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Psychosocial Functioning in Children with Dyslexia: Perspectives from Parents, Counsellors and Teachers

BAJAJ, Deepali
BHATIA, Sangeeta
2020

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Purpose: The study aimed to understand the issues and challenges encountered by various stakeholders (teachers, parents and counsellors) working with children with dyslexia in the inclusive school context.

 

Method: Using purposive and snowball sampling, 20 teachers, 20 counsellors and 20 parents (mothers) of children with specific learning disability (dyslexia) were selected from 8 inclusive schools in Delhi. A qualitative approach was adopted, with a semi-structured interview schedule to elicit responses. Qualitative thematic analysis was used as a framework for data analysis.

 

Results: Parents experienced negative feelings due to lack of awareness and acceptance of dyslexia. Counsellers felt parental ignorance led to delay in assessment and remediation. Parents and counsellors perceived lack of support from schools and lack of empathy among teachers. Teachers confessed they lacked training to deal with dyslexic learners, were unaware of policies and concessions for them, and were currently overburdened with their workload.

 

Conclusion: There is a need to hold psycho-educational workshops for parents in order to increase their awareness, and conduct training workshops (pre-service and in-service) for teachers to increase awareness and build empathy. Schools should provide in-house assistive services such as assessment and remediation, and redefine the goals of education to focus on the holistic skills of children.

Effect of Abacus Training on Numerical Ability of Students with Hearing Loss

JADHAV, Atul Kaluram
GATHOO, Varsha Shrikant
2018

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Purpose: The study focussed on the effect of Abacus training on numerical ability (comprising of counting and mathematical operations) of children with hearing loss.

 

Method: 90 students with hearing loss were sampled from 6 special schools in Mumbai, India. A quasi- experimental study was employed using two group pre-test and post-test design. Data were collected using the Numerical Ability Test (NAT) as an instrument. Six null hypotheses based on the objectives were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance using t-Test - Assuming Equal Variances.

 

Results: The findings revealed that the experimental group which was instructed through Abacus showed higher proficiency in numerical ability as compared to the control group instructed through the conventional method. Gender as a variable seems to influence the mean achievement of numerical ability of students with hearing loss. While girls and boys did not differ in simple tasks such as counting, boys were found to be better in mathematical operations and overall numerical ability.

 

Conclusions: The Abacus teaching method results in higher mathematical achievements among students with hearing loss. Gender also plays an important role in mathematical learning, as evidenced by boys demonstrating more numerical ability than girls in the study sample.

Nigerian Teachers’ Understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Comparative Study of Teachers from Urban and Rural areas of Lagos State

ODUNSI, Remi
PREECE, David
GARNER, Philip
2017

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Purpose: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong developmental disability characterised by difficulties in social interaction and social communication, and restricted and repetitive behaviour (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Despite its prevalence the world over, there is a paucity of research in some areas such as education, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper attempts to address the gap by exploring teachers’ understanding of ASD in Nigeria.

 

Method: Using an adapted version of the Knowledge About Childhood Autism Among Health Workers (KCAHW) questionnaire (Bakare et al, 2008), a survey was conducted among 177 mainstream primary teachers from Lagos State (112 from eleven urban schools and 65 from four rural schools).

 

Results: The total mean score on the Adapted KCAHW questionnaire among all the participating teachers was 10.81 ± 4.13 out of a possible total of 16. The mean score for urban teachers was 11.21 ± 4.31, while the mean score for rural teachers was 10.11 ± 3.75. In total, 46% of the urban teachers and 31% of the rural teachers demonstrated a generally accurate knowledge of ASD, with 15% (23 urban teachers and 4 rural teachers) of the sample answering all questions correctly.  Over 50% of urban teachers and almost 70% of rural teachers surveyed had only a low or moderate understanding of ASD.

 

Conclusions: This research supports previous studies that identified low professional knowledge and understanding of ASD, and a need for improved professional education and training. 

 

Limitations: The focus was on only one state within Nigeria, and only on mainstream primary schools. Further research is necessary across the educational age range as well as different geographical areas in the country.

Teachers’ Perceptions of Disabilities on the Island of Roatán, Honduras

SCHNEIDER, Cornelia
2017

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Purpose: Roatán, a small island in Honduras, is home to six ethnic groups. Due to financial constraints, many children have limited access to schooling. This article is a study on teachers’ perceptions of disabilities and students with disabilities and inclusive education on the island.

 

Method: Twenty seven teachers working in public and private schools, and schools funded by the World Bank, were interviewed in March-April of 2014 in order to explore cultural and social representations of disabilities on the island.

 

Results: The findings show that many of the teachers’ representations can be analysed under the lens of different models of disability - the medical model, the social model, and a religious-moral model. Inclusive education is perceived less as a means of including children with disabilities in the regular classroom, and more as a method of creating institutions to take care of their needs.

 

Conclusion: There is a strong intersection of poverty, post-colonialism and disability which makes working under an inclusive lens very difficult for teachers. The cultural norms influence ideas of normalcy and disabilities, and the blame is on parents for having children with disabilities.

Educational Concerns of Students with Hearing Impairment in Secondary and Higher Secondary Classes in Mumbai, India

AICH, Dipak Kumar
MATHEW, Suni Mariam
2017

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Purpose: Although education, and higher education in particular, is considered a vehicle for empowerment, the enrolment of students with hearing impairment in secondary and higher secondary education is almost negligible in comparison to their hearing peers. This study was conducted in the city of Mumbai, India, with the aim of identifying the educational concerns of students with hearing impairment studying in secondary and higher secondary classes.

 

Method: The survey method was followed. A questionnaire, developed and validated by the researchers, was the study tool. The participants were 152 of the randomly selected 160 students with hearing impairment studying in secondary classes, and 42 of the randomly selected 45 students with hearing impairment studying in higher secondary classes. Percentage scores as part of descriptive statistics were calculated to arrive at the results.

 

Results: Various academic, administrative and personal concerns were identified among these students with hearing impairment in special schools.

 

Conclusions: As the focus of all educational programmes is on creating and promoting barrier-free education, the educational concerns identified in the current study cannot be ignored by schools, families and the community.

Effectiveness of Role Play and Bibliotherapy in Attitude Change of Primary School Pupils towards Learners with Special Needs in Nigeria

NWACHUKWU, Kingsley Ezechinyere
2017

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Purpose: The research addressed two major problems, namely, the persistent negative attitude towards learners with special needs; and the effectiveness of role play and bibliotherapy in changing the attitude of primary school pupils towards their differently-abled fellow students.

 

Method: Two null hypotheses guided the conduct of the study. Albert  Bandura’s Theory of Social Learning (1977) provided the theoretical framework for the study and the Solomon four-group design was followed in practice. The study population consisted of all the Primary Six school pupils in the 502 primary schools in Owerri educational zone. From a total of 76,481 Primary Six pupils, a sample of 80 students from two schools was selected for the study. One instrument - Attitude Towards the Disabled Rating Scale (ATDRS) - and two programmes - Nwachukwu’s Role Play Exercise Programme (NRPEP) and Nwachukwu’s Bibliotherapy Programme (NBP) - were used for the successful implementation of the study, which was validated by experts. The hypotheses were tested using t-test for correlated and independent samples.

 

Results: The findings indicated that the pupils’ attitudes towards learners with special needs in Owerri educational zone improved significantly after they were exposed to the NRPEP and NBP respectively, indicating the effectiveness of the two programmes.

 

Conclusion: Education policy makers, the Ministry of Education and State Universal Basic Education Boards should recommend the use of inclusion books and encourage the practice of role play in schools for the success of inclusive education in Nigeria.

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