights and international human rights declarations and conventions;
iii. the preservation and strengthening of positive African morals, traditional values and
cultures;
Willy yegon –(0721775920) 29

iv. the preparation of the child for responsible life in a free society, in the spirit of
understanding tolerance, dialogue, mutual respect and friendship among all peoples
ethnic, tribal and religious groups;
v. the preservation of national independen
independence and territorial integrity;
vi. the promotion and achievements of African Unity and Solidarity;
vii. the development of respect for the environment and natural resources;
viii. the promotion of the child's understanding of primary health care.
3. States Parties to the present Charter shall take all appropriate measures with a view to
achieving the full realization of this right and shall in particular:
 provide free and compulsory basic education:

 encourage the development of secondary educatio
educationn in its different forms and to
progressively make it free and accessible to all;
 make the higher education accessible to all on the basis of capacity and ability by
every appropriate means;
 take measures to encourage regular attendance at schools and th thee reduction of drop-
drop
out rates;
 take special measures in respect of female, gifted and disadvantaged children, to
ensure equal access to education for all sections of the community.
4. States Parties to the present Charter shall respect the rights and dut
duties
ies of parents, and
where applicable, of legal guardians to choose for their children's schools, other than those
established by public authorities, which conform to such minimum standards may be
approved by the State, to ensure the religious and moral edu
education
cation of the child in a manner
with the evolving capacities of the child.
5. States Parties to the present Charter shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that
a child who is subjected to schools or parental discipline shall be treated with humanity
humanit and
with respect for the inherent dignity of the child and in conformity with the present
Charter.
6. States Parties to the present Charter shall have all appropriate measures to ensure that
children who become pregnant before completing their education shall have an opportunity
to continue with their education on the basis of their individual ability.
7. No part of this Article shall be construed as to interfere with the liberty of individuals
and bodies to establish and direct educational institutions subject to the observance of the
principles set out in paragraph I of this Article and the requirement teal the education
given in such institutions shall conform to such minimum standards as may be laid down
by the States.
vi) The Salamanca Conference 1

1994
This was a world conference on special needs education held in Spain between 7th and 10th
June, 1994. Representatives of 92 governments and 25 international organization attended
the conference. Its main objective was to further the theme “education ffor
or all”
Although the immediate focus of the Salamanca conference was on what was termed special
needs education, its conclusion was that: “Special needs education – an issue of equal
Willy yegon –(0721775920) 30

concern to countries of the North and of the South – cannot advance in isolation.
solation. It has to
form part of an overall educational strategy and, indeed, of new social and economic
policies. It calls for major reform of the ordinary school.”
The aim is to reform education system. It is argued that this can only happen if
mainstream
eam schools become capable of educating all children in their local communities.
The Salamanca Statement concluded that: “Regular schools with an inclusive orientation
are the most effective means of combating discriminatory attitudes, creating welcoming
w
communities, building an inclusive society and achieving education for all; moreover, they
provide an effective education to the majority of children and improve the efficiency and
ultimately the cost-effectiveness
effectiveness of the entire education system.”
This suggests that moves towards inclusive schools can be justified on a number of grounds:
 An educational justification
justification:: the requirement for schools to educate all children together means
ey have to develop ways of teaching that respond to individ
that they individual
ual differences and
that therefore benefit all children;
 A social justification:: inclusive are intended to change attitudes to difference by educating all
children together, and form the basis for a just and non-discriminatory
discriminatory society; and
 An economic justification:: it is likely to be less costly to establish and maintain schools which
educate all children together than to set up a complex system of different types of school
rticular groups of children.
specializing in particular
The publication of the Salamanca Statement proposed a major change in policy direction,
not least for the education of learners with disabilities. At that time such learners were not
considered by national education departments in some countries. Rather, they were the
responsibility of health or social care ministries in a way that implied that these young
people did not have their right to education fulfilled. There are parts of the world where
this is still the case.
vii) The Dakar Conferemce

Conferemce-2000
This was a world education forum held in Dakar, Senegal between 26th and 28th April,
Ap
2000 sponsored by UNESCO. T The
he forum was a response to the education for all(EFA) 2000.
The conference committed the world community to achieving education for every citizen in
every society.
The Dakar conference

onference members committed themselves to:
 Expand and improve comprehensive early childhood care and education especially for the
vulnerably and disadvantaged children.
ar 2015 all children especially girls in difficult circumstances and
 Ensure that by the year
those of minority groups have access to free and compulsory primary education of
good quality.
 Achieve 50% improvement of levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women and
table access to basic and continuing education for all adults.
equitable
Willy yegon –(0721775920) 31

 Eliminate
iminate gender disparities in primary schools and secondary schools by 2005 and achieve
gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on granting girls full and equal access tp and
ievement in basic education of good quality.
achievement
 Ensure that persons with
th persons with special needs have access to regular schools which should
accommodate them within child centered pedagogy capable of meeting their needs.
 Ensure and improve all aspects of the quality of education and ensure the excellences of
all, so that recognized and measurable learning out outcomes are achieved by all,
especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills.
viii) The Children’s Act

Act-2001
The children act No. 8 of 2001 creates a Kenyan law that provides for similar provisions as
the united
nited nations convention on the rights of the child(UNCRC). THE act constitutes into
one law the children and young person’s act, the guardianship of infants’ act, and the
adoption act.
part 1
It deals with definition of terms and phrases relating to the children’s law.
Some of the concepts described include:
“Adoption Committee” means the Committee established under section 155.
“adoption order” means an adoption order under vesting the parental rights and duties
relating to a child in the adopter;
“adoption society” means a society approved by the Adoption Committee under
“age” where actual age is not known means apparent age;
Part II – Safeguards for The Rights and Welfare of the Child

a) Realization of the rights of the child
The Government shall take steps to the maximum of its available resources with a view to
achieving progressively the full realization of the rights of the child set out in this Part.
b) Survival and best interests of the child
(1) Every child shall have an inherent rig

right
ht to life and it shall be the responsibility of the
Government and the family to ensure the survival and development of the child.
(2) In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social
welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best
interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.
(3) All judicial and administrative institutions, and all persons acting in the name of these
institutions, where they are exercising any powers conferred by this Act shall treat the
interests of the child as the first and paramount consideration to the extent that this is
consistent with adopting a course of action calculated toto:
Willy yegon –(0721775920) 32

(a) safeguard and promote the rights and welfare of the chil
child;
(b) conserve and promote the welfare of the child;
(c) secure for the child such guidance and correction as is necessary for the welfare of the
child and in the public interest.
(4) In any matters of procedure affecting a child, the child shall be a

accorded
ccorded an opportunity
to express his opinion, and that opinion shall be taken into account as may be appropriate
taking into account the child’s age and the degree of maturity
. 5.Non-discrimination
No child shall be subjected to discrimination on the gr ground

ound of origin, sex, religion, creed,
custom, language, opinion, conscience, colour, birth, social, political, economic or other
status, race, disability, tribe, residence or local connection.
6.Right to parental care
I. A child shall have a right to live w

with
ith and to be cared for by his parents.
II. Subject to subsection (1), where the court or the Director determines in
accordance with the law that it is in the best interests of the child to separate
him from his parent, the best alternative care available sha
shall
ll be provided for
the child.
III. Where a child is separated from his family without the leave of the court, the
Government shall provide assistance for reunification of the child with his
family.
7. Right to education
i. Every child shall be entitled to educat

education
ion the provision of which shall be the
responsibility of the Government and the parents.
ii. Every child shall be entitled to free basic education which shall be compulsory
in accordance with Article 28 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights
of the Child.
8. Right to religious education
i. Every child shall have a right to religious education subject to appropriate

parental guidance.
ii. The Minister shall make regulations giving effect to the rights of children from
minority communities to give fulfillmen
fulfillmentt to their culture and to practice their
own language or religion.
9. Right to health care
Every child shall have a right to health and medical care the provision of which shall be the
responsibility of the parents and the Government.
10. Protection from child labour and armed conflict
Willy yegon –(0721775920) 33

I. Every child shall be protected from economic exploitation and any work that is
likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child’s education, or to be
harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, m moral
oral or social
development.
II. No child shall take part in hostilities or be recruited in armed conflicts, and
where armed conflict occurs, respect for and protection and care of children
shall be maintained in accordance with the law. (3) It shall be the
responsibility
ponsibility of the Government to provide protection, rehabilitation care,
recovery and re-integration
integration into normal social life for any child who may
become a victim of armed conflict or natural disaster.
III. The Minister shall make regulations in respect of perperiods
iods of work and
legitimate establishments for such work by children above the age of sixteen
years.
IV. In this Act child labour refers to any situation where a child provides labour
in exchange for payment and includes
includes—
a) any situation where a child provides labour as an
assistant to another person and his labour is deemed to
be the labour of that other person for the purposes of
payment;
b) any situation where a child’s labour is used for
gain by any individual or institution whether or not the
child benefits directly or indirectly; and
c)any situation where there is in existence a contract for
services where the party providing the services is a child
whether the person using the services does so directly or
by agent.
11. Name and nationality
Every child shall have a right to a name and nationality and where a child is deprived of
his identity the Government shall provide appropriate assistance and protection, with a
view to establishing his identity.
12.Disabled child
A disabled child shall have the right to be treated with dignity, and to be accorded
appropriate medical treatment, special care, education and training free of charge or at a
reduced cost whenever possible.
13.Protection from abuse,
i. A child shall be entitled to protection fro

fromm physical and psychological abuse,
neglect and any other form of exploitation including sale, trafficking or
abduction by any person.
ii. Any child who becomes the victim of abuse, in the terms of subsection (1), shall
be accorded appropriate treatment and re rehabilitation
habilitation in accordance with such
regulations as the Minister may make.
14. Protection from harmful cultural rites, etc
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No person shall subject a child to female circumcision, early marriage or other cultural
rites, customs or traditional practices th
that
at are likely to negatively affect the child’s life,
health, social welfare, dignity or physical or psychological development.
15. Protection from sexual exploitation
A child shall be protected from sexual exploitation and use in prostitution, inducement or
coercion to engage in any sexual activity, and exposure to obscene materials.
16. Protection from drugs
Every child shall be entitled to protection from the use of hallucinogens, narcotics, alcohol,
tobacco products or psychotropic drugs and any othe
otherr drugs that may be declared harmful
by the Minister responsible for health and from being involved in their production,
trafficking or distribution.
17. Leisure and recreation
A child shall be entitled to leisure, play and participation in cultural and artistic activities.
18. Torture and deprivation of liberty
i. No child shall be subjected to torture, cruel treatment or punishment,

unlawful arrest or deprivation of liberty.
ii. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, no child shall be subjected to
capital punishment or to life imprisonment.
iii. A child offender shall be separated from adults in custody.
iv. A child who is arrested and detained shall be accorded legal and other
assistance by the Government as well as contact with his family.
19. Right to privacy
Every child shall have the right to privacy subject to parental guidance.
Duties and Responsibilities of a Child

In the application of the provisions of this Act, and in any matter before a court of law
concerning any child, due regard shall be h had
ad to the duties and responsibilities of a child
to—
i. Work for the cohesion of the family;

ii. Respect his parents, superiors and elders at all times and assist them
in case of need;
iii. Serve his national community by placing his physical and
intellectual abiliti
abilities at its service;
iv. Preserve and strengthen social and national solidarity; and
v. Preserve and strengthen the positive cultural values of his community
in his relations with other members of that community:
Willy yegon –(0721775920) 35

Provided that in reckoning the requisite duty and responsibility of any individual child, due
regard shall also be had to the age and ability of such child and to such limitations as are
contained in this Act.
Part III – Parental Responsibility

(1) In this Act, “parental responsibility” means all the duties, rights, powers,
responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child
and the child’s property in a manner consistent with the evolving capacities of the child.
(2) The duties referred to in subsection (1) in

include in particular—
(a) The duty to maintain the child and in particular to provide him
with—
 Adequate diet;
 Shelter;
 Clothing;
 Medical care including immunization; and
 Education and guidance;
(b) The duty to protect the child from neglect, discrimination and abuse
; (c) The right to—
 Give parental guidance in religious, moral, social, cultural and other
values;
 Determine the name of the child;
 Appoint a guardian in respect of the child;
 Receive, recover, administer and otherwise deal with the property of the
child for the benefit and in the best interests of the child;
 Arrange or restrict the emigration of the child from Kenya;
 Upon the death of the child, to arrange for the burial or cremation of
the child.
Task.
i. Briefly describe any five instruments for the rights of the child.
ii. Discuss the differences between the UNCRC and the African charter.
iii. You are an educationist in your area, the area chief has invited you to address the
local community on the relevance or importance of the child
children’s
ren’s act of 2001.Describe
the important issues you will highlight?
The Extent to Which the Provision of the Legal Instruments

Have Been Implemented in Different Learning Settings
The Kenyan government has adopted the various legal instruments to protect the rights of
children. The ministry of education works hand in hand with the ministry of health to
Willy yegon –(0721775920) 36

promote the rights of children especially health and education respectively. All these factors
aim at promoting inclusive education. Promoting inclu
inclusion
sion means encouraging positive
attitudes and improving educational and social frameworks to cope with the new demands
in educational structures and governance.
It also involves improving inputs, processes and environment to foster learning, both at the
level
evel of the learner in his/her learning environment and at the system level to support the
entire learning experience (UNESCO, 2007).
The government of Kenya has taken the following stems in the promotion of inclusive
education in Kenya. They include:
i. Co
Conducting
nducting a local situation analysis on the scope of the issue,
available resources and their utilization to support inclusion
and inclusive education.
ii. Mobilization of opinion on the right of education for everybody.
iii. Building of consensus around the concepts of inclusive and
quality education.
iv. Making legislation reforms to support inclusive education in
line with international conventions, declarations and
recommendations.
v. Supporting local capacity building to prom
promote
ote development
towards inclusive education.
vi. Developing ways of assessing the impact of inclusive and
quality education.
vii. Developing school and community based mechanisms to identify
children not in school and find ways to help them enter school
and rema
remain there.
viii. Helping teachers to understand their role in inclusive education
and that inclusion of diversity in education is an opportunity
and not a problem.
ix. Eliminating legislative or constitutional barriers to disabled
people being included in the mains
mainstream
tream education system.
x. Ensuring that education policies and strategies promote
inclusive learning environments.
xi. Initiating and facilitating national consultative processes,
informed by international research, experience and standards,
to develop nation
national
al standards for inclusive education and for
enhancing the quality of learning outcomes
Effective strategies to promote inclusive education

Effective strategies to promote positive attitudes include:
 Ensuring all teachers are trained and feel able to assume

as
responsibility for all learners, whatever their individual needs.
 Supporting the participation of learners and their parents in
educational decision
decision-making.
making. This includes involving learner’s
indecisions about their own learning and supporting parents
parent to
Willy yegon –(0721775920) 37

make informed choices for their (younger) children. At the level

of an individual learner’s educational career, the following
aspects appear to make a significant contribution to achieving
the goal of widening participation.
 A view of learning as pro
process – not content based – and a main
goal for all learners being the development of learning to learn
skills, not just subject knowledge.
 Developing personalized learning approaches for all learners,
where the learner sets, records and reviews their own learning
goals in collaboration with their teachers and families and is
helped to develop a structured way of learning independently in
order to take control of their own learning.
 The development of an Individual Education Plan (IEP) or
similar individua
individualized
lized teaching programme, for some learners
(possibly with more complex learning needs) who may require a
more focused approach for their learning. IEPs should be
developed to maximize learners
learners‟
‟ independence and involvement
in goal setting and also collabo
collaboration
ration with parents and families.
 An approach to learning that aims to meet the diverse needs of
all learners without labeling/categorizing is consistent with
inclusive principles and requires the implementation of
educational strategies and approaches tthathat will be beneficial to
all learners.
 Co
Co-operative
operative teaching where teachers take a team approach
involving learners themselves, parents, peers, other school
teachers and support staff, as well as multi
multi-disciplinary
disciplinary team
members as appropriate.
 Co
Co-operative
ive learning where learners help each other in
different ways – including peer tutoring within flexible and
well
well-thought out learner groupings.
 Collaborative problem solving involving systematic approaches
to positive classroom management.
 Heterogeneous grouping of learners and a differentiated
approach to dealing with a diversity of learners
learners‟‟ needs in the
classroom. Such an approach involves structured goal setting,
reviewing and recording, alternative routes for learning, flexible
instruction and differ
different
ent ways of grouping for all learners.
 Effective teaching approaches based on targeted goals,
alternative routes for learning, flexible instruction and the use
of clear feedback to learners.
 Teacher assessment that supports learning and does not label or
lead to negative consequences for learners. Assessment should
take a holistic/ecological view that considers academic,
behavioral, social and emotional aspects of learning and clearly
informs next steps in the learning process.
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State Any Six National Policies In Kenya On Inclusive

Education
ational provision for all children are:
Sustainability of the educational
 Ngala Mwendwa (1964) – Committee on the Care and Rehabilitation of the Disabled (1964) – put
emphasis on the care and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities in all aspects of life.
 The Kenya Education Commission sion (1964) - Ominde Report – which recommended that
children with mild disabilities should continue learning in regular sch schools.
ools. Teachers
were asked to be sympathetic to these learners. It also recommended special training to
enable teachers to work with them.
 The National Committee on Educational Objectives and Policies (1976) Gachathi report. It
emphasised the importancee of improving education and other relevant services for persons with
disabilities both in school and community.
 The Presidentiall Working Party on Education and Manpower Training for the Next Decade
and Beyond (1988), Kamunge Report. It emphasised the nee needd for integration of learners
with special needs in the regular school. It also investigated specific categories of
learners with special needs and recommended on how to meet their needs accordingly.
 Total Integrated Quality Education and Training (TIQET 1999)- Koech Report. It called for equal
treatment of the unequals. It advocated for a flexible education system and in particular
part the
curriculum content so as to benefit all learners.
 Children’s Act (2001) emphasizes the rights of the child including tthe
he right to education.
 Persons with Disabilities Act (2003) – emphasizes the rights of persons with disabilities and inclusion
inclusio
is top of the agenda.
 Report of the Task Force on special Needs, Education (2003) that made for teaching,
recommendations including ng the funding of special units, schools and EARCs.
 Sessional Paper No. 1 of (2005) - Recommends the relevant machineries/ systems to be put in
place for the implementation of inclusive education. In order to realise the
recommendations of the Sessional paper, the
 Ministry of Education has developed the Kenya Education Sector Support Programme (KESSP) (2005)
document which aims ims at providing quality lifelong education and training for all Kenyans
List
ist five essential elements that are prerequisite to promoting
promot an
inclusive community.
 Advocacy
 attitude
 community sensitization
 environmental accessibility
 support services
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GENERAL CAUSES OF DISABILITIES

a) Prenatal (causes before a child is born)
Hereditary causes
Poor nutrition
STDs
Infection of the mother during pregnancy
German measles
Exposure to x-rays
rays during pregnancy
Drug abuse
Anemia during pregnancy
Accidents
Age of the mother
b) Peri-natal
natal stage (causes during birth)
Brain damage at birth
Poor hygen
Head injury
Anoxia-lack of oxygen in the brain due to prolonged labour
Premature birth
Low birth weigh
c) Post natal stage
Diseases
Diseases e.g. malaria, measles etc
Eye diseases
Burns
Lack of immunization
Drug abuse
Poor nutrition
Exposure to loud noses
Exposure
Exposure to pesticides and food ppoisoning
Poor hygiene
Environment
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Chapter 2
CATEGORIES OF LEARNERS IN AN
INCLUSIVE SETTING
1.Learners
Learners Who Are Gifted and Talented
Children and youth with outstanding talent who perform or show the potential for performing at
remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared with others of their age, experience, or
environment
Gifted individuals are those who demonstrate outstan
outstanding
ding levels of aptitude (defined as an exceptional
ability to reason and learn) or competence (documented performance or achievement in top 10% or rarer)
in one or more domains. Domains include any structured area of activity with its own symbol system
(e.g.,
g., mathematics, music, language) and/or set of sensorimotor skills (e.g., painting, dance, sports).
This definition of giftedness is the broadest and most comprehensive and is used by many school districts.
It speaks of talent, which includes all areas of a child’s life: academic, artistic, athletic, and social. Most
schools limit their definition and their programs to academics, but it is important to focus on performance
and accomplishment. It is not enough to just have the talent; you must be using that talent to achieve at
remarkably high levels
Classification of Gifted and Talented
Typically the 6 types of giftedness include:
The successful (Type 1) - they are the students who have learnt the system and are well
adjusted to society. They are obedient, display appropriate behavior, and are high achievers, therefore,
loved by parents and teachers. However, they can also get bored at school and learn the system fast
enough so as to use the minimum effort to get by. They are also dependent on the system, thus
t less
creative and Imaginative, and lack autonomy.
The challenging (Type 2) - The divergently gifted, who possess levels of creativity. They do
not conform to the system and often have conflicts with teachers and parents. They get frustrated, as the
school
hool system does not recognize their abilities. They may be seen as disruptive in the classroom, even
though they are quite creative. This is the group of gifted students who are at risk of dropping out of
schools for unhealthy activities, like getting inv
involved
olved in drugs or exhibiting delinquent behavior.
The underground (Type 3) - Gifted students who deny their talents or hide their giftedness
in order to feel more included with a peer group. They are generally females, who are frequently insecure
and anxious
ous as their belonging needs rise dramatically at that stage. Their changing needs often conflicts
with the expectations of parents and teachers. These types appear to benefit from being accepted as they
are at the time.
The dropouts (Type 4) - The angry and frustrated students whose needs have not been
recognized for many years and they feel rejected. They express themselves by being depressed or
withdrawn and responding defensively. They are identified very late; therefore, they are bitter and
resentful due to feelings of neglect and have very low self
self-esteem.
esteem. For these students, counseling is highly
recommended.
The double labelled (Type 5) – Gifted students who are physically or emotionally
handicapped in some way, or have a learning disability. This ggroup
roup does not show behaviors of giftedness
that can identify themin schools. They show signs of stress, frustration, rejection, helplessness, or
Willy yegon –(0721775920) 41

isolation. They are also often impatient and critical with a low self
self-esteem.
esteem. These students are easily
ignored as they are seen as average. School systems seem to focus more on their weaknesses, and
therefore fail to nurture their strengths
The autonomous learner (Type 6) - Autonomous learners who have learnt to work
effectively in the school system. Unlike Type 11,, they do not work for the system, but rather make the
system work for them. They are very successful, liked by parents, teachers and peers, and have a high
self-concept
concept with some leadership capacity within their surroundings. They accept themselves and are ar
risk-takers,
takers, which goes well with their independent and self
self-directed
directed nature. They are also able to express
their feelings, goals, and needs freely and appropriately.
Classification of learners who are gifted and talented
You may classify learners
earners who ar
aree gifted and talented into four main categories. These are:
 gifted learners
 talented learners
 highly motivated learners
 creative learners
Let us now examine each of these categories.
Learners who are gifted

You might have noticed that within the school setting, there e are learners who enjoy school
activities and go through the curricul
curriculum with less difficulties. Such learners do very well
as they show exemplary performance in their education in lower and higher institutions of
learning. Gifted learners are
re bright and show a high level of intelligence. They are able to
deal with facts and their relationships. They may be good in one area like language or
mathematics or sciences. On the other hand, they may also excel in all academic areas.
Many of them may also show leadership abilities.
Learners who are talented

You may realize that in addition to good school performance, gifted learners may have
other exceptional abilities. For example, some lelearners do exceptionally
onally well in music, fine
art, mechanics, dancing,
ncing, singing, athletics or sports. These exceptional abilities are called
talents. These skills may not necessarily be matched by academic achievement, but since
they are far above those of other learners in the same age group, they call for special
attention.
Learners who are highly motivated

Learners with above average intellectual abilities show a high level of motivation concern.
Learners who are highly motivated may achieve much with only just above above-average
average
intelligence. In identifying gifted and talented learners the level of motivation must
mu be
considered by teachers and parents.
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Learners who are creative

Creativity is the ability to think in new ways and to produce original ideas or products.
Creative learners have unusual high levels of originality and have abilities to restructure
the world
orld in unusual forms. For example: somebo
somebody
dy might have come up with a certain
design, another one modifies it so that, despite using the same materials and
measurements, the final design comes out very unique and more attractive.
We also have creative writers

riters and musicians. Writers use the same words we all use but in
their own imaginative ways produce unique write ups. Similarly, musicians use musical
notes to compose new melodies out of familiar sounds.
Fig 2: Learner responding differently in a cla

classroom setting
The Characteristics of the Learners Who Are

Gifted and Talented
The term “gifted”” has been thrown around in public education circles for decades – often
misused, misdiagnosed and misunderstood.
The gifted and talented children are those, by virtue of outstanding abilities are capable of
high performance and require special educational programmes and services in order to
realize their potential.
Domains of gifted
giftedness:
1.Intellectual
Intellectual Ability Domain (“The Brain”)
• Tend to spend a lot of time thinking around a problem and thinking in analogies or
concepts.
• Have a very high level of concentration and memorizing ability, and easily sort out the
irrelevant information
rmation in a situation.
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• loves learning and craves new content all the time.
• develop thinking skills much faster than their peers
2. Creative-Productive
Productive Thinking Domain (“The Creative
Spirit”)
• have lots of self-esteem
esteem and also an inclination towards risk
risk-taking.
• like to shape their environment.
• have a high tolerance for ambiguity and messy, complex problems.
• Their creativity shows in their ability to find solutions from many differ
different
ent angles of a
situation.
3. Visual and Performing Arts Domain ( “The Artist

Extraordinaire”)
• focused on artistic skill.
• focus and practice skills, despite difficult environments.
• tends toward lots of self-assessment

assessment and has apprehension that the art talent will
disappear.
4. Leadership and Psycho

Psycho-Social
Social Domain (“The
Social Leader”)
• have an unusual ability to plan backward from a goal, breaking down sequential goals,
they may be gifted in this domain.
• ability to pick out similarities or differences in a complex field of information.
• even-tempered
tempered and accepting.
• tend to question authority and have an affinity towards topics/issues of social justice.
5. Specific Academic Ability Domain (The

“Specialist”)
• have an unusual ability to conceptualize and memorize material but in a very specific
subject area.
• spend a lot of time thinking before they work on a problem.
• crave, crave, crave more content in the subject they love.
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• tend toward lack of overall confidence, probably because their skill areas develop
unevenly.
The difference between the gifted and talented

children
The gifted children are those that may be good in one area like language, mathematics or
science or may excel in all academic areas. They are also widely informed about many
things. They exhibit a good academic and social
social-emotional characteristics.
The talented childrenn on the other side are those who do exceptionally well in music, fine
arts, mechanics,
s, dancing, singing, athletics or sports. These skills may not be necessarily
matched by academic achievement.
Gifted children may present in various ways; some are positive characteristics and some,
are not as desirable. When determining giftedness in a learner, it is essential to take a
number of factors into consideration, since not all gifted children will exhibit the same
characteristics at the same time. The following features may help an educationists and
other stakeholders to identify the learners who are gifted and talented:
 ed children may be good in one area like language, mathematics or science or may
Gifted
excel in all academic areas.
 They are widely informed about many things. These children may fall under two main categories
i.e. academic or learning sociall and emotional characteristics.
earning characteristics or socia
 Those that are academic oriented are likely to enjoy learning and acquire a lot of information
more rapidly unlike their peers. Those with emotional characteristics are always confident and
exhibit leadership. They relate well with older classmates.
xhibit qualities of leadership
 The talented children are those who do exceptionally well in music, fine arts, mechanics, dancing,
singing, athletics or sports. These skills may not be necessarily matched by academic
achievement.
 otivated children are those that have “task commitment” such children
The highly motivated
have high levels of interest, enthusiasm, hard work and determination in particular
areas. They have self-confidence
confidence and drive to set and achieve high standards for
work.
 The creative children
hildren are those who have a high degree of creative and productive
thinking. Creative children have high level of originality and the ability to
restructure the world in unusual forms. They may, for example, modify an original
design, art work or pattern to come up with something very different.
 They also come up with unusual ideas and questions or give unexpected and unconventional
solutions to problems. Some creative children demonstrate fluency, flexibility and originality of
thought and open to new w ex
experiences and ideas.
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Generally, the gifted and talented children have the following

characteristics:
1. Verbal Ability
Gifted children often begin communicating verbally at an early age, and they use
vocabulary far beyond their age. These children are ooften referred to as “precocious
precocious”
because of their language usage. These children often choose their words carefully, but tend
to use a lot of them.
They can also get frustrated with children in the same age group who are unable to
understand them and often n turn to older children or adults for conversation.
2. Information Processing
The gifted children often have an “unusual capacity for processing information” and are
often able to process that information more quickly and accurately than their peers.
These children typically master subjects like reading and math much more quickly than
their peers, which can make it difficult to keep them challenged in a regular school setting.
Some gifted children become disruptive in classrooms often because they a

are
re bored with
the material that is taught over and over again.
3. High Curiosity Level

Gifted children often have a high curiosity level and dive into subjects with a passion not
seen in most children their age.
It is not unusual for a gifted child to learn the names of all the dinosaurs or the stats for
every player on a baseball team at a very young age. This characterizes children “deep
“
absorption in activities that interest them,” and parents of gifted children learn quickly just
how saturated that absorption can go, when they have to take a child to the library or help
them find facts on the Internet over and over again.
4.Memory Retention
Gifted children are often able to retain information faster and for longer periods of time
than average children of the same age. Their rapid learning ability allows them to process
facts quickly and retain them for efficient recall later on.
High memory retention combined with fast information processing often means these
children learn subjects at a rapid
rapid-fire
fire rate that can make it challenging for parents and
teachers to present information to gifted children as fast as they like.
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5. Intensity and Persistence

Many gifted children are intense in the way they learn, which is often why they pick up
large amounts of information so quickly.
They can also be intense socially, with acute sensitivity to the needs and feelings of others,
according to Education.com.
These
hese children are able to show compassion to others at a much deeper level than other
children their age.
However, the intensity and persistence can also work against a gifted child on occasion,
when the child encounters a problem he cannot easily solve oorr a topic he cannot seem to
master as quickly.
6. Sense of Humor
Gifted children are enjoyable to be around because many exhibit a sense of humor that
goes well beyond their years.
These children often have a special appreciation for subtler types of h

humor
umor like satire.
They also enjoy plays on words, such as puns, and are particularly adept at using these
comic techniques themselves.
Whether their sense of humor comes out in their conversation or their writing, these
learners can be a joy to converse with.
7. Sense of Justice
Gifted children often have an acute sense of justice, which can translate to high
expectations of themselves and others.
While their strong moral compass can make them effective leaders, and ensure good choices
in many situations,
ions, this characteristic can also make it difficult for them to forge long-
long
lasting relationships with others.
These children often become interested in justice and fairness at a very early age, which
continues throughout their lives.
8. Strong Imagination
Gifted children often exhibit a strong imagination, with an ability to spin tales that
parents and teachers do not necessarily expect.
Education.com says these children often show originality in their oral, written or artistic
expression
ion and are viewed as highly creative. Gifted children may spend time fantasizing,
and are often categorized as independent thinkers.
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9. Keen Observation
Children who fall into this group may have the ability to pick on details much more acutely
than other
her children in the same age bracket.
Whether reading a book, watching a movie, gifted learners often notice seemingly
nonessential pieces of information that others might miss.
Their attention to detail often results in long, drawn out renditions of sit
situations
uations or
conflicts – a frequent source of frustration for parents and teachers at times.
10. Problem Solving Capabilities

Often perceived as effective problem solvers, gifted children typically relish nothing more
than breaking down a complex issue an and
d finding a solution that no one else has every
thought of. These children, according to Education.com, have an “advanced cognitive and
affective capacity for conceptualizing societal problems” – the potential leaders of the future.
Labeling a child as “gifted” is a somewhat complex process that involves careful

observation and objective testing in most cases. While this list is not an exhaustive one, it
does provide insight into some of the most common characteristics of gifted to help
h teachers
and parents know whether further assessments are warranted.
The Specific Features That a Teacher Can Observe in The

Gifted and Talented Child
 Keen powers of observation.
 arned or read very early, often before school age.
Learned
 Reads widely and rapidly.
 Well
Well-developed vocabulary - takes delight in using unusual and new
words.
 Has great intellectual curiosity.
 Absorbs information rapidly - often called sponges.
 Very good memory - can recall information in different
circumstances.
 Have to aability
bility to concentrate deeply for prolonged periods.
 Very good powers of reasoning and problem solving.
 Have intense interests.
 Possess unusual imagination.
 Have a gre at interest in "big" questions, e.g. the nature of the
great
universe, the problem of sufferi
suffering
ng in the world, environmental
issues.
 Very sensitive - perhaps getting upset easily.
 Very concerned about rights and wrongs, concerned about injustices
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OTHERS FROM OTHER SOURCES
 Leading in academic and other activities

 Learning rapidly, easily and with less repetition
 Showing a lot of creativity and always generating a variety of new ideas
 Enjoying reading books meant for older readers
 Having unusually advanced vocabulary and using terms in meaningful ways
 Displaying a great deal of curiosity about many things and constantly asking questions about anything
and everything
 Appearing to have behavior difficulties due to their autonomy and sensitiveness in an environments
where non-conformity is nott tolerat
tolerated
 Evaluating facts and arguments critically
 Studying difficulty subjects because they enjoy the challenge of learning
 Having diverse, spontaneous and frequently selfself-directed interests
 Showing special and superior ability in manipulating materials from the environment in making
unique models
 Displaying keen sense of humour even in situations where others may not see
 Having high reasoning abilities and passing judgement about people, events and things
 Having self confidence with peers as well as adults
 Incorporating a large number of elements such as art work, good role plplaying,
aying, dramatising and music
 Showing exceptional leadership abilities
 Being very articulate or verbally fluent for their age.
The Instructional Strategies for Facilita

Facilitating
ting Learning to
Learners Who Are Gifted and Talented
Teachers need to adopt the various strategies that will enable them competently handle the
gifted and talented learners successfully.
Some of these strategies include:
a) The Teacher Should Learn How Gifted Learners Think

If you want to support gifted learners in your classroom, it's important that you make an
effort to learn how they think and learn about the different struggles they face.
Understanding that gifted learners have special needs, requi
requirements,
rements, and trends in
behavior will help you meet their needs and better support them in the classroom.
b) Created tiered assignments for learners

Tiered assignments can help you meet the needs of all learners. Choose the basic standard
objective and design
sign an assignment on that standard to make the middle tier.
Once the middle tier is finished, you make the other tiers by adding support for at-risk
at
children and adding challenge for gifted learners.
Here are two simple ways you can add challenge to ass
assignments:
 Give gifted learners more complex numbers in a math assignment or a

more difficult text to read.
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 Add a second component to assignments, such as having them apply the

skill they've learned to a real tion or asking them to write
real-world situation
an explanation of their thinking.
c) Include a variety of levels in your classroom library

Make sure your classroom library has a variety of texts to support the reading ability and
interests of gifted learners. You can also encourage learners to bring reading materials
from home, but make sure the materials they bring challenge them to learn new words and
increase their reading skills.
d) Utilize their talents and interests

Gifted learners are often asked to do busy work when they finish assignments ahead of
others. Instead of taking that approach, try utilizing gifted learners' talents and interests to
further explore a skill. For example, learners could write or draw someth
something
ing related to the
assignment/skill or they could act out solutions to the problem or project.
e) Explore real-world
d application
Gifted learners understand math algorithms, science concepts, and grammar rules very
quickly. You can encourage them to move beyond the skill they're learning by applying it in
the real world. For example, they can explore how area and perimeter affect an architect's
design or how scientists use animal classification to understand animal life and how it
functions.
Ways of Working
ng with The Gifted and Talented Children
1. Offer the Most Difficult First
Learners who successfully complete the five problems are excused from that night's
homework. If class-work
work is involved, the teacher simply needs to have a few extension
activities on hand— tasks that carry the concept to the next level
level—for
for learners to work on
quietly while others complete the regular assignment.
"Most Difficult First" is one manageable way for teachers to compact the curriculum for
their high-ability
ability learners. Wit
With compacting, learners get to "throw away" the part of the
curriculum that they already know, while receiving full credit for those competencies. This
frees up learners to work on more challenging content.
2. Pre-test
test for volunteers
Let's say a teacher iss teaching two
two-digit
digit multiplication. He might do some direct instruction
for 10 minutes, then offer learners the end
end-of-chapter test, saying, "If you get 90 percent or
higher, you won't have to do the homework or practice work. You'll have different work to
do." Some gifted learners will take this option, whereas others may decide
decide,, "I don't know
this; I need the practice work." Again, as in Most Difficult First, this strategy requires
having extension work for learners who test out of the material.
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3. Prepare
pare to Take It Up
For example, when the class is working on the distributive property in math, those "piles"
"
might include differentiated worksheets, word problems, and task cards. Depending on how
learners grasp the concept, Flores can either re
re-teach, offer practice, or enrich.
Learners should be provided with a variety of learning experiences so that they choose
what they can do best based on their interest. Optional challenge should be available to
anyone who wants to try it. The learners will always make choices they are gifted in.
4. Speak to Learner Interests

Learners can work together in teams to create a house with building blocks. Learners
choose the level of complexity. Over
Over-excitabilities
excitabilities will often appear as quirks, such as
compulsive talking
ng or organizing, heightened sensitivity to smells or tastes, insatiable
curiosity, or daydreaming. Knowing a learners over
over-excitabilities
excitabilities can help teachers shape
engaging—and personalized— learning experiences. An imaginational learner will benefit
from ann assignment that he's free to complete in a unique way. An intellectual learner will
prefer to investigate why certain areas of the world struggle with starvation rather than
simply listing those areas. Although we tend to see over
over-excitabilities
excitabilities negatively,
negative they are
often accompanied by great creativity, imagination, and drive.
5. Enable Gifted Learners to Work Together

Research shows that enabling gifted learners to work together in groups boosts their
academic achievement and benefits other learners iin
n the classroom, as well. When gifted
learners work
together, they challenge themselves in unexpected ways. They bounce ideas off one another
and take a peer's idea to a new place. They also learn that as smart as they are, they, too,
must exert effort with
th challenging content
content—and
and that they'll sometimes fail along the way.
Gifted kids need to work both in and out of their group. Teachers can provide multiple
opportunities for heterogeneous groupings through Think
Think-Pair-Shares,
Shares, and Season Teams.
6. Plan forr Tiered Learning

This approach relies on planning lessons or units at different tiers of difficulty. But does
this require teachers to add to their already full plates?
Teachers have to plan for their lessons, so why not develop deep and complex activities
activit for
high ability learners at the same time?
This one way of planning—providing

providing work at the entry, advanced, and extension levels or
at varying Depth of Knowledge Levels
Levels—offers
offers a multiplicity of ways to learn. It may take
more time in the planning stage, but it is ultimately more efficient because bored
b learners
aren't acting out or zoning out in class
class—they've
they've got challenging work to do and struggling
learners are getting support. Once teachers create these tiered resources, they can use
them again and again.
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Teachers should provide challenging task

tasks for high-end
end learners and then differentiating
for other learners by providing supports that enable them to access that more sophisticated
learning opportunity." It replaces "the more common practice of planning for mid-range
mid
performers, then extending that
hat lesson for advanced learners and watering it down for
others.
From other sources;

How can you assist a learner who is gifted and
talented in a classroom environment ?
There are several possible ways in which a learner that is gifted and talented can be
educated. As a teacher, much will depend on your creativity and classro
classroom organisation.
Each learner should be considered and treated as an individual.
There are three main ways in which a teacher may assist a learner who is gifted and
talented. These are by providing the learner with:
 ability grouping
 enriching experiences
 acceleration programmes.
Let us now discuss each of them.
1.Ability grouping
What is ability grouping?
Ability grouping includes the following approaches:
 regular classroom with cluster

 regular classroom with pullout
 individualised classroom
 special class with some integrated classes
 special class
 special school
2.Enriching experiences
What do you understand by the term “enrichment”?
Enrichment is the addition of disciplines or areas of learning not normally found in the
regular curriculum.
Enrichment experiences allow each learner to investigate topics of interest in depth. Some
of these may be completed during classroom time. F
For example,
ample, if you are teaching SST in
grade five, you can ask the learner who is gifted and talented to make a
model using the knowledge learned.
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3.Acceleration
Acceleration programmes.
What is “acceleration”?
Acceleration is any process that leads to the learner’s more rapid movement through the
regular programme of a regular school.
It may include:
 rance/admission
early school entrance/admission
 grade (class) skipping
 planned completion, for example of three grades in two years
 early advanced placement in college or any other arrangement that leads to the learners
completion of the regular programmes in less than the normally required time.
Other approaches that you may use to help a learner who is gifted and talented are:
are
 analysing your instructional programme to avoid them becoming bored

 providing special materials and or activities beyond the regular curriculum
igning enrichment activities which should support the child in learning to relate
 designing
and evaluate facts and d ideas to think originally, to work through complex problems
and issues and apply understanding to new situations
responsibilities that are challenging
 giving the child more responsi
 being a good role model
 increasing individual attention
 promoting creativity by stimulating the child’s awareness of the environment
de range of experiences on a personal level
 exposing the child to a wide
 acknowledging the child’s work or efforts
Educational Provisions for learners who are

gifted and talented.
• Enrichment:: Gifted students remain in general education classes with their peers but are
assigned additional/higher-level
level material.
• Acceleration:: Students are advanced to a higher

higher-level
level class that covers material more
suited to their abilities and prepared
preparedness.
ness. May include skipping grades or completing the
curriculum in a shorter amount of time.
• Pull-Out:: Gifted students are assigned to a class with a special curricular focus outside
the regular classroom for two to six hours per week.
• Full Time/Self Contained arrangement

arrangement:: Gifted students are taught full time in a
separate class or independent school.
• Homeschooling:: Though a controversial method, families of gifted students may opt to

homeschool their children if they believe that the school system does not meet the needs of
their children
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Identification of The Gifted and Talented Children

Gifted children have exceptionally high cognitive abilities.
Their academic performance is two standard deviations higher than normal or average
children.
The talented children on other hand are one standard deviation higher than average
normal children in creative or productive thinking, for example, in art, craft and drama.
Some are kinetically talented i.e. they can become good athletes, they are good in
i areas
involving body movements such as sports, and dance.
Others have superior psychological abilities such as oratory and leadership skills.
Plan for intervention to support learners who are gifted and talented to progress in an
inclusive setting.
2. Learners with Visual Impairment

A learner without sight may find it hard to make proper association. They hey may know that
the sky is blue or trees are green without really conceptua
conceptualizing
lizing what green and blue mean.
Apart
part from learning colors, it is diffi
difficult
cult for such learners to conceptualize other visual
perceptions like size and shape.
The visually impaired learners therefore need adjustment to their learning situation.
Blindness may be caused by conditions such as short or long sightedness which come as a
result of errors in refractions, accidents to the eye or head, infections of the eye disease like
trachoma among others.
Characteristics of Learners with Visual Impairment from Low Vision to

Those with Blindness
It is easy to identify total blindnes
blindnesss among learners in schools. Blind children cannot see
objects at all. It is difficult to identify children with partial blindness.
The following characteristics in a child can help a teacher to identify one who has partial
visual difficulties. The characteristics
teristics include:
 Complaining of inability to see.

 Complaining of headaches
 General lack of concentration.
 Missing up details for example in maps or diagrams.
 Poor handwriting.
 Errors in reading.
 Bringing the book too close to the eyes when reading.
 Displaying sensitivity to light.
 Tilting head to focus on objects.
 Red eyes.
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 Excessive frowning, squinting or blinking.

 Skipping letters, words or lines in copying.
 General lack of concentration on visual tasks.
 Rubs eyes excessively
 Crossed eyes
 Has difficulty in reading or in other work requiring close use of the
eyes
 Blinks more than usual or is irritable when doing close work
 Holds books close to eyes
 Reddish eyes
 Writing un even letters
 Is unable to see distant things clearly
 Squints eyelids together or frowns
 Squints eyelids together or frowns
 Appears "clumsy," especially in a new situation
 Holds head in an awkward position to look at something or holds
objects in a peculiar position to look at them
 Constantly asks a neighbor to tell him/he
him/herr what is going on
 Shows signs of fatigue or inattentiveness
 Exhibits poor self
self-concept and ego development
 Short attention span.
 Blink frequently or squint whenever they read or watch television.
 Sensitive to bright light
 Hold toys very close to their face

Some of the difficulties that may be faced by these learners are difficulty in:
 reading and copying from the chalkboard and th therefore

erefore may lag behind others in
academic activities
 reading books written in ordinary print
 finding their way within the class and school
 identifying objects, posters and other learning materials within the class
 learning concepts that have to be perceived throu
through
gh sight, such as colour and sky.
 Children who have trouble seeing often perform poopoorly
rly at school. Frequently, problems
with
 learning are actually related to poor vision and not to a learning disability.
 A child might not read well, or might use her finger to follow along when she is reading
so that she doesn’t lose her place.
 Some children
ren also have trouble remembering what they read.
 Children with vision problems can find it difficult to write as well or might have
problems with math and other subjects.
 Schoolwork can be a challenge for a child who cannot keep a clear focus, deals withwit
double vision or blurred print on pages.
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Unique Skills Necessary for Learners with Visual Impairment

to Function in Inclusive Setting
Learners with visual impairment need to possess unique skill in order to adapt to an
inclusive learning environment.
t. These unique skills include:
 Sitting away from direct glare of light.

 Using big and clear writing and diagrams both on the chalkboard and
other teaching and learning resources like charts.
 Sitting properly in class for example those with short sight can sit near
the chalkboard.
 Reading large print.
 Enhancing on mobi lity in the surrounding environment i.e. they
mobility
need to know position of their classroom, their seat, important
areas in the classroom and important features of the school.
 Maximizing the use of their other senses like hearing, smelling, tasting
etc.
 The intervention measures to learners with visual impairdness.
Depending on the level of visual impairment, the teacher can take various measures to help
the learner;
 The totally blind or those with poor sight can be referred to assessment centers.
 The totally blind may be referred to special schools.
 The partially blind may be referred to appropriate doctor for treatment, for example,
use of spectacles.
For the children

ren with mild impairment and who remain in an inclusive learning
environment, there is still a lot a teacher can do to enhance their learning.
The following are some of the measures the teacher need to take;
 Seat them appropriately in class for example, tthose
hose with short sight can sit near the
chalkboard.
 Use big and clear writing and diagrams both on the chalkboard and other
teaching/learning resources like charts.
 Let the child sit away from direct glare of light.
 Provide large print if possible.
 Check the child’s work including notes to ensure correct spellings and entries.
 Preferential seating arrangement
 Provision of learning materials in appropriate and accessible formats (braille, large
print, tactile diagrams, recordings)
 Use of appropriate assistive
sistive devices and technology (talking books, lenses,
magnifiers, CCTVs, JAWS).
 Orientation and mobility skills training (sighted guide, use of white cane)
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 Environmental adaptations (barrier

(barrier-free
free pathways, designated pavement,
adjustment of light inten
intensity)
In case a teacher has a totally blind child in the regular class, the following measures may
be taken;
 Help the child in mobility. This means helping the child in exploring
the environment, for example, they need to know position of their
classroom
classroom, and the important features of their school.
 Help them to make maximum use of their senses.
 As much as possible, provide real or concrete teaching/learning
resources which can be touched, smelled, heard or tasted.
Other tips
For learners who are blind you may assist them by:
•orientation
orientation and mobility training
•training
training in typing, braille reading and writing
•training
training on activities of daily living
•training
training on listening skills
•provision
provision of tactile diagrams
•training
training on auditory/listening skills (sound seasoning)
3. Learners with Physical Impairments

The physically challenged are those children who due to various reasons are crippled,
deformed or have lost use of limbs. As a result of the limitations arising from the challenges
the individual could
ld also develop psychological problems.
Physical problems may be caused by caused by conditions such as spina-bifida,

bifida,
poliomyelitis, faulty foetal development of the spinal cord or physical accidents.
Characteristics of The Different Categories of Learn

Learners
ers with Physical
Impairment
Identification of the physically challenged is very easy as the problems can be physically be
seen. The main features are:
 Disfigurement as in club foot.

 Missing limbs.
 Crippled limbs.
 Some body parts ts are not functional as in paralysis.
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The teacher needs to provide as near normal experiences as possible within the learners’
limitation. For example, if the child is too crip
crippled to do physical education;
 the learner can participate by holding the rope for runners or keeping recordreco of
winners.
 Examine the unique skills nece ssary for learners with physical impairment
necessary
 The physically impaired learners should be able to effectively use crutches.
 They should be able to move along the rumps.
 Make maximum use of the other health parts of the body.
 Explore the instructional strategies and resources to be used by learners with physical
impairment
 The teacher should make the physically impaired learners to accept themselves since they are
likely to suffer from the psychological problems.
The teacher and other learners should assist the challenged when it is absolutely necessary
the challenged learners should be given opportunity to do what they are able to do in order
to build their confidence and
d self
self-esteem.
Educational implication of physical disabilities

There are several environmental and psychological factors that may affect the academic performance
of students with physical impairments.
1. Environmental factors (such as pain, fatigue, and absenteeism) and
2. Psychological factors (such as motivation, self
self-concept, and social-emotional
emotional problems) need to be
identified in students with physical impairments, and modifications are required to minimize their
effects.
1. The initial barrier experienced
erienced by many students with physical disabilities is physically accessing
the learning environment itself. For many students with physical disabilities the inaccessibility of
buildings and surrounding areas is a problem
2.Students with physical and healthalth impairments find it difficult to be on the same level with other
students, so expectations in academic subjects are based on individual goals established through
observation and evaluation of each student considering his various attributes.
3.Studentsts who find it difficult to write or who have difficulty in remembering spelling are allowed to
use word processors for writing various reports and assignment.
4.As students who are suffering from physical and health impairments are usually not as good in
multi-tasking
tasking as compared to a normal child, this is the reason why students are allowed to have a
note-taker with them.
5.Although in some courses, calculators are not allowed for normal students, but when considering a
student who is suffering from physical,
hysical, mental or health impairment, are allowed to use calculators.
However this is usually for those who find it mathematical calculations difficult.
6.Those students, who are not comfortable with their seating due to perceptual difficulties, are
allowed preferential seating.
7.Those students who have difficulties in thinking and writing are allowed a longer or at times
unlimited time to complete the examination
8.Students with physical disabilities may have problems related to movement, posture (e.g., sitting,
standing), grasping or manipulating objects, communication, eating, perception, reflex
movements, and/or automatic motricity (e.g., sphincter, intestinal muscles).
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EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTIONS
Accommodation, it is a change in the test preparation, location, course, standard, scheduling,
student response, timing, expectations, or any other feature which offers access for a student with a
disability to participate in a course. Accommodation can simply be termed as the external arrangements
arrangement
for study, where teacher normally refers to it as good teaching strategies.
A modification, on the other hand, provides a structural cognitive change in the level of the
material.
• The major difference between the two is that accommodation can be made for any
student where as modification are usually made for students with cognitive and
physical disabilities.
• Teachers use both modifications and accommodation for improvement in the
overall level of academia of Students with Physical and Health Impai
Impairments.
 Modification and adaptation of classrooms and environment
 Provide type writers/computers, pen holders, book holders etc
 Allow the extra time to complete a task
 Advise the parents to regularly take the affected children for check ups
 Below find a comprehensive list of the Commonly Suggested Accommodations/Classroom
Adaptations
4. Learners with Hearing Impairments
Hearing impairment is an inability to hear well or not h
hearing
earing at all. Hearing loss can be
classified according to:
 severity
 age at onset
 the part of the ear affected
The term hearing impaired describes a wide continuum of loss of the sense of hearing,
ranging from minimal hearing loss i.e difficulty hearing spoken language at a distance or in
the presence of noise at the background, tto deafness i.e. total non-functional
functional sense of
hearing.
Such people are usually dumb unless they learn to speak through very specialized
conditions.
The deafened person is one who was born with normal hearing, learned how to speak and
then lost the power of hearing.
Hearing impairment may be caused by diseases, rhesus factor, accidents, premature birth or
due to infections inside the ear.
Classification according to degree or severity.

The five major types of hearing impairment depending on the degree or the severity of
hearing loss include;
 Mild hearing loss.

 Slight hearing loss
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 Moderate hearing loss.

 Severe hearing loss.
 Profound hearing loss.
Learners with slight hearing loss: These learners who can follow normal
conversation if there is no noise in the room but will need to sit at the front and face the
speaker. They may also have difficulty h hearing faint or distant speech. They will not
usually have difficulties in regular sc
school situations.
Learners with mild hearing loss: Learners in this category may understand a
conversation only at a distance of about one metre. Such learners’ will only be able to follow
the conversation if the room is very quiet. They may miss as much as 50% of class
discussions if voices are faint an
andd may exhibit limited vocabulary and speech anomalies.
This means that learners should face the speaker or use an individual hearing aid.
Learners with moderate hearing loss: These learners may have

difficulties hearing in all situations and:
 can only follow

low loud conversations
 are deficient in language use and comprehension
 are likely to have defective speech
 have limited vocabulary
 need the use of a hearing aid and in some cases, speech training.
Learners with severe hearing loss: These learners may hear loud voices
about 30cm from the ear. They may be able to identify environmental sounds and
discriminate vowels but not all consonants. They need individual hearing aids and
instruction to be in Total Communication.
Learners with profound hearing loss: These learners may hear some loud
sounds but are aware of vibrations more than tonal pattern. The learners rely on vision
rather than hearing as the primary avenue of communication. They need hearing aids and
sign language.
Classification
ication according to age at onset
There are two types of hearing impairments as classified according to age
at onset.
These are:
Pre-lingual deafness: This refers to deafness present at birth or occurring before

the learners develop speech or language.
Post-lingual
lingual deafness: This refers to deafness, which occurs after the learners,
have developed speech or language, mainly after the age of three years.
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Classification according to the part of the ear affected

Any damage or infection to any part of the ear cacause
use hearing loss. There are three main
types of hearing loss according to the part of the ear affected. These are:
 conductive hearing loss

 sensori-neural
neural hearing loss
 mixed hearing loss
Conductive hearing loss

What is conductive hearing loss?
This is where the damage or infections is either in the outer or middle parts of the ear.
This results in mild and moderate hearing loss. Those with this type of hearing loss have
residual hearing left and can hear and understand spoken language with the help of
suitable hearing aids.
Sensori-neural
neural hearing loss
This is when the damage is in the inner ear. This results in severe and profound hearing
loss with little residual hearing left. Children with this type of hearing impairment usually
do not acquire and use spoken language. They can however use hearing aids to be aware of
environment sounds.
Mixed hearing loss

What do you understand by the term “mixed” hearing loss?
This refers to a combination of conductive and sensori

sensori-neural
neural hearing losses. This means
both the middle ear and inner ear are affected at the same time.
Generally conductive hearing impairment is less severe in its effects than the sensori-
sensori
neural. It is associated with a range of speech, language, and learning difficulties in
childhood.
Functionally, those learners with slight to moderate hearing

loss are referred to as “hard of hearing” while those with severe
to profound loss are referred to as “deaf”.
Characteristics of Learners with Hearing Impairment

The following can help
lp a teacher identify a child with hearing problems;
i. They frequently ask for repetition of what has been said.

ii. They have frequent ear infections.
iii. They have poor articulation of sounds, particularly the omission
of consonant sounds.
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iv. They have difficulty participating in group discussions,

especially in noisy surroundings.
v. They have difficulties in hearing and sayingng high frequency
speech sounds such as the sounds for letters s,sh,t,k and ch.
vi. They misunderstand others since they cannot comprehend all
that is said.
vii. They are not able to monitor their voice and, hence, speak either
too loudy or softly.
viii. They avoid participating in oral activities.
ix. They cup the ears in the direction of the sound.
x. They stare at the speaker’s face.
xi. They appear confused or do not rrespond
espond to instructions.
xii. They have poor vocabulary for their age.
xiii. They withdraw from others.
xiv. They are unable to respond to calls.
The educational implications that may be faced by learners with

hearing impairments are:
 inability to hear well in a classroom with a noisy surrounding
 poor verbal communication skills between the child and the teacher and
peers
 lack of acceptance and social isolation because of lack of communication
 ineffective communication between the child and family especially the
parents and siblings. This may limit the child’s opportunities to acquire
knowledge and skills usually acquired by children through interaction with
parents, siblings and community.
 inability to follow school routine since he/she may not hear the bell
The Instructional Strategies for Facilitating Learning to Learners with

Hearing Impairment
In an inclusive class situation, the teacher can assist the hard of hearing as follows;
 Seat the child near the source of oral information, for example the radio or the
teacher.
 The teacher should speak clearly and loudly enough. He or she should always ensure
the child has followed instructions.
 The teacher should also repeat the informatio
information if necessary.
 The teacher need to combine oral language with gestures to demonstrate the learning
activities.
 The educator should encourage the child to look at the person speaking because lip
movement helps the hard of hearing interpret the words bein
being
g said. Teach the child
lip reading.
 The teacher need to pay particular attention to pronunciations to ensure the child can
pronounce words correctly.
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 The teacher should encourage continuous use of hearing aids for those who may have
them.
 The teacher need
eed to provide remedial programmes especially in language activities
since such children usually lag behind.
 Use basic sign language skills to support learners with hearing impairment
5. Learners Who Are Deaf

Deaf-Blind
Deaf-blindness
blindness can be described as a combination of both auditory and visual disabilities
that causes severe communication and other development and learning needs.
These are learners who may have visual and hearing impaimpairment.
irment. This makes it difficult
for them to utilize the two senses of seeing and hearing properly. Some learners who
are deafblind are totally deaf and blind, while others have residual hearing and residual
vision.
Learners with residual vision are able to move about intheir environments, recognize
familiar people, see sign language at close distances and perhaps, read large prints. Those
with residual hearing are able to recognise familiar sounds, understand some speech, or
develop some speech for communication purposes.
The Characteristics of the Learners Who Are Deaf-Blind

If a learner has both visual and hearing impairments, it may be
difficult for him/ her to:
 look at you
 respond to your smile
 follow a moving object with the eyes
 walk, eat and dress himself/herself
 grasp objects in front of him/her or handed to him/her
 look at pictures and read a text in books
 turn their heads towards you when talking to them
 turn their heads towards sounds
 respond when you call them
 understand what you may say to them
 develop spoken language
Other characteristics of learners w

who
ho are deafblind will include the following:
 self-stimulatory
stimulatory behaviour, such as, eye pocking, light gazing, rocking,
banging and twisting various parts of their bodies over and over in rhythmic
patterns.
 moving meaninglessly in the environment,
 lying on the
he ground, reluctant to move and explore often curled up in a prone
position, (some deafblind learners do not reach out to touch or explore objects at all).
 playing with one object in a repetitive meaningless way, banging
or flicking it in front of their eyes over and over.
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 frustrations, behavioural difficulties and tactile defensive behaviours if placed in

inappropriate
programs.
Education Intervention for Learners who are

Deafblind
How can you assist learners who are deafblind in a learning
environment?
You need to help them to learn the same things and activities that learners with sight and
hearing learn. You could do so in some of the following ways:
ing positive attitude - this will greatly encourage the learner to be active and
 showing
explore his/her surroundings.
 adapting the curriculum
 encouraging the learner to use residual hearing as you talk to him/her while you play or work
with him/her. If the chid does not use the hands properly, you can sit or stand behind
him/her with your hands on their hands, while you do the activity together.
 having personal contact with the learner. This will develop security and personal relationship
whichch is necessary for further development
 providing them with hearing aids (if the learner has a hearing loss)
 if they do not see well, let them be provided with eye glasses to enable them to see properly
activities to develop:
 training and stimulating the learner on act
 communication skills
 visual stimulation skills
 motor and self-care
self skills
 cognitiveive skills
 social skills
6. Learners with Autism

Autism is a neuro-behavioral
behavioral syndrome marked by qualitative impairment, social
interaction and communication.
“Autism” is a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and non-verbal

non
communication,
ion, social interaction, awareness, and imaginative play (valuable interest and
behaviour) generally evident before age three that adversely affects educational
performance.
People with such impairment may have problems having a conservation and may not
establish eye contact with the person they are talking too.
Autistic children may also have repetitive and sometimes stereotype patterns of behavior,
or say sentences several times.
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Their way of expressing pleasure or joy sometimes consists of flapping their arms while
hurting themselves may be a way of showing unhappiness.
Characteristics of Learners with Autism for Identification

Some of the features of autism includ
include;
 Early onset which is probably identified as early as at birth

birth, It distinguishes it from
other severe disorders.
 Defiant social development which makes children seem unable to form normal social
relationships or to respond appropriately to social cues. They live in a world of
their own
 They do not make eye contact, seek other people for comfort, participate in secure secur
attachment relationships or make friends.
 They also have difficulty reading others emotions or responding with empathy
when others are distressed.
 Deviant language and communication skills. Many autistic children are mute.
Others acquire limited langu
language
age skills, but cannot really converse with their
companions.
 Repetitive, stereotyped behavior, these children have an obsession for repetition
and sameness and can become terribly upset by change. They engage in stereotyped
behaviors such as rocking and lapping their hands infront of their faces.
 insistence on sameness;
eness; (resistance to change)
 difficulty in expressing needs; use gestures or pointing instead of talking
 repeat words or phrases in place of normal or responsive language
 laugh, cry, or show distress for no apparent reason
 prefer to be isolated
 have temper tantrums
 difficulty interacting with others
 resist being held or cuddled
 unresponsive to normal teaching methods
 sustained inappropriate play
 spin or line up objects
 inappropriate attachments to objects
 apparent over-sensitivity
sensitivity or under
under-sensitivity to pain
 no real fears of danger
 noticeable physical over--activity or extreme under-activity
 unevengross/fine motor skills
 not responsive to verbal cues; act as if they have hearing impairment although
hearing is normal
 pronoun reversal problems
 unusual sleep patterns
 food selectivity
ctivity tendencies
Education implication of learners with autism

What are educational implications for learners with autism?
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Learners with autism display problems in cognition and behaviour which have got
underlining problems in perception and understanding. They have varied abilities,
intelligence and behaviour. Some do not speak; others have limited language that often
includes repeated
ed phrases or conversations while others have repetitive play skills which
may have serious implications on education.
From the age of three, children with autism are eligible for an educational program
appropriate to their individual needs. Educational p
programs
rograms for students with autism focus
on improving communication, social, academic, behavioral, and daily living skills.
skills
Behaviour and communication problems that interfere with learning sometimes require
the assistance of a knowledgeable
able professional in the autism field who develops and helps
to implement a plan which can be carried out at home and school.
Autism interferes with learning pro

process in communication, social participation,
participation cognition
and sensory processing.
The Instructional Strategies for Facilitating Learning to Learners with

Autism
The classroom teacher can use the following tips to benefit learners with autism:
1. Create a classroom routine

Learners with autism appreciate routine. Non Non-autistic
autistic learners appreciate routine, too, so
this is helpful to the class at large. If you are setting up classroom systems geared toward
learners with autism, chances are all learners will benefit.
Try this: establish a pattern which includes a classroom greeting, a special starter activity,
then similar transition cues and wrap
wrap-ups.
ups. Close the activity or day the same way, setting
up structure,
clear expectations, and routine. If you change the routine, be ssure

ure to use plenty of advance-
advance
notice verbal cues.
2. Use preparatory commands and commands of execution to cue

transitions
Learners with autism often struggle with transitions. Using preparatory commands–
commands
commands that cue in on the forthcoming action wordwords–help
help these transitions. Again, this
structure is helpful for all learners. Using the preparatory command, “When I say move we
will.” followed by command of execution, “move,” sets up clear expectations.
3. Give Fewer Choices

Learners with autism can get overwhelmed when given list list-style
style selections. Try using just
two choices. This helps de-clutter
clutter the landscape and yet still allows learners to make a
decision.
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4. Use Appropriate Technology

There is so much helpful technology for learners with autis
autism.
m. The can use video games to
provide therapy for children with autism.
5. Treat Them Like Any Other Kid as Much as Possible

Learners with autism have specific needs, but so does every kid. Make sure learners with
autism get the “kid” experience, not the “autistic kid” experience, or the “special needs”
treatment. This makes a difference.
The teacher should never underestimate the impact he/she can have on the learner with
autism. The teacher should dispel the myths because this makes a critical difference.
differe
From other sources
Educational intervention strategies

Learners with autism are first and foremost, learners. They have more similarities to other
learners than differences. Although some learners with autism encounter genuine
instructional challenges,
nges, they learn well with appropriate, systematic, and individualized
individ
teaching practices.
To provide effective instructions for learners with autism, you should

address the following:
 Ensure that the learners are in good health, free from pain and irritation, and in a
safe, stimulating and pleasurable setting.
 Provide structure in the environment, with clear guidelines regarding expectations
for appropriate and inappropriate behaviour.
 Provide tools, such as written or picture schedules, to ensure that the
flow of activities is understandable and predictable.
 Adapt the curriculum to suit individual’s characteristics but not on the label of
autism.
 Focus on developing skills that will be of use in the learner’s current and future life
in school, home,, and community.
 Carefully plan transitions to new placements and new school experiences which
usually require careful planning and assistance.
 Encourage parents and other family members to participate in the process of
assessment, curriculum planning, ins instruction,
truction, and monitoring. They often have the
most useful information about the student’s case history and learning
characteristics, so effective instructions should take advantage of this vital resource.
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7. Learners with Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is a condition caused by malformation or damage to the developing brain
that occurs either before, during or shortly after birth.
It involves non-progressive
progressive disorders of movement or posture. People with this disorder
have abnormal, involuntary and uncoordi
uncoordinated
nated body movements, whose severity varies
from mild to severe.
Severe cases experience such difficulties as inability to walk, sit without support, feed
themselves, chew food, pick up objects or talk.
Characteristics of The Different Categories of Lear

Learners
ners with Cerebral
Palsy
Some children appear to be handicapped from the time of birth accompanied by vomiting,
irritability and difficulty nursing.
In many cases the disease is noted when the child is six months old as it shows a delay in
the sitting up, crawling and standing. Many children with this condition, however, creates
weakness of certain muscles mostly in the legs combined with stiffness and awkward
jerking movements.
Children with cerebral palsy may experience many convulsions, impaired speech, and a
degree of mental deficiency, but in many cases mental ability remains quite normal.
Cerebral palsy is classified according to the limbs involv
involved i.e.
i. Monoplegia- one limb is affected, this may be as a result of polio

ii. Hemiplegia- the upper and lower limbs on the same side is deformed.
iii. Paraplegia-the the lower are involved.
iv. Diplegia-thethe legs are more affected than the arms.
v. Triplegia-the three limbsmbs are involved
involved-usually
usually one upper and two lower limbs.
vi. Quadriplegia.. This is also known as tetraplegia. In includes major involvement of
all four limbs.
vii. Double hemiplegia-upper upper limbs are more involved than the lower limbs.
How will you identify a learner with cerebral palsy?

 Slowness in acquiring skills and knowledge in some learners
 Facial abnormalities and or drooling in some cases
 Stiffness or rigidity of body parts especially the wrists, hips, knees and ankles
 Increased muscle tension when the learner is excited or upset
 Abnormal position of the body
 Lack of muscle co-ordination
ordination
 Slow, wriggly or sudden, quick movements of the feet, arms, hands or face in
excitement or in an effort to grasp something
 Difficulty drawing straight lines due to involuntary movements
 Speechdifficulties due to difficulty incontrolling the muscles
required to produce speech
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 Poor balance and posture

 Awkward gross and or fine motor movements
 May suffer from convulsions or fits
 Poor eye-hand
hand coordination espec
especially
ially in writing activities and low intelligence
Educational implications for learners with cerebral palsy

A learners suffering from cerebral palsy may experience some of the following difficulties:
 Difficulties in performing functions requiring the use of their hands and legs
 Communication difficulties due to weakness of the speech organ
muscles
 Low intelligence as result of delayed milestone, which ma mayy affect their academic
work.
 Hearing and sight problems which may affect their learning activities
 May suffer from convulsions or fits
 Learning difficulties
lties especially in areas such as reading and writing
The Unique Skills Necessary for Learners with Cerebral Palsy

• Sitting without support.
• Picking up objects.
• Talking.
• Chewing food.
• Walking without support.
• Feeding themselves.
Instructional Strategies and Resources to Be Used by Learners with

Cerebral Palsy
The damage to the brain that leads to cerebral palsy cannot be repaired. However, affected
individuals can be supported to become independent in life through:
 providing suitable therapeutic exercises and mobility and functional or supportive

aids and nursing care
 giving psychological counselling and guidance
 referring the child to other professionals such as occupational therapists and
physiotherapists
 providing activities to develop eye
eye-hand coordination
 encouraging them to use speech and for those who cannot produce intelligible
speech, devise for them other modes of communication such as communication
boards, bliss symbols, sign language or gestures.
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 providing appropriate learning and technical aids and adapted physical education
and sports equipment
 providing them with mobility devices such as crutches, walking sticks,
standing/walking framesmes and wheel chairs and training them on how to use them.
 providing them with alternative communication aids and mobility aids or other
services
 organising and preparing activities which will stimulate growth and development
especially to children
dren with delayed milestone
 enriching the classroom with a variety of educational resources to raise interest in
the learners
 modifying the curriculum for them to learn at their own pace.
8. Learners with Learning Disabilities

Learning disability is a disorder or delayed development in one or more of the basic
psychological processes involved in understanding or in using spoken or written language.
The disability is manifested in significant difficulties in acquisition of speech, listening,

reading, spelling, writing and arithmetic
arithmetic.
The condition may result from brain injury, cerebral dysfunction, dyslexia and emotional
disturbances.
This condition may be acquired through trauma or it may be inherited from the parents.
Types of Learning Problems

 Dyslexia – a language-based
based disability in which a person has trouble understanding written
words. It may also be referred to as reading disability or reading disorder.
 Dyscalculia – a mathematical disability in which a person has a difficult time solving
arithmetic problems and grasping math concepts.
 Dysgraphia – a writing disability in which a person finds it hard to form letters or write
within a defined space.
 Auditory and Visual Processing Disorders – sensory disabilities in which a person
has difficulty
lty understanding language despite normal hearing and vision.
 Nonverbal Learning Disabilities – a neurological disorder which originates in the
right hemisphere of the brain, causing problems with visual
visual-spatial,
spatial, intuitive, organizational,
evaluativeand holistic
listic processing functions.
 Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): ADHD is a disorder that
causes people to losefocus on tasks very easily. ADHD has two main types, with a third being a
combination of the two. Hyperactive
Hyperactive-Impulsive ADHD is distinguished
nguished by the person’s excessive
amount of activity.
This may include constant fidgeting, nonnon-stop
stop talking, problems with doing quiet activities,
trouble controlling their temper, and more. Inattentive ADHD causes people to not put the needed
attention into a required task.
People with inattentive ADHD may struggle with paying attention to instruction, daydream a lot,
process information slowly, become bored easily, and be very poorly organized. ADHD is not a
learning disability, but can cause people tto
o struggle with learning and is commonly linked to
other learning disabilities.
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 Visual Processing Disorders: Visual processing disorders are disorders that cause
people to struggle with seeing the differences between similar letters, number, objects, colors,
color
shapes and patterns. Just like auditory processing disorders, visual processing disorders are not
considered learning disabilities by the Canadian Government, but could be an issue when it
comes to learning.
Characteristics of The Different Categories of Learners with Learning
Disabilities
Learners with learning difficulties experience specific academic problem
In school, children with learning difficulties have specific academic problems in one or more
of the following;
 Basic reading skills, basic wwriting

riting skills, spelling skills and speaking or oral
expression
 They are unable to sit still, appear distracted most of the time and continually move
around.
 They may even be hyperactive
 Some may change their moods frequently.
 They may also have motor dysfunction and eye eye-hand
hand coordination difficulties.
 They are sometimes unable to perform with their hands or legs, movements like
kicking a ball, cutting with scissors, or coloring a picture within lines.
 Further, children with learning difficulties may have speech and hearing problems
that are unrelated to the ear problems, memory and thinking problems and inability
to cope with abstracts.
The Challenges Facing Learners with Learning Disabilities

• Disorders of attention
• Reading difficulties
• Poor motor abilities
• Written language difficulties
• Oral language difficulties
• Social skills deficits
• Psychological process deficits
• Quantitative disorders
• Information processing problems
• written expression
• ehension
reading and comprehension
• basic reading
• mathematical reasoning (calculation)
• listening
• spelling
• short attention span,
• poor memory,
• Omissions- The student skips individual words or groups of words.
• Insertion- The student inserts one or more words into the sentence being orally read.
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• Substitution- The student replaces one or more words in the passage by one or more meaningful
words.
• Hesitation-The
The student hesitates for two or more seconds before pronouncing a word.
• Inversion-The
The student changes the order of words appearing in a sentence.
• difficulty following directions,
• inability to discriminate between/among letters, numerals, or ssounds,
• poor reading and/or writing ability,
• eye-hand
hand coordination problems; poorly coordinated,
• difficulties with sequencing, and/or
• Disorganization and other sensory difficulties.
• Difficulties understanding structure of words
• Difficulties with reading co
comprehension
mprehension (phrases, sentences, paragraphs, and stories)
• May struggle to accurately summarize or paraphrase what they just read
• May have trouble learning the alphabet or connecting letters to sounds
• May make many mistakes when reading aloud, and repeat and pause often
• May mispronounce words or use a wrong word that sounds similar
• Inability to discriminate between/among letters, numerals, or sounds
• Reverses letters
• Produces poorly organized writing products
• May have very messy handwriting or hold a ppencil awkwardly
• May have trouble organizing thoughts when speaking, or not be able to think of a word for
writing or conversation
• Difficulty with number concepts
• Difficulties in memorizing number facts and solving word problems
• Doesn't make connections,, such as 5+3=8 and 3+5=8
• Has difficulty comparing things, or classifying and sorting items
• Difficulty with time concepts (before, after, tomorrow, last week)
NOTE- Children with specific learning difficulties do not
include those learners with learning problems caused by other
conditions like visual, hearing, intellectual and physical
difficulties.
Intervention strategies for helping learners with

learning disabilities
There are several strategies that you can use to assist and support learners with
wit learning
disabilities. You can assist them by doing the following:
1) setting reasonable goals

2) providing clear instructions to the learners
3) making special physical arrangements for the highly destructive and hyperactive
learners
4) setting guidelines
uidelines for appropriate classroom behaviour and help the learners to
work towards them
5) giving learning activities that are equivalent and suitable to their abilities and
interest.
6) modifying the activities into smaller simple units
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7)planning the activities

tivities from the simplest to the most complex
8)using visual aids in the classroom
9)developing and implement individual programmes
 Explore the instructional strategies and resources to be used by learners with
learning disabilities
 Design intervention for learners with learning disability to alleviate their unique
characteristics.
9. Learners with Multiple Disabilities

Children with multiple disabilities have different combinations of disabilities. Such
children have several impairments whose needs th therefore
erefore cannot be met in a special
education programme designed for one of the impairments.
These conditions may be caused by chromosomal disorders, infections or intoxications. It

may also be caused by the genetic disorders.
Characteristics of The Different Categories of Learners with Multiple

Disabilities
The characteristics of learners with multiple disabilities may take the following form;
a) Little or no communication
This means that they have limited ability to expre
express
ss themselves or understand other. Many
multiple handicapped children also have limited ability to use gestures meaningfully to
pass messages, interpret information they receive through senses, and understand
themselves and their relationships to others in their environment.
b) Delayed physical and motor development

The multiple handicapped children have impaired physical and motor development that
limits their ability to move about independently. They are unable to sit up or support
themselves. They also have deformities of limbs and body posture and often lack bowl and
bladder control. Many are often in poor health and remain in bed or home bound most of
their lives. They are also unable to handle even pre
pre-requisite
requisite skills for academic subjects.
c) Frequent inappropriate behavior

Multiple handicapped children often acquire behaviors which have no useful purpose. Such
behaviors are like rocking back and forth, self
self-stimulation and self-injuring,
injuring, for example,
banking their heads.
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d) Lack of self-help skills

Multiple handicapped children depend almost entirely on other people in self-help
self activities
such as dressing, wiping their noses, keeping themselves groomed, eating and attending to
their toilet needs. They also experience difficulty in generaliz
generalizing
ing and maintaining newly
learned skills.
Despite their intense challenges, however, children with several disabilities often exhibit
many positive characteristics including warmth, humor, sociability and persistence.
persistence Many
of them are able to learn.
Educational
ational difficulties faced by learners with multiple
difficulties
What difficulties do you think are faced by learners with multiple
disabilities?
Some of the problems faced by these learners are:
Communication difficulties
difficulties.
They cannot:
 express themselves or understand others

 gesture - meaningfully to pass messages to others
Delayed motor and physical development.

They
hey generally experience the following difficulties:
 limited ability to move about independently

 inability to sit up or support themselves
 mbs and body posture
deformities of limbs
 bed ridden or home bound most of their lives
Frequent inappropriate behaviour, such as:

 rocking back and forth
 self-stimulation,
stimulation, for example by manual stimulation of sexual organs
 self injuring, for example, banging the head
Lack of self help skills.

They depend almost entirely on other people in selfhelp activities, such as:
 dressing themselves
 keeping themselves clean
 eating
 attending to their toilet needs
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The Unique Skills Necessary for Learners with Multiple Di

Disabilities
sabilities
• Reading skills.
• Dressing skills.
• Wiping noses.
• Attending to the toilet needs.
• Good grooming skills.
• Eating skills.
• Communication skills.
Intervention strategies to support learners with

multiple difficulties
Most learners with multiple difficulties never fully outgrow their dependence on
other people. The following are some measures that can be put in place to support
these learners:
 Showing the learner love, patience and affection

 Assessing the learner to determine the sk
skills
ills the learner can perform and those
required to be learnt. This is particularly the Activities of Daily Living, such as,
eating, toileting and dressing
 Preparing individualised educational programmes using task analysis approach
 Providing speciall equipment and devices such as crutches and wheel chairs,
 Guiding and counselling the parents to accept and support the child.
 Referring the child to health centres for medical check ups and other services
 Designing and implementing individualised programmes
 Adapting the classroom/school environment to meet the needs of the learners
 Talking to other learners to develop positive attitudes towards these learners
 Designing toilets/latrines to accommodate the learner especially those using wheel
chairs
 Make modification of the school environment for accessibility
10. Learners with Emotional and Behavior

Disorders
Emotional and Behavioural diff
difficulties (EBD) are emotions and behaviours that
are not appropriate in relatio
relation to age and socio-cultural expectations.
EBD significantly interferes with one’s learning and development and the lives of others.
EBD’s are classified into:
 Attention deficit and hyperactive disorders
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 aggression
 social problems
 conduct disorders
 personality disorders
 juvenile delinquency
These are children who suffer from anxiety, worry or generalized fear to such an extent
that they are not able to positively benefit from the regular class teaching or learning
situation. The children suffer from behavioral and emotional problems
problems.
The emotional and behavioral problems may be caused by traumatic experience, neglect by
the parents or psychological factors.
Characteristics of Learners with Emotional and Behavior Disorder for

Identification
In order to identify children with emotio
emotional
nal and behavioral problems correctly, teachers
need to be well informed about normal behavior of children at various stages of their
development.
For example, an adolescent child who displays some moody behavior at time may just be
displaying behavior expected
pected of children at that stage. A teacher can also expect a child of
five years to display tantrums.
That behavior would not be expected in a child of 13 years. With this in mind, the teacher
can use the following as indicators of children with emotiona
emotionall and behavioral problems:
 Children with emotional and behavioral problems have the inability to develop positive
relationship with others because of withdrawal or hostility.
 They display a sense of insecurity which is often seen in fearful or aggressive behavior.
 Such childrenn continually look depressed and unhappy.
 The show regression to early form
forms of behavior like crying, wetting
ing self and thumb sucking.
 They have inability to learn without any obvious causes.
 They exhibit behavioral disorders like aggression, cruelty,, tempers and tantrums.
 They display emotional disorders like timidity and anxiety.
 They possess habitual disorders such as pulling hair, nail biting, chewing on their cloths etc.
 Hurting self for example, scratching or biting or even th
throwing self-down.
 Isolating self completely from others.
 They have severe anxiety and mood disorders experienced by some children however not only
hinder their learning but also threaten their own existence abuse, starvation and suicidal
behavior.
N/B thee above type of behavior should be of concern to a teacher if it is persistent and the
learner does not respond to corrective measures.
Causes of Emotional and behavioural disorder

 Genetics
 Chemical Imbalances in the Body
 Damage to the central nervous system
Willy yegon –(0721775920) 76

 Brain injury
 Physical illness or disability
 Divorce or other emotional upset at hom
 Environment
 Exposure to violence
 Extreme stress
 Loss of an important person
 Family – The relationship children have with their parents, particularly during the early
years
 Child abuse-Child
Child abuse may result in poor impulse control and poor self-concepts.
self
Aggression and anger are often noticed in children who have been abused
 Economic and social status of the family
 School-Inconsistency
Inconsistency of rules, expectations, and cons
consequences
equences across the school
 Media influence
The Effects of Emotional and Behavior Disorders On Learning
 This disorder may cause hyperactivity in children. This is where there is a high level
of activity exhibited at inappropriate times. It cannot be stop
stopped
ped upon command
which may make learning to be difficult amongst such learners in schools.
 It may cause aggression in children. This is portrayed towards objects, self or others.
Any use of punishment to stop the aggression behavior of the child usually increases
i
the aggression, this makes it hard for the teacher to discipline such children in
school.
 It may also result to delinquency amongst learners. Delinquency describes an illegal
act committed by the juvenile or child. It may include theft or truancy.
truancy This may
make the child to be imprisoned and thereby being denied the right to education.
 This disorder may also cause depression whic which
h is manifested in the form of guilty
g
feelings, self-blame,
blame, rejection, low self
self-esteem
esteem and anxiety. This may make such
children to lack interest in the school activities.
 Learners with emotional and behavioral difficulties may also cause withdrawal. This
may make children to show a low level of interaction, low self
self-concept
concept and learning
disabilities. They are unwilling to put in effort and give up easily.
Children with emotional and behavioral difficulties are affected in their performance. These
effects include:
 Such children have inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual,

sensory, or health factors.
 They have an inability to build and maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships
with peers and teachers.
 They have inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.
 They have a general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depressi
depression.
 They have a tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal
or school problems.
 These children have emotional disturbances of anxiety, worries.
 They have generalized fear which make them behave in a maladjusted manner.
 Their behavior are socially unacceptable and therefore retards their social-emotional
social
and education growth.
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 Some of these children have self

self-destructive
destructive behavior that can also be harmful to
those around them.
The Intervention Measures To Manage Emotional Learners In An

Inclusive Setting .
The following are intervention measures to behavioral and emotional problems in children;
i. The class rules should be made flexible so that they allow some tolerance for such
children. For example, a child who always comes late to class because of fear of others
can be ignored.
ii. Class organization can sometimes help. Regrouping for example, may help if an
aggressive child is moved from a group of weak fearful children to one of more
confident children.
iii. The teacher should give the children opportunities to express themselves. This can be
through compositions, drama and dance, art and music. This helps teachers and
others to know and understand the children better.
iv. Positive behavior
vior should be rewarded while the negative one should be corrected
appropriately. Children need to be corrected in love and understanding rather than
in anger.
v. The teacher need to know when to ignore or respond to behavior. Some negative
behavior that is not too disruptive especially where the child is seeking attention can
be ignored.
vi. The classroom need to have a warm atmosphere. Children should not feel threatened.
vii. Communication with the child is of great importance both in and out of the
classroom. This
is communication can be verbal, facial expression or gestures. Reaching
out through such communication makes the child feel a person of worth and value.
viii. The teacher needs to develop special relationship with the child such children need to
be shown a lot of understanding the children need to know that the teacher is their
friend who cares and understands.
ix. There must be home-school
school cooperation. Parents need to work with the teacher to find
out the cause of the problem. The child can then be referred to med
medical
ical or counselling
services.
additional
In order for you to help learners with emotional and behaviour difficulties, you
need to use various appro
approaches. These approaches include:
 Behavior modification
 individual and group counselling
 creating good school climate
 explaining to the learners that you expect a reasonable standard of behaviour to be
maintained
 telling the learners what you expect of them in a firm and clear way
 rewarding the learners’ appropriate behaviour and ignoring inappropriate
inappropria
behaviour as stipulated by the school rules
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 structuring the learning environments so that the learners have no room for
displaying the inappropriate behaviour
 guiding and counselling play as a major role in improving the behaviours
Task
1. Examine the unique skills necessary for learners for learners with hearing impairment to
function in an inclusive setting
2. Explore the instructional strategies for learners who are deaf

deaf-blind
3. Identify the resources used by learners who are deaf

deaf-blind.
4. Explore the instructional strategies and resources to be used by learners with multiple
disabilities
5. Explore the adaptive skills for learners who are deaf

deaf-blind.
6. Examine the adaptive skills necessary for learners with autism to function in
i an
inclusive setting
Learners Living Under Difficult Circumstances

Categories of learners living under difficult circumstances
1.Homeless children and unaccompanied.
Children who are homeless and unaccompanied are those without homes and have nobody
to take of them. Children may end up in this situation as result of turmoil caused by wars
and/or natural calamities, like earthquakes killing their parents or relatives and destroying
their homes.
This can also be brought about by breakages in families. These children

n will be affected
socially and psychologically resulting to difficulties in learning.
Homelessness is not a condition unknown to children in Kenya. Migration to cities in

search of livelihood and dreams of a better life is one of the major ca
causes
uses of homelessness,
which is more of an urban phenomenon. Pressures of infrastructure development like
construction of high rise buildings, or SEZs (special economic zones) or even dams and
highways have taken away the lands of farmers, and shanties and hutments of urban slum
dwellers.
Situations like natural disasters and conflicts render many homeless or force them to live in
unsafe housing conditions.
Living on the streets or in urban slum dwellings, lack of basic facilities and unhygienic
living conditions
ditions become a way of life.
The UNCRC has recognized right to adequate housing as a right of every child.
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2. Orphaned and abandoned child

Death of biological parents or abandonment by them leads to a child becoming an orphan.
Death could be due to natural
ural reasons like illness or due to accidents or natural calamity.
Abandonment could be due to poverty, illness of parents, gender of the child, being an
unwed mother, being an unattractive child or even disability in the child. With caring
practices moving
ng more towards non
non-institutional
institutional services, adoption of the orphaned or
abandoned child provides to the child a family and to the parents a child.
There are far more number of children who are orphaned, abandoned and destitute and far
few who have been given
ven a home through adoption.
Supportt Services for orphaned and abandoned children

• Provision of basic needs including food, shelter and clothing
• Mentorship, Guidance and counseling services to promote the learner’s mental health
• Provision of access to educational services.
• Provision of appropriate health care and promotion of optimal growth.
• Reintegration to the communities by connecting them to community programs, groups and

activities. • Provide an opportunity for spiritual nurturance in order to mould an all-around
all
individual child.
3. Migrant Children
Large-scale
scale migration of famili
families
es from rural to urban areas has resulted in severe
overcrowding, degrading work conditions, homelessness, deprivation of basic services and
appalling living conditions in the city. Yet, to return to the village means starvation: to
remain in the city meanss possible survival at least physically.
The major reason for migration to the cities is that the traditional occupations in villages do
not provide sufficient income. So, the basic need for survival pushes the migration from
rural to urban areas. The influx
lux of people creates housing problems, sanitation and hygiene
issues along
with creating an alienation and marginalization of people. The migrants are faceless,
mostly both parents are working, leaving children at home with no adult supervision, low
self-esteem
esteem and no sense of belongingness. This puts the migrant child at great risk of
becoming vagrant, taking to loitering on streets or being exposed to anti
anti-social
social elements.
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4. Child labour
Child labour has been defined by International Labourr Organisation (ILO to mean,
“any economic activity performed by a person under the age of 15 years and that is
detrimental and exploitative”
Kenya’s Employment Act defines it as “the

the engagement of children under the age of 16
years in the labour force”
The Children’s Actt of 2001 (Kenya) defines child labour as “any situation where children
provide labour in exchange of payment”
Child labour is therefore any work that interferes with children’s upbringing and education.
The working children are spread acros
acrosss various economic sectors with the main
concentration being in domestic service.
Many children are engaged in occupations and processes classified as ‘hazardous labour’,
i.e. harmful to the physical, emotional or moral well
well-being of children.
The factors that contribute to child taking to labour force, and hazardous child labour in
particular, include;
 parental poverty and illiteracy

 social
cial and economic circumstances
 lack of awareness; lack of access to basic and meaningf
meaningful
ul quality education and skills
 high
gh rates of adult unem
unemployment and underemployment
 cultural values of the family and society.
Working children are exploited economically and often physically, including sexually. They
are forced to do heavy work, work overtime, are often deprived of food
food,, schooling, play and
rest, and work in unhealthy and unsafe conditions.
Crucial early years when the child should be attending school and acquiring skills for a
productive and fruitful adult life are lost in the toil of earning, often in most unconducive
conditions, to feed their own mouths and those of their family.
A child labour also throws out the adult from productive employment.
Problems Resulting from Child Labour

i. Children suffer significant growth deficiencies. They grow up shorter and lighter, and
their body size continuous to be smaller in adulthood.
ii. They get injuries and illness, sometimes leading to amputati
amputations
ons and loss of body
parts.
iii. Children suffer from muscle, chest, abdominal pains, headaches, dizziness,
respiratory infections, diarrhea and worm infections due to poor working conditions.
iv. They may be exposed to substances with long latency periods like asbestos which
increases the risk of contracting chronic diseases such as asbestosis or lung cancer in
young adults.
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v. In rural areas, they are more exposed to pesticides than from most common childhood
chil
diseases put together.
vi. Those who are exposed to solvents and glues may suffer from neurotoxicity.
vii. Children who work in construction sites, glassworks and repair of automobile
radiators may be exposed to many metals that contain lead and mercury, and
therefore
ore at a high health risk.
viii. Children working in garages are exposed to benzene and are therefore of high health
risk. Exposure to benzene can lead to blood disorders rangi
ranging
ng from anaemia to
leukemia.
ix. Children undertaking heavy work, carrying heavy loads and maintaining awkward
body positions for long time can develop deformations of the spinal column and
sometimes the pelvis.
5. Domestic Child Worker

Domestic child workers are commonly seen iinn cities. A systematic exploitation is found,
wherein the children are made to work for long hours, with meagre food, meagre wages and
at times physical and sexual torture.
Till recently, domestic child labour was not one of the prohibited occupations in the Child
Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act. But recently it has been notified by the Ministry
of labour, prohibiting employment of children below 14 years as domestic servants or in tea
stalls and restaurants.
This is a much needed amendment but, a ass a result of this notification, there is a likelihood
of a large number of children being laid off, especially in metropolitan cities and big towns.
Therefore, there is a need to address the rehabilitation of these children including shelter,
education, food,
ood, health and other needs and to restore them to their families.
It is possible that the families of these children are not in position to take care of them. In
such a scenario, an alternative action plan will need to be in place; otherwise, these
children
ren are likely to be recycled as child labors.
6. street children.
“Street children” is a social term that refers to those children for whom the street has
replaced the family and the home as the focal point of their existence and communal
interaction.
The children live in circumstances devoid of any protection, supervision or direction from
responsible adults. The causes that bring children to the streets may be poverty and civil
strife. Some parents are poor and are not capable of providing basic needs to their children.
Civil strife in most communities results in loss of moral attributes that include family
breakage. These conditions may make children to go and live in the streets.
There are four primary groups of children whose existence revolves arou
around
nd streets. These
are:
•children on the street
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•children of the street
•children who are completely detached from their families
•children of street families
Children on the street: These maintain good family ties while out there. They
therefore return home in the evening after spending the day begging, working or engaging
in petty offences on the streets.
Children of the street: These have loose family contacts and spend some nights or
days or part of the day on the streets and occasionally go back hom
home
Children who are completely detached from their families: These

children lead a gang life and live in makeshift shelters in the streets. In most cases they
have completely no contacts with their families.
Children of street families: This is the most recent group of street children to
emerge. It consists of children who are born and bred on the streets. They know no other
home.
They are exposed to harsh life on the streets fighting for their subsistence. Poverty, broken
homes, migration,
on, breakdown of social networks, crime and conflict, street children are
exposed to all the risks and abuses: substance abuse, physical and moral violence, sexual
abuse, health risks like STD/HIV
STD/HIV-AIDS,
AIDS, promiscuity and prostitution. Some live in gangs,
thuss taking up the laws of the group as their own and are in danger of developing risk
behaviours in their everyday lives.
These children too have the right to adequate housing/shelter, proper nutrition, education,
health care and above all protection from all forms of abuse and violence. This is a group of
children neglected completely by legislatures and programme planners.
The activities of the street children may include:

• Begging for money, food and other things.
• Selling small scale merchandise to pedestrians and motorists.
• Directing motor vehicles in and out of parking in return for a trip.
• Watching over vehicles against interference or theft in return for a tip.
• Loitering along the streets for purpose

purposes of prostitution.
• Selling drugs and other illicit goods.
• Engaging in petty crimes such as pickpocketing, snatching necklaces and handbags.
• Touting
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• Collecting papers, bottles, plastics and metal for recycling or scavenging from garbage
dumps or bins. • Shoe shining.
• Washing cars, cleaning peoples premises and assisting council cleaners in collecting
gabbage.
8. Child beggars
Child beggars are at great risk of engaging in petty crime, subjected to sexual and physical
abuse, substance abuse andnd developing health problems like skin ailments and STDs. These
children are victims of abuse of different forms and are living on the edge.
9. Child Sex Workers

There are many children in Kenya that are sexually exploited. Some of those cases go
unreported
rted to the relevant authorities. Child victims of commercial sexual exploitation are
deprived of basic necessities and suffer the dangers of unwanted pregnancies, maternal
mortality, torture, physical injury, mental trauma and disorders and sexually transmitted
trans
diseases.
10. Child Suffering from Abuse

Child abuse can take several forms, i.e. physical, psychological or emotional, sexual abuse
and neglect. What would fall in the category of physical abuse varies from culture to
culture.
In Kenya, physical punishment of the child by the parents is considered as a form of

physical abuse. However, in some cultures, physical punishment by parents or other senior
members of the family is considered as essential at times to discipline children. It is
categorised as abuse only when it leads to bruises or injuries.
Human Rights Committee of United Nations has stated that the prohibition of degrading
treatment or punishment extends to corporal punishment of children. Humiliations,
spankings and beatings, slaps in tthe
he face, etc. are all considered as forms of physical abuse
of children, because they injure the integrity and dignity of a child.
Child sexual abuse occurs when an adult or older adolescent abuses a child for sexual
activities such as;
 sexual intercourse.
 indecent exposure
re of the genitals to a child.
 viewing
ng child’s genitals forcefully.
 making physical contact
ntact with the child’s genitals.
 showing
owing porn films to the child.
 using a child to produce pornography.
Effects of child sexual abuse on the victim(s) include

include;
 guilt and self-blame,

 nightmares,
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 insomnia,
 fear of the abuser or things associated with the abuse (including objects, smells,
places etc.),
 lower self-esteem,
 sexually transmitted diseases,
 chronic pain,
 self-injurious
injurious or suicidal tendencies,
 depression,
 stress disorders,
 personality disorders or other psychiatric problems etc.
Unfortunately, in most of the child sexual abuse cases, offenders are people on whom the
child had placed trust and are mostly known to the child. The offender in many instances
could be a family member, neighbours etc.
Hence, it is very essential for parents to develop in the child trust in them so that they can
comfortably report to the parent such instances of sexual ab abuse.
It is also important to tell the child the difference between ‘good touch’ and ‘bad touch’ so
that the child is intolerant to sexual abuse in any form.
11. Children Infected and Affected with HIV/AIDS

Children affected by HIV and AIDS are those who have lost their parents or dear ones
through the syndrome. Medical statistics (2001) indicate that about 700 people died every
day in Kenya due to HIV and AIDS and related diseases.
Those who are infected aree those who have acquired the syndrome which weakens their
immunity system against diseases. Besides the rising number of orphanorphanss due to AIDS , the
disease is causing early painful deaths among learners infected art birth or through breast
feeding. It is estimated
stimated that, about 30
30-40%
40% of babies born to infected mothers will also be
infected with HIV and AIDS. Most of these babies succumb to AIDS and die within two
years. Those
hose children who survive often experience social and psychological
ogical
difficulties such ass being stigmatiz
stigmatized by the society thus affecting their self--esteem.
HIV and AIDS pandemic is now the single most serious setback in the efforts to fulfill
fulfil the
rights of Kenyan learners, particularly those guaranteeing life, survival,
survi
education and participation
ipation in development activities.
12. Children in Conflict with The Law

The term ‘children in conflict with the law’ refers to anyone under 18 years of age who comes
into contact with the justice system as a result of being suspected or accused of committing
an offence. Children who come in conflict with law cannot be treated in the same way as an
adult offender. The system needs to understand what circumstances lead to the child
committing a crime and then help the child to come out of the situatio
situation.
Being a child, there is always hope that the child with proper guidance and support can be
rehabilitated into the main stream rather than becoming a hardened criminal. The entire
juvenile justice system rests on this belief and ideology.
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It is important
nt to ensure that the child is not being victimized by the system. Most children
in conflict with the law have committed petty crimes or minor offences of which most are
not considered criminal when committed by adults.
In addition, some children who enga

engage
ge in criminal behaviour have been used or coerced by
adults. Too often, prejudice related to social and economic status may bring a child into
conflict with the law even when no crime has been committed, or result in harsh treatment
by law enforcement officials.
In the area of juvenile justice, there is need to reduce incarceration while protecting
children from violence, abuse and exploitation. Options that promote rehabilitation that
involves families and communities are safer, more appropriate and effe effective
ctive approach than
punitive measures.
Justice systems designed for adults often lack the capacity to adequately address these
issues and are more likely to harm than improve a child’s chances for reintegration into
society.
For all these reasons, a just juvenile justice system needs to evolve which would strongly
advocate directing children away from judicial proceedings and towards community
solutions which promote reconciliation, restitution, restoration, rehabilitation and
responsibility through the involvement
nvolvement of the child, family members, victims and
communities.
It also looks for alternatives to custody or sentencing, like counselling and community
service.
14. Children Whose Mothers Are Imprisoned

The numbers of females in prison have greatly in
increased
creased in the last few decades
particularly due to drug related offences.
Whether born in prison or outside, children of imprisoned mothers experience many

problems precipitated mainly by inadequate quality of care, poverty, lack of family support
and enduring
during childhood trauma.
The children face financial hardship, shame, social stigma, lack of emotional and fear of
their mother’s safety.
Factors That Lead Children to Live Under Difficult Circumstances

The factors that contribute to child taking to labor force, and hazardous child labour in
particular, include;
 parental poverty and illiteracy;

 social and economic circumstances; lack of awareness;
 lack of access to basic and meaningful quality education and skills;
 high rates of adult unemployment and under
under-employment
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Support Services That Learners Who Live Under Difficult

Circumstances Require to Participate in Learning`
Like in families, inclusion of children living under difficult circumstances in schools
calls for some considerations. These may include:
 attitudes
 resources
 communication
 parental involvement
 school community
Attitudes
Many children living under difficult circumstances are deprived of participation
and involvement in schools due to negative attitudes. The school community may see
se
them as a shame or burden. They end up being stigmatised, excluded and prejudiced.
The following should be done to reduce the negative attitudes:
 sensitise other children in the school and teachers about such children
 counsel and guide these children to accept their situation
 involve them in various school activities
 use teaching approaches that create active learning, like peer teaching, so that they
can share their experience with others
Communication
Children living under difficult circumstances need a healthy communication situation in
which they learn and develop.
This means that:
 the way we communicate should not be commands, or giving directives. It should be

conversational and with respect of others views.
 the conversation should be useful and within the child’s experience
 the language used in the conversation should be und
understandable
erstandable and at the level of
those communicated to.
Parental involvement
Parents are a key resource in addressing issues about children living under difficult
circumstances.
At school they play the roles like:
 construction of school buildings

 networking
working with other stakeholders in planning and intervention for all children
 being security to the children
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School community
Members of the school community should among other things:
 Encouraging other children to accept these children living under difficult

circumstances as part of them
 Encouraging the children living under difficult circumstances to accept their
situation
 Provide funds for developing the schools.
Family and upbringing factors

What factors within a family can cause special needs in a child?
The child’s upbringing is critical for his/her future life. There must be, good understanding,
discipline and acceptance of appropriate norms and values of society
In a situation where fundamental gaps in upbringing emerge, serious consequences

conseq occur.
These may have far-reaching
reaching consequences like emotional, behaviour or learning problems.
Below are some examples:
 parents who pressurise their children to achieve or who have unrealistically high
expectations of their children can make them u unyielding
nyielding to parental pressure and or
develop low self-esteem.
esteem. The child may unconsciously become hostile towards parents
and develop negative attitudes towards them and school
 overprotection by parents leaves children no room for freedom and opportunities to
become independent. Decisions are made for the children and they do not learn to
take responsibility for their lives and their schoolwork.
 some parents show very little interest in their children’s activities. They are not
concerned with the children’s education and do not encourage them to do well in
school. This lack of interest affects their attitudes towards themselves and school.
 in some homes where there is poor discipline often have little routines. When parents
are inconsistent in their style of upbringing children, they begin to feel uncertain and
confused. Disorganizeded homes constitute one of the main causes of behaviour at
problems in learning institutions.
School factors
What factors within the school may affect learning of children’s with
special needs?
There are numerous factors associated with school, which may cause special educational
needs in learners. Some of these are:
 teachers who do not have proper skills may not be aware of the children’s
individual needs and may therefore not be able to assist those with special needs
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 teachers who are not sensitive to the various needs of learners in their classes. This
means that, learners whose style or pace of lelearning
arning is different from the average
learner are not accommodated
 demotivated teachers who are not sufficiently concerned about doing their best for
their learners. They usually spend little time on preparation and present lessons in
an unattractive, less motivating and illogical manner
 teachers who use teaching methods, which do not meet needs of all children.
Because of poor teaching, the learners may result in poor motivation and hence
result to disciplinary or behavioural problems
 inappropriate
iate resources (human and economic) iin n schools may also result in children
developing learning difficulties. Educational resources may not be linked with
what is being taught and may not relate to the experiences of learners
 too rigid or too lax and iinconsistent school discipline
cipline may affect learner’s social and
psychological growth Educational intervention for children living under especially
difficult circumstances
Let us now discuss educational intervention for these children.
But before discussing the approaches, let us look at some guidelines necessary before
preparing to teach these children.
Before preparing to teach children in difficult circumstances, what do you think should be
considered first?
Before you prepare to teach children in difficult circumstances, you should

have some guiding principles. These will include:
 knowing the children’s strengths and challenges

 setting teaching objectives according to the potentials of each individual child
 allocating time appropriately so that they complete learning tasks and activities
within time
 using appropriate and suitable teaching methods and materials, to cater for
individual needs of the children
Now let us discuss some approaches that can be utilised to

o include children in difficult
circumstances in school.
These approaches include:
 adaptation of the curriculum

 classroom management
 educational materia
Adaptation of the curriculum

Curriculum adaptation in an inclusive setting for children living
ving under difficult
circumstances means modifying the regular curriculum to meet the needs of these children.
This means you take the existing curriculum and match it to the needs, abilities and
interests of the children.
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When modifying or adapting the ccurriculum,

urriculum, you should consider the following:
• Content- this should help the children to develop skills, which are useful for them in
their future lives. This should include activities that help them release the emotions
they have. For example, music, dance and drama. From this, then you proceed to
academic subjects
• Content presentation- this requires looking at the rate at which you present it. The
methods of delivery should consider the needs of the children
Classroom management approaches

One of the challenges
lenges you may meet in an inclusive classroom is how to manage it. You
should strive to create a calm orderly atmo
atmosphere where both the child and you can be
satisfied.
What then does classroom management include?

Classroom management will include:
• organising time in the classroom where whereby tthere

here is a consistent routine of
activities at specific times.
• organising space in the classroom so that certain areas are assigned various
activities, for example, reading, nature corner and mathematic corner
A number of strategies can be adopted to help to build a support mechanism for children by
drawing on the school, the family and community. These ideas can also be applied to a
variety of community-based
based activities for children:
i) The Teacher and

d The Family
Support to help children's recovery can be given in various ways in the family, in school and
in the community. A good school
school-family
family relationship helps children in the process of
learning and recovery. This relationship can be through the fo following
llowing ways:
a) talking with the children's families so that the teacher can find out about the conditions
in which they are living and to discuss with the parents how they can encourage their
children's development
b) school meetings with parents or g

guardians
uardians to discuss the effects of war or social conflicts
on children's development and/or possible ways of supporting affected children
ii) Behavioural problems at school

When a child has behavioral problems at school, it is important that these should
shoul be
discussed with the family. The teacher may discover that:
a) parents had already noticed the same or other problems; or
b) the family does not understand the child's needs or the effects of war on development; or
c)the child is living in a very difficult situation and is neglected, badly treated or not well
accepted.
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After talking to the family, the possible reasons for the child's behaviour and difficulties
may be more apparent.
iii) How to talk to parents or guardians

Encourage the parents or guardians to talk freely about such conversational topics as:
a) Their present life (or lack of food, clothing, support and so on);
b) Their previous life, where they lived, the difficulties of that time; their difficulties with
wit the
children;
c) Their difficulties in educating children in time of war;
d) Their main worries.
iv) The teacher and the community

Mobilizing the community is very important for the children's recovery, even if they do not
go to school. Among the ways of encouraging the community's involvement are:
• Organizing meetings at the school with the various local authorities to explain the effects
of war and other difficult situations on children's development, and possible ways towards
their recovery and
nd rehabilitation.
• Re-opening
opening schools wherever possible.
• Building more classrooms and other school buildings.
• Organizing a parent's committee in the school.
• Organizing a programme of activities that are useful both to pupils and the community,
community
such as assistance given by pupils to widows and old people in building their houses and
clearing their fields.
15. Children from Affluent Families

The needs of children from affluent families
Who Are These Children from The Affluent Families?

These are children from well doing families. It is expected that children from these kind of
families do not experience intellectual and social emotional challenges.
The main challenge of the learners from the affluent families is the social
social-emotional
emotional
challenges.
allenges. Wealth creates social
social-emotional
emotional vulnerability. There seems to be a gap between
the concerns of wealthy learners and the lived experience of many of their teachers.
However, it can be helpful to understand the deeper vulnerabilities of children of wealth.
Most of the parents from the affluent families are too busy with their work to the point that
it interferes with the school activities of the learner from such a family.
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Affluent vulnerable kids are most wary of judgment and will snap the lid shut
shu quickly if
they feel judged, and then the teacher loses all hope of getting the kid to widen her
perspective or learn coping skills.
Yet, affluence brings its own stress, isolating children and distorting the social ties that
make for healthy development. t.
There is increasing evidence that children from affluent backgrounds are vulnerable to high
levels of emotional and social distress. This seems to result from two factors:
i) Excessive pressure to achieve
ii) Emotional and physical isolation from p

parents.
The emphasis on material success can compromise other factors essential for psychological
wellbeing, such as close interpersonal relationships.
In wealthy families, material resources can compromise supportive networks, since parents
may buy services
rvices such as child care or tutoring rather than sharing those responsibilities
with the extended family or community.
The experiences of warmth and care are limited in the lives of many wealthy children.
Similarly, some children of wealth may be pain painfully

fully unaware and unprepared for what they
will face as they live their lives. In this case, the “wealth bubble” can leave a learner
believing that there are no meaningful problems out there, or at least none that their
wealth or family influence can’t manmanage.
age. When they confront the ordinary difficulties of
making a relationship work, dealing with the inevitable failures and challenges of life, they
often have not built up sufficient resilience to cope.
Wealth breeds a variety of complicated feelings and a attitudes.

ttitudes. Some wealthy parents bring
a particular set of expectations and influences to the school, further complicating the
faculty relationship with their child.
Factors That May Affect Learning Among Learners from

Affluent Families
Children from affluent
luent families may be affected by a number of factors. These factors
include:
a) The achievement pressures

Most of the children from affluent families have got very high perfectionist strivings. In
case they experience failure in their lives they view it a persona problem. This makes such
children to have depression, anxiety and substance abuse.
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b) isolation from adults

this isolation can be both literal and emotional. Many parents from affluent families live
children at home alone with a believe that tthis promotes self-sufficient.
sufficient. This results to
distress among the children from the affluent families.
c) defiance
children from affluent families are likely to become defiant. This can be linked with overt
displays of low academic effort, disobedience at school, aggressiveness among girls, and
substance use among boys. The boys are likely to become aggressive. This results to
indiscipline cases in schools and disrespect to authority.
Support Services That Learners from Affluent Families May Require to

Participate in Learning
 Create an integrated system of school supports that includes extended learning
opportunities and community partnerships
 Develop habits, skills, and mindsets that build learners’ social, emotional, and
academic competence
 Implement meaningful, engaging instructional practices that develop learners’
ability to manage their own learning
 Foster a supportive environment that promotes strong relationships among
staff, learners, and families
Task
 Justify the claim that social
social-economic
economic factors play the greatest role in creating
children’s difficult circumstances.
 Discuss what you think should be done to protect children from tthe he hazards of living
under difficult circumstances such as those described in this chapter.
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Chapter 3
AN INCLUSIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
Characteristics of inclusive learning environment
Traditional classrooms and inclusive classrooms differ significantly in the way learners
receive their education. There are differences in overall educational philosophy,
instructional strategies and resources to support learners. There are many myths and
misunderstanding about inclusion, even at the school level. Thus, it’s helpful for parents
and guardians of learners with special needs to know the characteristics of inclusive
classrooms; then they can advocate for truly inclusive education.
These are the characteristics:
1. Inclusive schools welcome learners of all abilities.

Classrooms are established by placing children together by age despite ability level.
There are significant academic, social, emotional and physical benefits to teaching typically
typica
and non-typically
typically developing learners in the same classroom.
The teaching strategies such as Universal Design for Learning and Differentiation
(UDLD)were derived from the intent to teach the different types of learners in one
classroom.
2. School supports
ports such as specialized service providers (speech-
language therapists, occupational therapists), flexible scheduling, and accessible spaces
reinforce the premise that learners learn better together.
3. Support given to learners such as a writing assignment

assign and
some as subtle as the teacher using a book with large print for a
class story.
The Features of an Inclusive Classroom
 Groups of desks are placed around the classroom.
Grouping learners allows for socialization as well as cooperative and peer learning.
This promotes cooperation, compared with competitive and individualistic efforts,
typically results in higher achievement and greater productivity, more caring,
supportive,, and committed relationships, and greater psychological, health, social
competence, and self-esteem.
esteem.
 Visual learning aids such as a daily schedule, timers, posters, and flip charts assist
in teaching learners who are visual learners. It is commonly under
understood
stood that
approximately 65% of learners are visual learners.
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In addition, executive functioning skills, structure and transitions can be supported

through the use of visual aids.
 Developmentally appropriate learning materials such as leveled books,
manipulatives,
ipulatives, and centers with hands
hands-onon activities are placed around the room.
These various materials are suited for learners at different levels of abilities as well
as kinesthetic learners.
 A classroom social skills program is the cornerstone of a respectful
ctful and productive
learning environment. By guiding learners in the development of their social skills,
teachers can support communication between learners, the growth of confidence and
encourage culturally-responsive
sponsive behavior. Learner learns to engage and interact with
one another in socially appropriate manners, and adapt to the needs of others.
 Assistive technology is available to learners to support their individual interests,
styles and educational needs. Items such as adaptive pencil grips, iPads,
iPads apps,
augmentative communication and color overlays are examples used to make
curriculum accessible. Whether simple or complex, assistive technology can be used in
many ways to level the playing field for all learners.
The Qualities of a Good Teacher iin

n an Inclusive
Setting
Qualities Of A Good Teacher
1. A good communicator.
This skill in teaching and learning process involves sending and receiving messages. The
teacher should pass the message clearly to the learners using appropriate language that is
age appropriate he or she should know the following techniques :
- Verbal instruction using verbal communication speaking clearly
- Modeling
ing (observation learning) where an opportunity is created for the learners to
observe somebody performing a task and then imitate. However
However, in an inclusive setting
learners with visual Impairment
rment may not benefit.
- Prompting. This requires sequencing of learning unit in small sections so that you can
quickly signal the learner to perform the activity or give the response required during the
process. Apply prompts only when necessary to ensur
ensuree learner success. Prompts can be
manual, gestural or oral.
2. Knowledgeable and skilled

- knowledge in special needs education is extremely necessarily. A teacher should have the
ability to address the needs of his or her learners. A teacher should be K
Knowledgeable
nowledgeable with:
a. Barriers within outside that may hinder learning.
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b. Skills in teaching and learning approaches.
c. Use of assistive and adaptive education.
d. Support systems in schools and community
3. Positive attitude towards all learners:

Attitudes play a major role in an inclusive setting. A good teacher must understand
learners needs and ensure they benefit from learning experiences without being ridiculed
by others. Make your learners feel good. and enjoy being members of a class show them that
you care. In the classroom make the learners feel liked and accepted your positive and
caring attitude will be seen in the way you support and encourage and include all learners
in all learning activities as active members.
You show that you havee a positive attitude by:
- Speaking to learners in clear friendly voice
. - Use simple Language along with gesture pictures among others.
- Praise and encourage successful attempt by learners.
- Call learners by their names as this will show that you recognize them as individuals.
- Smile a lot.
- Look at them as you speak to them.
- Be physically near.
- Give them individual attention avoid things like flawing when they do wrong or criticizing
their performance.
Instead of guiding them let them know their efforts however small are appreciated as this
build confidence self-esteem
esteem encouragement which is key to success.
4. A good classroom manager:

The key to successful class management is how you manage the classroom as seen in;
in
 how desks and groups are arranged,

 how educational materials are prepared and used,
 how learners are motivated and encouraged to participate.
Note learners are likely to change your classroom management strategies for example
arrangement of desks and group area will be modified for learners using wheel chairs and
those with visual Impairment.
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5. A good collaborator:
Collaboration
ion is working together towards the main goal for example in your class you have
a learner with head problems which require you to collaborate with physician on
implication of medication to learning.
Features of an Effective Inclusive Learning

Environment
nt That Promote Participation of Learners
An inclusive classroom climate refers to an environment where all learners feel supported
intellectually and academically, and are extended a sense of belonging in the classroom
regardless of identity, learning pr
preferences, or education.
Such environments are sustained when instructors and learners work together for
thoughtfulness, respect, and academic excellence, and are key to encouraging the academic
success of all learners. Research indicates that many learne
learners
rs may be more likely to prosper
academically in settings with more collaborative modes of learning that acknowledge
learners’ personal experiences (Kaplan and Miller 2007).
Learners
earners learning can be enhanced by establishing a classroom tone that is friendly, caring
and supportive,, and that lets learners explore the relationships among course material,
personal, and social experiences. Instructors can consider a variety of areas to promote
inclusivity, including the syllabus, choices in assigned reading, discussion expectations, and
an
personal style.
To maintain an inclusive classroom climate, the

instructor can:
 Structure classroom conversations to encourage respectful and equitable
participation
o tors can establish ground rules or specific guidelines for appropriate
Instructors
behavioror as early as possible.
 Use small groups to encourage non
non-competitive
competitive ways of learning and
encourage cross-cultural
cultural communication
o If patterns of seating segregation in the cla ssroom are tied to patterns of
classroom
nonparticipation, instructors can assign small groups across racial/ethnic or
gender lines. If some learners are hesitant to speak up in class, they might
contribute in small groups first. Instructors should pay careful attention to
group dynamics, and intervene if some learners become excluded from full fu
participation and/or more assertive learners begin to dominate. Beyond
classroom strategies, instructors can set up study groups or assign
collaborative projects that require meetings outside of class, such as peer
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editing, group papers, laboratory assi

assignments,
gnments, or presentations that enable
learners to work with each other.
 Anticipate sensitive issues and acknowledge racial, class or cultural
differences in the classroom when appropriate
o When discussing controversial issues, instructors should expect emotional
responses or even conflict. Such emotion is not necessarily negative, unless it
makes learners unduly upset, inhibits class discussion, or causes learners to
behave rudely. In such cases the instructor may need to intervene and
remind learners of the rules for classroom discussion. Establishing shared
guidelines can help to mitigate disrespect and hostility, or prevent it from
arising in the first place.
ve language
 Model inclusive
o As an element of developing a respectful, inclusive environment, instructors
inst
can be aware of the language practices they model. Common beneficial
practices include: avoid using masculine pronouns for both males and
females. To assist in this strategy, instructors can vary the concrete examples
used to include a variety of ssocial
ocial characteristics, such as race or gender.
 Use multiple and diverse examples
o Expanding on the idea of varied examples above, instructors can include multicultural
amples, visuals, and materials. These should include multiple perspectives
examples,
on the syllabus,
abus, in class discussion, and in assignments, when possible. If
including course material or examples that place a group in the position of an
oppressed victim, instructors should be sure to provide examples of
empowerment for balance.
 Personally connect with learners
o Instructors can use a diversity statement or teaching philosophy statement in the
syllabus as a way to welcome all learners and model openness and honesty.
hones
 Provide alternative means for participation
o To signal awareness of different emotiona
emotionall and social conditions in the classroom,
instructors should allow learner participation opportunities via online discussions in
addition to the classroom. Instru ctors can also collect journal entries, reading
Instructors
logs, or other reflection pieces, and should a avoid
void a single homogenous
strategy for the entirety of term.
 Respectfully
ly communicate with learners
o Instructors should take care to pronounce learners’ names correctly and in the
proper order:
 this includes not shortening or simplifying a learner’s name without
his/her clear approval;
 being aware that some ethnicities may arrange their given and family
names in various orders;
 asking learners for their preferred gender pronouns, and avoiding
gender binaries by using plurals instead, such as “they” instead of he or
she;
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 being aware of contemporary terms for cultural identities.

If unsure of an appropriate address or cultural form of identity, the
instructor can ask in a nonthreatening context.
In contrast, instructors should not ask any learner to be a rrepresentative
epresentative
spokesperson for his or her perceived group, or look pointedly at or away from
these same learners when discussing issues of race, class, gender, etc.
Neither should they ask or expect learners to be knowledgeable about their
ethnic heritage, history, language, or culture unless they volunteer such
information.
 Address offensive, discriminatory, and insensitive comments
o As part of an inclusive classroom environment, instructors should respect all
learners’ honest expressions and thoughts. If a learner’s response indicates
an emotional investment in the subject, instructors should not let other
learners dismiss their contribution as “irrational” or “unscholarly” reactions;
rather, they can address blatantly offensive and discriminatory comments
and hold learner’s accountable for their behavior.
 Perform a Self-Assessment
Assessment
o habit and
Instructors can explore any number of teaching inventories to assess habits
classroom practices, reveal gaps in approaches, and consider strategies for
revision.
Other points on adaptation for a leaner

leaner-friendly school.
• Guarantee of safety for all learners
• Encouraging collaboration among all the stakeholders including learners, families,

community, and so on.
• Embrace gender sensitivity such as separate ablution or residential blocks for girls and
boys.
• Embrace diversity of learners, through environmental adaptations, teaching methods, and

resources • Open communication channels
• Ensure equality all the time.
The Benefits of an Inclusive Learning Environment to

Learners, Teachers, Parents and The Community
1. Tailors teaching for all learners
All learners learn differently. This is a principle of inclusive education. In an inclusive
classroom, teacherss weave in specially designed instruction and support that can help
learners make progress. These strategies are helpful for all learners. Kids may be given
opportunities to move around or use fidgets. And teachers often put positive behavioral
interventions
ns and supports (PBIS) in place.
2. Makes differences less “different”
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Inclusive classrooms are filled with diverse learners, each of whom has strengths and
challenges. Inclusion gives learners a way to talk about how everyone learns in their own
way. Theyey may find that they have more in common with other learners than they thought.
This can go a long way in helping learners know that difference is just a normal part of life.
It can also help learners build and maintain friendships.
3. Provides support too all learners

An inclusive class often brings speech therapists reading specialists and other service
providers into the classroom. These professionals provide information and suggestions to
help all learners. If learners aren’t eligible for special educ
education
ation but still need some extra
support, they can get it informally.
4. Creates high expectations for all

In an Individualized Education Program (IEP), a learner’s goals should be based on the
academic standards for their state. Those standards lay out w what
hat all learners are expected
to learn in math, reading, science, and other subjects by the end of the school year.
Differentiated instruction and co

co-teaching
teaching in a general education classroom make it easier
for learners with standard based IEP to be taugh
taughtt the same material as their classmates.
Benefits for teachers and educators:

• Professional growth
• Higher quality of engagement with learners
• Increased personal satisfaction
• Greater confidence in their ability as an educator.
Benefits for families and the community:

• Greater psychological and economic wellbeing for parents
• Parents may feel more supported and confident to return to work
• A more inclusive school community
• Greater community cohesion and the breaking down of disc

discriminatory
riminatory beliefs.
How to advance in inclusive education

To make inclusive education a reality we need to do the following:
ave the training, flexibility, and resources to teach learners with

 Ensure that educators have
diverse needs and learning styles
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 Ensure that kindergartens and schools receive adequate and sustainable financial support so
that all activities and services are fully inclusive
ower parents to assert their children’s right to education in inclusive settings
 Empower
 Enable the entire community ty—including
including mainstream and special educators, social workers,
parents, and learners—to to work together and participate in the design, delivery, and monitoring
of education, thereby reframing inclusive education as a shared responsibility
 Hold governments accountable
ccountable for implementing antidiscrimination legislation, legal mandates
for inclusion, and policies to remove barriers
Inclusive education has a number of benefits to the learners, teachers, parents and the
community at large, some of these advantages include;
 Inclusive education extends education to all.

 It ensures that learners with disabilities are educated in the least restrictive
environment (l.R.E)
 They increase community awareness of special needs education and eliminate the
stigma often attached
ched to learners with special needs.
 It helps in the development of positive attitude in parents, peers and the community
at large.
 Inclusive education promotes social development through interaction of learners
with and without special needs, such inter
interaction
action enables all learners to develop
virtues, such as accommodation, acceptance, cooperation, patience, humbleness and a
the need to be supportive.
 Inclusive education is cost effective, since it has always proved too expensive to run
two parallel systems of regular and special education.
 Restructuring the education system would reduce the cost and the need for extensive
expansion of special education programmes. All learners would be able to share the
already available resources.
Learning Styles and Mul

Multiple
tiple Intelligences
Learning Style
The term “learning styles” is commonly used throughout various educational fields and
therefore, has many connotations.
In general, it refers to the uniqueness of how each learner receives and processes new
information through their senses.
Learning style can be defined as, ““the

the composite of characteristic cognitive, affective,
and physiological factors that serve as relatively stable indicators of how a
learner perceives, interacts with, and responds to the learning environment.”
Other phrases are used interchangeably with learning styles. Some include;
include
 perceptual styles,
 learning modalities,
 learning preferences.
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Each person is born with certain preferences toward particular styles, but culture,
experience, and development influence these preferences.
The four most common learning styles are

are;
 visual,
 aural,
 reading/writing, and
 kinesthetic/tactile.
Most learners learn through all modalities, but have certain strengths and weaknesses in a
specific modality. Some learners have an equal propensity for more than one style, which is
titled as the multimodal style. This preference can be determined through various testing
instruments. Once a learner’s learning style is ascertained, accommodations can be made to
increase
se academic achievement and creativity, as well as improve attitudes toward
learning.
The various learning styles that can be used in an

inclusive setting include;
a) The Visual Learning Style
Visual learners process information most effectively when the information is seen.
Depictions can include charts, graphs, flow charts, and all the symbolic arrows, circles,
hierarchies and other devices that instructors use to represent what could have been
bee
presented in worlds. These learners think in pictures and have vivid imaginations. Most
children are classified as visual learners.
b) The Aural Learning Style

Aural learners process information most effectively when spoken or heard. These learners
respond
pond well to lectures and discussions and are excellent listeners. They also like to talk
and enjoy music and dramas. When trying to recall information, aural learners can often
“hear” the way someone told them the information.
c) The Reading/Writing Lear

Learning Style
Reading/Writing learners process information most effectively when presented in a written
language format.
This type of learner benefits from instructors that use the blackboard to accent important
points or provide outlines of the lecture mat
material.
erial. When trying to recall information,
reading/writing learners remember the information from their “mind’s eye.” Many
academics have a strong preference for the reading/writing style.
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d) The Kinesthetic/Tactile Learning Style

Kinesthetic/Tactile learners
ners process information actively through physical means.
Kinesthetic learning refers to whole body movement while tactile learning refers only to
the sense of touch. These learners gesture when speaking, are poor listeners, and lose
interest in long speeches.
ches. Most learners that do not perform well in school are
kinesthetic/tactile learners. The crux of this learning style is that the learner is connected
to real situations through experience, example, practice, or simulation.
Children that uses this method

od utilizes hands on experiences through field experiences and
demonstrations.
Learning Strategies for Each Learning Style

The Visual Learning Style
 Replace wordss with symbols or initials.
 Translate concepts into pictures and diagrams.
 Underline or highlight your notes or textbooks with different colors.
 Practice turning your visuals back into words.
 symbols, and diagrams.
Make flashcards of key information with words, symbo
The Aural Learning Style

 Attend lectures and tutorials.
 Discuss topics with your instructor and other learners.
 Put summarized notes on tape and listen to them.
 Tape-record your lectures.
 solving problems, talk out loud.
When recalling information or solvi
The Reading/Writing Learning Style

 Write out important information
nformation again and again.
 Read your notes silently.
 Organize any diagrams into statements.
 Rewrite the ideas and principles in other words.
 Make flashcards of words and concepts that need to be memorized.
The Kinesthetic/Tactile Learning Style

 Sit near the instructor in classroom situations.
 Read out loud from your textbook and notes.
 Copy key points onto large writing surfaces (i.e. chalkboard or eeasel board).
 Copy key points using word processing software.
 Listen to audiotapes of your note
notes while exercising.
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 Take in information through field trips, laboratories, trial and error, exhibits, collections, and
hands-on examples.
 Put real life examples into your notes summary.
 Recall experiments and role
role-play.
 Use pictures and photographs that illustrate an idea.
Educational Implications for Learning Styles Teachers that rely on learning styles have opened their
classrooms to more than one approach to intellectual work.
The activities planned by these teachers are more learner

learner-centered than
an traditional
activities and have engaged in learning
learning-style based instruction.
 The first step in implementing learning style

style-based
based instruction is diagnosing the
individual learning styles of each learner.
 The second step is profiling group preferences and weaknesses. Are most of the
children visual learners? Does your class have very few kinesthetic/tactile learners?
 The third step is assessing current instructional methods to determine whether they
are adequate or require more flexibility.
If modifications need to be made, various activities can be developed and/or adapted to

conform with learning styles.
Three techniques have been proposed. They include:
1. Teachers can add alternative activities that could replace or supplement ones. This
Th could
create increased opportunities for learners to use different styles. For example, hands on
activities can be conducted after a lecture to confirm abstract concepts.
2. Teachers can also challenge learners to develop skills in other areas by completing
compl
assignments that utilize all learning styles. For example, the learners can complete
multidimensional packets, which contain activities from each learning style.
3. Another approach to include learning styles in an education curriculum is to organize

organiz
activities around complex projects. These projects would require that learners use all
learning styles. An example of a complex activity would be a project
project-based
based learning project.
When teaching an individual, teachers should present the most difficult cconcepts
oncepts in the
preferred style. Easier concepts should be introduced in a different style. When teaching an
entire class, teachers should use all learning styles in their presentations if they are to
reach every learner. This can be fairly simple.
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The Multiple
ltiple Intelligences Theory
Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences utilizes aspects of cognitive and
developmental psychology, anthropology, and sociology to explain the human intellect.
Although Gardner had been working towards the concept of Multiple Intelligences for
many years’ prior, the theory was introduced in 1983, with Gardner’s book, Frames of
Mind.
Fig 3: Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences
Gardner’s research consisted of brain research and int

interviews
erviews with stroke victims,
prodigies, and individuals with autism.
Based on his findings, Gardner established eight criteria for identifying the seven (he has
subsequently added an eighth and is considering a ninth) separate intelligences.
The eight criteria

iteria used by Gardner to identify the intelligences are listed below:
• Isolation by brain damage/neurological evidence.

• idiot savants, and exceptional individuals.
The existence of prodigies, idio
• Distinguishable set of core operations.
• Developmental stages with an expert end state.
• Evolutionary history and plausibility.
• Susceptibility to encoding in a symbol system.
• Support from experimental ps psychological tasks.
• Support from psychometric research.
Originally, the theory accounted ffor

or seven separate intelligences. Subsequently, with the
publishing of Gardner’s Intelligence Reframed in 1999, two more intelligences were added
to the list.
The intelligences are;
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• Verbal/Linguistic,
• Logical/Mathematical,
• Visual/Spatial,
• BodilyKinesthetic,
• Musical,
• Interpersonal,
• Intrapersonal,
• Naturalistic,
• Existential.
i. Verbal-linguistic
linguistic intelligence, “word smart”, refers to an
individual’s ability to analyze information and produce work that involves oral and
written language.
ii. Logical-mathematical
mathematical intelligence, “maths smart”, describes
the ability to detect patterns, reason deductively and think logically, make
calculations, and solve abstract problems.
iii. Visual-spatial
spatial intelligence, “picture smart”, describes the ability
manipulate and create menta
mentall images in order to solve problems and reason, to
visualize concepts and space.
iv. Musical intelligence, “music smart”, involves skill in the
performance, composition, and appreciation of musical patterns. It encompasses the
capacity to recognize and compos
compose e musical pitches, tones, and rhythms.
rhythms
v. Naturalistic intelligence, “nature smart”, refers to the ability to
identify and distinguish among different types of plants, animals, and weather
formations found in the natural world.
vi. Bodily-kinesthetic
kinesthetic intelligence, “body smart”, entails using one’s
own body to create products or solve problems.
vii. Interpersonal intelligence, “people smart”, reflects an ability to
recognize and understand other people’s moods, desires, motivations, and intentions.
viii. Intrapersonal
rsonal intelligence, “self smart”, refers to people’s ability to
recognize and assess those same characteristics within themselves.
These intelligences, although separate, work together, in an infinite number of

combinations, in each of our learning expe
experiences
Gardner’s theory challenges traditional, narrower views of intelligence. Previously accepted

ideas of human intellectual capacity contend that an individual’s intelligence is a fixed
entity throughout his lifetime and that intelligence can be measu
measured
red through an
individual’s logical and language abilities. According to Gardner’s theory, an intelligence
encompasses the ability to create and solve problems, create products or provide services
that are valued within a culture or society.
Originally, the
he theory accounted for seven separate intelligences. Subsequently, with the
publishing of Gardner’s Intelligence Reframed in 1999, two more intelligences were added
to the list. The nine intelligences are outlined in more detail in the section below. Listed
List
below are key points of Gardner’s theory:
 All human beings possess all nine intelligences in vvarying degrees.
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 Each individual has a different intelligence profile.

 Education can be improved by assessment of learners’ intelligence profiles and designing
designi
activities accordingly.
 Each intelligence occupies a different area of the brain.
 The nine intelligences may operate in consort or independently from one another.
 These nine intelligences may define the human species.
Gardner, a Professor of Educati

Education
on at Harvard University, and other researchers and
educators continue to work towards a more holistic approach to education through Project
Zero.
Although the theory was not originally designed for use in a classroom application, it has
been widely embraced
aced by educators and enjoyed numerous adaptations in a variety of
educational settings Teachers have always known that learners had different strengths and
weaknesses in the classroom. Gardner’s research was able to articulate that and provide
direction ass to how to improve a learner’s ability in any given intelligence.
Teachers were encouraged to begin to think of lesson planning in terms of meeting the
needs of a variety of the intelligences.
The focus of this part of the chapter will be on lesson desi

design
gn using the theory of Multiple
Intelligences, and providing various resources that educator’s may use to implement the
theory into their classroom activities.
The Eight Intelligences

Verbal/Linguistic
Verbal/Linguistic intelligence refers to an individual’s ability to understand and
manipulate words and languages. Everyone is thought to possess this intelligence at some
level. This includes reading, writing, speaking, and other forms of verbal and written
writt
communication.
Teachers can enhance their learners’ verbal/linguistic intelligence by

by;
 having them keep journals,

 play word games,
 encouraging discussion.
People with strong rhetorical and oratory skills such as poets, authors, and attorneys
exhibit strong Linguistic intelligence. Some examples are T.S. Elliot, Maya Angelou, and
Martin Luther King Jr. Traditionally, Linguistic intelligence and Logical/Mathematical
Logical/Mathe
intelligence have been highly valued in education and learning environments.
Logical mathematical intelligence

Logical/Mathematical intelligence refers to an individual’s ability to do things with data:
collect, and organize, analyze and interpre
interpret, conclude and predict.
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Individuals strong in this intelligence see patterns and relationships. These individuals are
oriented toward thinking: inductive and deductive logic, numeration, and abstract patterns.
They would be a contemplative problem solversolver;; one who likes to play strategy games and to
solve mathematical problems. Being strong in this intelligence often implies great scientific
ability. This is the kind of intelligence studied and documented by Piaget.
Teachers can strengthen this intelligen

intelligence by;
 encouraging the use of computer programming languages,

 critical-thinking
thinking activities,
 linear outlining,
 Piagetian cognitive stretching exercises,
 science-fiction
fiction scenarios,
 logic puzzles,
 use of logical/sequential presentation of subject matter.
Visual/Spatial
Visual/Spatial intelligence refers to the ability to form and manipulate a mental model.
Individuals with strength in this area depend on visual thinking and are very imaginative.
People with this kind of intelligence tend to learn most readily from visual presentations
such as movies, pictures, videos, and demonstrations using models and props. They like to
draw, paint, or sculpt their ideas and often express their feelings and mo
moods
ods through art.
These individuals often daydream, imagine and pretend. They are good at reading
diagrams and maps and enjoy solving mazes and jigsaw puzzles.
Teachers can foster this intelligence by utilizing

utilizing;
• charts,
• graphs,
• diagrams,
• graphic organizers,
• videotapes,
• color,
• art activities,
• doodling,
• microscopes
• computer graphics software.
It could be characterized as right

right-brain activity.
Bodily/Kinesthetic
Bodily/Kinesthetic intelligence refers to people who process information through the
sensations they feel in their bodies. These people like to move around, touch the people they
are talking to and act things out. They are good at small and large muscle skills; they enjoy
all types of sports and physical activities. They often express them
themselves
selves through dance.
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Teachers may encourage growth in this area of intelligence through the use of touching,
feeling, movement, improvisation, “hands
“hands-on”
on” activities, permission to squirm and wiggle,
facial expressions and physical relaxation exercises.
Naturalistic
Naturalistic intelligence is seen in someone who recognizes and classifies plants, animals,
and minerals including a mastery of taxonomies.
They are holistic thinkers who recognize specimens and value the unusual. They are aware
of species such as the flora and fauna around them. They notice natural and artificial
taxonomies such as dinosaurs to algae and cars to clothes.
Teachers can best foster

oster this intelligence by using relationships among systems of species,
and classification activities.
Encourage the study of relationships such as patterns and order, and compare-and-
compare
contrast sets of groups or look at connections to real life and scienc
sciencee issues. Charles Darwin
and John Muir are examples of people gifted in this way.
Musical intelligence
Musical intelligence refers to the ability to understand, create, and interpret musical
pitches, timbre, rhythm, and tones and the capability to compos
compose music.
Teachers can integrate activities into their lessons that encourage learners’ musical
intelligence by playing music for the class and assigning tasks that involve learners
creating lyrics about the material being taught.
Composers and instrumentalists

alists are individuals with strength in this area. Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart and Louis Armstrong are examples.
Interpersonal
Although Gardner classifies interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences separately, there
is a lot of interplay between the two a
and they are often grouped together.
Interpersonal intelligence is the ability to interpret and respond to the moods, emotions,
motivations, and actions of others. Interpersonal intelligence also requires good
communication and interaction skills, and the ability show empathy towards the feelings of
other individuals.
Teachers can encourage the growth of Interpersonal Intelligences by designing lessons that
include group work and by planning cooperative learning activities. Counselors and social
workers aree professions that require strength in this area.
Some examples of people with this intelligence include Gandhi, Ronald Reagan, and Bill
Clinton.
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Intrapersonal
Intrapersonal Intelligence, simply put, is the ability to know oneself. It is an internalized
version of Interpersonal Intelligence. To exhibit strength in Intrapersonal Intelligence, an
individual must be able to understand their own emotions, motivations, and be aware of
their own strengths and weaknesses. Teachers can assign reflective activiti
activities,
es, such as
journaling to awaken learners’ Intrapersonal Intelligence.
Its important to note that this intelligence involves the use of all others. An individual
should tap into their other intelligences to completely express their Intrapersonal
Intelligence.
nce. Those who are often associated with this intelligence are Sigmund Freud,
Plato, or Virginia Woolf.
There is a ninth intelligence that has yet to experience full acceptance by educators in the
classroom. This is Existential intelligence, which encompa
encompasses
sses the ability to pose and
ponder questions regarding the existence — including life and death. This would be in the
domain of philosophers and religious leaders.
Multiple Intelligence in The Classroom

There are many ways to incorporate Multiple Intelligences theory into the curriculum, and
there is no set method by which to incorporate the theory. Some teachers set up learning
centers with resources and materials that promote involving the different intelligences.
For example, a
• teacher can create

te an area with art supplies in his/her classroom.
• Other instructors design simulations that immerse learners into real life situations.
• Careful planning during the lesson design process will help to ensure quality
instruction and valuable learner experiences in the classroom.
• Use of project-based learning
• collaborative learning. Collaborative learning allows learners to explore their
interpersonal
erpersonal intelligence, while project
project-based
based learning may help structure activities
designed to cultivate the nine intelligences.
This particular instructional model allows learners to work together to explore a topic and
to create something as the end p product.
roduct. This works well with Multiple Intelligences theory,
which places value on the ability to create products. By collaborating with the Media
Specialist to give learners the opportunity to choose from a variety of resources to complete
their assignments.
It is important for teachers to carefully select activities that not only teach to the
intelligences, but also realistically mesh with the subject matter of the lesson or unit.
Multiple Intelligences theory should enhance, not detract from what is bei being
ng taught.
Two Approaches for Implementing Multiple Intelligences

Theory in The Classroom
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a) Teacher-centered
centered approach, in which the instructor incorporates materials, resources,
and activities into the lesson that teach to the different intelligences.
The other is a learner-centered

centered approach in which learners actually create a variety of
different materials that demonstrate their understanding of the subject matter.
b) The learner-centered
centered approach which allows learners to actively use their varied forms
fo of
intelligence. In a teacher-centered
centered lesson, the number of intelligences explored should be
limited to two or three.
To teach less than two is nearly impossible since the use of speech will always require the
use of one’s Verbal/Linguistic intellige
intelligence. In a learner-centered
centered lesson, the instructor may
incorporate aspects of project-based
based learning, collaborative learning, or other inquiry-based
inquiry
models. In such a case, activities involving all nine intelligences may be presented as
options for the class,
s, but each learner participates in only one or two of the tasks.
Verbal/Linguistic Intelligence. The timeline and map assignments are learner-centered

learner
activities that are designed to enhance learners’ Logical/Mathematical Intelligence, but
they also delvee into Visual/Spatial Intelligence.
Learners must collect and organize information for both the timeline and the map
therefore using their Logical/Mathematical intelligence.
In creating these items, learners must think visually as well. By incorporating dance into
one lesson, Ms. Cunningham is able to promote awareness of her learners’ Bodily-
Bodily
Kinesthetic intelligence.
By showing videos of popular dances from the time period, or inviting an expert from the
community to talk about the social aspects of dan
dance,
ce, Ms. Cunningham might incorporate a
teacher-centered
centered activity. Having learners learn and perform dances is a learner-centered
learner
way of teaching through BodilyKinesthetic intelligence.
The short plays that learners prepare involve Bodily

Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence,
ligence, as well as
Interpersonal and Verbal/Linguistic intelligences.
Class discussions provide an opportunity for learners to exercise both areas of their
personal intelligences, as well as to reinforce the subject matter.
Planning and Implementing Learner-Centered

Centered Lessons
This type of lesson revolves around learner created materials. The types of activities and
assignments that support learner
learner-centered
centered lessons can be easily designed in concert with
many of the inquiry-based
based models discussed in the text of this book.
One of the most important aspects of learner

learner-centered
centered lessons is allowing learners to make
choices. Teachers should encourage learners to exercise their weaker intelligences, but
allow them to explore their stronger areas as well.
For instance, the teacher can motivate the learners to actively participate in other projects
that are not talented in or has no interest.
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Listed below are steps to implement a learner

learner-centered
centered lesson or unit:
uctional outcomes.
 Carefully identify instructional goals, objectives, and instructional
 Consider activities that you can integrate into the lesson or unit that teach to the different
intelligences. Teachers need not incorporate all nine intelligences into one lesson.
 When gathering resources and mater ose which will allow learners to
materials, consider those
explore their multiple intelligences.
 Specify a timeframe for the lesson or unit.
 Allow for considerable element of learner choice when designing activities and tasks for the
intelligences
 Design activities that aree learner
learner-centered, using inquiry-basedbased models of instruction.
 Provide a rubric for learner activities. You might consider having learners help create rubrics.
 Incorporate assessment into the learning process.
Planning and Implementing a TeaTeacher-Centered

Centered Lesson Structured, teacher-centered
teacher
activities provide an opportunity for teachers to introduce material and establish prior
knowledge and learner conceptions.
Teachers may lecture learners, show informational videos and posters, perform drills,
dri pose
problem-solving
solving exercises, arrange museum visits, and plan outings to concerts. There are
all examples of teacher-centered
centered activities.
All of these activities integrate the Multiple Intelligences into the subject matter being
taught.
Teacher-centered
entered lessons should be limited to a few activities that provide a foundation for
learners to later complete more exploratory tasks in which they can demonstrate
understanding of the material. A teacher may choose to start an instructional unit or lesson
with teacher centered activities and then follow up with subsequent learner
learner--centered
lessons.
Teachers may follow these steps when designing and implementing a teacher-centered
teacher
lesson:
 Identify instructional goals and objectives

 Consider teacher-centereded acti vities that teach to learners’ Multiple Intelligences. In a
activities
teacher centered lesson, limit the number of activities to two or three.
 Consider what resources and materials you will need to implement the lesson. For example, will
you need to schedule a mus eum visit or to consult the Media Specialist for videos or
museum
other media?
 Specify a timeframe for the lesson or unit.
 Provide an opportunity for reflection by learners
 Provide a rubric to scaffold learner activities
 Integrate assessment into the learning
arning process Assessment is one of the biggest
challenges in incorporating Multiple Intelligences in the classroom. The teacher can
provide small projects upon which performance is assessed through a portfolio that
represents their work on these projects
projects.
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It is very important for assessment to be integrated into the learning process.

Assessment should give learners the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding
of the subject matter.
One of the main goals of acknowledging and using Multiple Intelli

Intelligences
gences in the classroom is
to increase learners understanding of material by allowing them to demonstrate the ways
in which they understand the material. Teachers need to make their expectations clear, and
may do so in the form of a detailed assessment rub
rubric.
Benefits of Multiple Intelligence Theory

Using Multiple Intelligences theory in the classroom has many benefits:
• As a teacher and learner you realize that there are many ways to be “smart”
• All forms of intelligence are equally celebrated.
• By having learners create work that is displayed to parents and other members of the
community, your school could see more parent and community involvement.
• A sense of increased self-worth
worth may be seen as learners build on their strengths and work
towards becoming an expert in certain areas
• Learners may develop strong problem solving skills that they can use real life situations
Curriculum Differentiation
The Concept of Curriculum Differentiation
It is the process of modifying or adapting the curriculum according to the different ability
levels of the learners in the classroom.
It is a strategy that teachers can use with a view to providing meaningful learning
experiences for all learners. Differe
Differentiation
ntiation takes account of learner differences and
matches curriculum content and teaching and assessment methods to learning styles and
learner needs and characteristics.
It may focus on input, task, outcome, output, response, resources or support.
Ways in Which Curriculum Can Be Modified to Suit Diverse

Learners in an Inclusive Setting
The educators need to modify the curriculum in order to suit the learners in an inclusive
setting. This can be achieved by removing curriculum barriers and presenting educational
ed
goals in interesting ways to engage all learners and serve all learners equitably.
Below are four important strategies to consider when designing an inclusive classroom and
curriculum.
1. Use universal design principles to create accessible cla

classrooms
ssrooms.
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Educators
ducators should endeavor to offer every learner an equal opportunity to learn, based on
the idea that every person has their own unique and individual learning style.
This can be based on three main principles:
 Representation
ation (the what of lear
learning)
 Action and Expression
xpression (the how of learning)
 Engagement (the why of learning)
2. Use a variety of instructional formats

formats.
The first principle of universal design theory is the “what” of learning. It says to use
“multiple means of representation.” While some learners are visual learners, others may
grasp information better when it is presented through text or when it is spoken
spoke orally or
taught through kinesthetic learning.
Some learners do best with a combination of the above. While these differentiated teaching
methods may support the needs of learners with disabilities, they also offer diversity of
instruction to the entire classroom, giving each and every learner an opportunity to learn in
the way they do best.
Similarly, using different mediums to present information and engage learners is

important in inclusive classrooms. Remember that principle two of universal design theory
calls for utilizing “multiple means of action and expression.” Some learners may find that
their best outlet and means of expression comes through writing, while others may prefer to
give an oral presentation, act out a play or create a piece of art
art.
Each learner is different and should be given the opportunity to express their knowledge
through the methods that work best for them.
Additionally, teachers can use a diversity of materials and mediums to engage learners.
Examples of mediums could incl
include
ude theater, art, video and computer software in addition to
the traditional mediums of lecture and text.
Through using varied teaching techniques and mediums, teachers can increase the
engagement of their entire class, not just the learners who respond to a particular style of
learning and expression.
3. Know your learners’ IEPs (Individualized Educational Programme)

To create an equitable learning environment for everyone, it is important to familiarize
yourself with learners IEP plan. The teacher can work with the school counselor or teaching
specialists to better understand the learner’s specific needs.
Much like the concept of inclusive learning, IEP are designed to ensure that learners with
disabilities are allowed to learn in a regular classroom environment, while still being
provided with services, educational aids or accommodations they may require.
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4. Develop a behavior management plan

Disruptive classroom behavior can affect not just the teacher, but the other learners in the
classroom as well. Developing a behavior management plan can help you prepare for the
inevitable moment a learner or lear
learners exhibit disruptive behaviors — with the
understanding that some behaviors are of much less consequence than others (talking out
of turn vs. being defiant or aggressive).
The behavior plan should be shared with parents and learners, so that everyone is i aware of
the expectations and consequences should those expectations not be met. The most effective
plans typically involve a great deal of positive reinforcement and a clear understanding of
the expectations. There are several different types of behavio
behaviour
ur management plan the
teacher can implement depending on the needs of your classroom, including a whole group
plan, a small group plan, an individual plan or an individual plan designed for particularly
challenging learners.
An Individualized Education Plan for Learners with Specific Needs to

Their Learning in an Inclusive Setting
Learners with delayed skills or other disabilities might be eligible for special services that
provide individualized education programs (IEPs) in public schools, free of charge
cha to
families.
Understanding your role in educating a learner with an IEP will benefit both the teacher
and the learner.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004) makes teachers of learners
with special needs responsible for planning, implementing, and monitoring educational
plans to help the learners succeed in school.
The IEP describes the goals set for the learners for the school year, and any special support
the learners need to help them reach those goals. The IDEA requires state
statess to provide
public education for learners with disabilities ages 3 to 21, no matter how severe the
disabilities.
Who needs an IEP?

Learners struggling in school may qualify for support services, allowing them to be taught
in a special way, for reasons such
uch as:
 learning disabilities
 attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD)
 emotional disorders
 cognitive challenges
 autism
 hearing impairment
 visual impairment
 speech or language impairment
 developmental delay
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 physical disabilities
Signs that a learner may have a learning

disability include:
 getting poor grades despiteite significant effort
 needing continual, step-by--step guidance for tasks
 not being able to remember problem
problem-solving
solving steps because he or she does not understand the
tasks or the logic behind them
 having poor memory of spoken or written material
ing difficulty mastering tasks or transferring academic skills to other tasks
 having
 not being able to remember skills and facts over time
 having strong general knowledge, but not being able to read (dyslexia), write (dysgraphia), or do
math (dyscalculia) at that level
 having difficulty with communication and language processing, as well as expressive and
receptive language
 being extremely frustrated
ustrated with school and homework
How Are the Services Delivered?

In most cases, the services outlined in an IEP can be provided in regular education
classrooms. In other cases, IEP services might be delivered in separate resource classrooms
or even separate
rate schools, depending on the learners' needs. Some learners may have an IEP
for one subject area only, while others may have one for all academic subjects in addition to
social skills instruction.
The least restrictive setting for learners with IEPs is a regular education classroom.
Learners with IEPs usually join regular education classes for special subject areas such as
science, social studies, art, music, library, gym, and health. It is critical for regular
classroom teachers to read learners' IEPs a and
nd be familiar with the services and monitoring
that are required in the plan.
The next least restrictive setting is a resource or learning support classroom. In this
setting, groups of learners with similar needs are brought together for small-group
small
instruction.
ruction. A certified special education teacher is the instructor and other school
personnel (aides or support teachers) assist with teaching.
Evaluation and referral

The referral process generally begins when a teacher, parent, or doctor is concerned that
th a
child may be having trouble in the classroom.
The first step is to gather specific data regarding the learner's progress or academic
problems.
This may be done through:
 a conference with parents
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 a conference with the learner

 observations of the learner
rner
 analysis of the learner's performance (a ttention, behavior, work completion, tests,
(attention,
classwork, homework, etc.)
This information helps teachers and school personnel determine the next step. At this
point, strategies specific to the learner could be uused
sed to help the child become more
successful in school prior to any formal testing. If this doesn't work, the child would be
tested for a specific learning disability or other impairment to help determine qualification
for special services.
It's importantt to note, though, that the presence of a disability doesn't automatically
guarantee a child will receive services. To be eligible, the disability must affect functioning
at school.
To determine eligibility, a multidisciplinary team of professionals will evaluate the child

based on their observations, the child's performance on standardized tests, and daily work
such as tests, quizzes, classwork, and homework.
Who is on the team?

The professionals on the evaluation team can include:
• classroom teachers
• a psychologist
• a physical therapist
• an occupational therapist
• a speech therapist
• a special educator
• a vision or hearing specialist
• others, depending on the child's specific needs
After it is determined that further testing is necessary, parents will be asked to sign a
permission form that will detail who is involved in the process and the types of tests they
use.
These tests might include measures of specific school skills, such a

ass reading or math, as
well as more general developmental skills, such as speech and language. Testing does not
necessarily mean that a child will receive services.
Once the team members complete their individual assessments, they develop a
comprehensive evaluation
valuation report (CER) that compiles their findings, offers an educational
classification, and outlines the skills and support the child will need.
The parents then have a chance to review the report before the IEP is developed. If parents
disagree with the
he report, they will have the opportunity to work together with the school to
come up with a plan that best meets the child's needs.
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Developing an IEP
The next step is an IEP meeting, during which the team and parents decide what will go
into the plan. Also,
lso, a regular classroom teacher should attend to offer suggestions about
how the plan can help the child's progress in the standard education curriculum and how it
can be used in a regular classroom setting, if that's appropriate.
At the meeting, the team

m will discuss a learner's educational needs and come up with
specific, measurable short-term
term and annual goals for each of those needs.
The cover page of the IEP outlines the related services and supports learners will receive
and how often they will be provided.
rovided.
These can include many different things; for example,
 transportation;
 speech-language
language pathology and audiology services;
 psychological services;
 physical and occupational therapy;
 recreation, including therapeutic recreation;
 social work services;
 medical services (for diagnostic and evaluation purposes only).
If the team recommends several services, the amount of time they take in the child's school
schedule can seem overwhelming. To ease that load, some services may be provided on a
consultative basis. In these cases, the professional consults with the teacher to come up
with strategies to help the child but doesn't offer any hands
hands-on instruction.
For instance, an occupational therapist may suggest accommodations for a child with fine-
fin
motor problems that affect handwriting, and the classroom teacher would incorporate these
suggestions into the handwriting lessons taught to the entire class.
Other services can be delivered right in the classroom, so the child's day isn't interrupted by
b
therapy. The child who has difficulty with handwriting might work one one-on-one
one with an
occupational therapist while everyone else practices their handwriting skills. When
deciding how and where services are offered, the child's comfort and dignity should be b a top
priority.
If a child has academic needs and is working below grade level, services may be offered
outside the regular education classroom, with learners getting small
small-group
group instruction in a
particular subject area (usually language arts or math) b
byy a special education teacher with
other learners who have similar needs.
The IEP should be reviewed annually to update the goals and ensure the levels of service
meet the learner's needs. During the school year, progress monitoring will be done often to
make sure the learner is achieving goals set in the IEP. IEPs can be changed at any time on
an as-needed basis.
Specific timelines ensure that the development of an IEP moves from referral to providing
services as quickly as possible. Be sure to ask about this timeframe and stay informed.
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If parents disagree with any part of the IEP, mediation and hearings are options.
It is important for teachers to understand the IEP process and their role in delivering
instruction to learners who have an IEP. Any ques
questions
tions related to an IEP can be directed to
the team or the case manager assigned to a learner.
Learning Strategies That Suit Diverse Learners in an Inclusive

Setting
Learners with special and exceptional needs are placed in inclusive learning environments
environment
more frequently than in the past. For general educators with a limited special education
background, this can often be anxiety provoking and stressful. Teachers should provide the
best instruction and education for their learners. They should ensure that all learners have
the necessary resources in order to be successful.
The strategies to be adopted by the teacher in an inclusive

setting include:
1. Get to know the learner’s IEP
The teacher should know the information on the learner’s IEP. This will enable the teacher
to understand the kind of services the learner need. This enable the teacher to
accommodate and modify the classroom setting to suit the needs of the learner.
2. Implement universal design for learning(UDL)

It’s an approach to curriculum
um planning and mapping that makes learning engaging and
accessible to a wider range of learners with different strengths and needs. UDL builds on
Howard Gardener’s of multiple intelligences in that it calls for teaching to utilize multiple
modalities, and for learners to respond to learning with a variety of assessment tools.
Educators that recognize the importance of UDL realize that we all learn and express
ourselves in different ways, and that in order to assess skills we need to be allowed to use
our strengths, while practicing our areas of need at the same time.
3. Support important life skills

This can be achieved by providing more tasks that are performed by more severely disabled
learners, many of whom are not in a general education environmen
environment.
t. Such learners may
lack necessary skills they need in order to be a productive and contributing member of
society.
Many general education mainstream learners cannot perform the following simple tasks:
 nalog clock
telling time from an analog
 writing a simple letter
 signing their name in cursive
 note taking and study skills
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4. Engage in collaboration planning and teaching

No classroom is an island, especially an inclusive classroom. The teacher open the room for
the service providers, paraprofessionals, spec
special
ial education teachers, and parents who give
valuable opportunities to participate in collaborative teaching. Collaborative teaching looks
differently depending on what school, level, and setting.
5. Develop a strong behavior management plan

Having a successful inclusive classroom depends upon having control of an inclusive
classroom. It is essential to have clearly communicated expectations and goals, that are
accessible to all learners. The classroom environment should be tailored to better suit
diverse learners’ needs. With learners’ and specialists’ input, the teacher should create a
checklist or action plan for learners.
Some specific behavior management strategies that support effective

instruction are:
 Posting daily schedules
 Displaying classroom rules and expectations
 Encouraging peer to peer instruction and leadership
 Using signals to quiet down, start working, and putting away materials.
 Giving learners folders, labels and containers to organize sup
supplies.
 Checking in with learners while they work
 Utilizing proactive rather than reactive interventions as needed
 Speaking to learners privately about any concerns
 behaviora or
Employing specific, targeted positive reinforcement when a learner meets a behavioral
academic goal.
Designing Learning
earning Resources for Diverse Learners in
an Inclusive Setting
The teacher should design appropriate resources for their learners in an inclusive
environment. This may include the teaching learning materials or text books. The designed
resources should enable
able the learners to improve in their skills and knowledge on what is
being taught.
The design of appropriate resources promotes academic success amongst learners.
It results to the following characteristics in learners:
 Learners are educated whenever a appropriate

ppropriate in the general education classroom with
teachers skilled in the content taught.
 Access and opportunities to progress in the general education curriculum is greatly facilitated
through inclusive practices.
 Highh expectations for all learners are tthe norm.
 Instruction is differentiated to engage learners on the basis of the skill sets, interests, and
learning styles.
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 Teachers use flexible grouping that includes varied small group instruction, large group, and
paired instruction.
 Learners are activelyy engaged in instruction and in their own learning.
 Instructional accommodations and scaffolding are used to increase access to learning and
academic success.
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Chapter 4
Barriers to Inclusive Education
Introduction
The educators need to be sensitive on the various ba
barriers
rriers to inclusive education. They
T may
be physical, economic, social
ocial or cultural. The teachers should do everything to alleviate
these barriers.
The following aspects need to be looked into:
1. Teachers and pupils’ attitude – teachers and pupils in these schools need to
be encouraged to promote a positive attitude ttowards
owards those children with special needs in an
inclusive setting.
2. Inadequate trained teachers – majority of the teachers need to be trained

in special needs. Teachers should be exposed to the skills like the use of sign language and
braille so as to help the hearing impaired and visually impaired learners.
3. Availability of adapted environment

environment- the school and class environment in
those schools need to be adapted to suit the various needs of the learners.
4. Availability of appropriate resources and other

teaching/learning materials
materials- the schools should possess teaching/learning
materials and other resources to cater for various needs of the learners. However, financial
assistance is very crucial to enable the schools maintain their resources and acquire as need
arises.
5. Availability of Support Services – all schools in Kenya need to provide

support
port services to children with special needs.
6. Community involvement – the community should be involved in inclusive

activities, more encouragement and continued sensitization is needed to maintain their
spirit.
7. Flexible Curriculum – the schools should hould use adapted curriculum for learners
with special needs. Other adaptations on teaching/learning activities should be done where
necessary to suit such learners.
The Contributing Factors to Inclusive Education

Among the key ones include:
i. Sensitization is a strong factor in inclusion. Mass sensitization on disability issues need to be
done to the teachers, pupils and the community in general. Through sensitization, the members
Willy yegon –(0721775920) 122

will come to understand better the causes of various disabili es, means of prevention where
disabilities,
they could and how to care for the learners living with disabilities.
ii. The community which had earlier been compounded with fears and negative cultural beliefs
need to transform their fears into hopes and willingness to pa ipate in inclusive
participate
activities. They should discard their negative cultural beliefs.
iii. The government should reach out to the educationists and other stakeholders in education
through creating awareness, implementation of inclusive education.
What Need to Bee Done by The Educationists and Other

Stakeholders to Promote Inclusive Education
i. Sensitization to be done in other areas of school fraternity.
ii. The government should ensure that more teachers are trained in special needs
education (SNE) more specifically the head teachers.
iii. The ministry should assist the schools to acquire appropriate resources and other
teaching and learning materials through fu funding.
iv. The ministry of education should establish the attitude of teachers towards inclusion
in regular schools. This will enable them to plan for sensitization in preparation for
implementation of inclusion in a wider scale.
v. Regular schools be made babarrier free to enhance access.
vi. Implement the recently approved SNE policy guidelines.
Task
a) Evaluate the physical barriers that may impede effective implementation of inclusion
education in a learning setting.
b) Explore ways of alleviating physical barriers in a learning setting to support inclusion of

all learners.
c) Explore ways of engaging parents and the society to alleviate physical barriers that may
impede participation of all learners in the learning process.
d) Evaluate the social economic and cultural barriers that may impede effective inclusion of
learners.
e) Explore ways of alleviating social economic and cultural barriers in a learning setting to
support inclusion.
Willy yegon –(0721775920) 123

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Borabu teachers training college

DIPLOMA IN PRIMARY TEACHER EDUCATION

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Article 9: Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion .............................................29

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Educational implication of physical disabilities ................................................................

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Problems Resulting from Child Labour ................................................................

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4. Develop a behavior management plan ................................................................

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The current framework has set the following strategies to

Expanding KISE programs to offer continuous professional teacher development on special

Strengthening the capacity

Inclusive education is being viewed as beneficial in the sense that, if it is carefully

All learners would be able to share the already available resources.

The Concept of Inclusive Education

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disabilities can learn alongside each other. Fredrick Haga had

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Terms Used in Inclusive Education

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A handicap is a problem that a person with a disability or iimpairment

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• Access to consumer services eg electricity, clean water

• Recreational and social activities

• Decision making processs Decision making process

• Community and domestic activitie

INCLUSION IS ABOUT THE FOLLOWING

• Benefiting all learners with special needs and disabilities.

• Providing equal access to education of all children.

• Learners who risk marginalization, exclusion and /or underachievement.

• Improving learning environment and providing opportunities for all children.

11. Inclusive education

11. Inclusive enviroment

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 Learners’ Diversity ……. This term refers to the variations of

There are three main forms of integration.

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Importance of Studying Inclusive Education as A

 It increases community awareness of special need education and eliminate the

 addresses the needs of all learners wiwith

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Benefits of INE to Students

regular learners include:

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o improvement in self concept

parents confirmed improved outcomes ffor their children without disabilities

Benefits of INE to teachers

Characteristics of Inclusive Education as an Approach

What Should Be Done to Achieve Inclusive Education

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N/B Teachers should provide differentiated instruction by acknowledging that

Inclusion does not mean…

ii. Reducing services or funding for special education services.

iv. Teachers spending a disproportionate amount of time teaching or adapting the