Towards the Effectiveness of Inclusive Education in Ghana

Abstract

The study sought to assess the effectiveness of inclusive education in Ghana through equitable educational opportunities by integrating all children with non-severe special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream school from the perspectives of teachers or educators. The qualitative approach with emphasis on interviews and observation means of data collection and analyzed was employed. The population of the study was limited to only staff of the New Horizon Special school who were used as study respondents. The purposive sampling was used to select five (5) special school teachers from the New Horizon International School in Accra, Ghana. Data were collected using an in-depth interview for both the key informants. It was analyzed using descriptive and interpretive tools. The study revealed that teachers have general understanding of inclusive education and most of them seemed to understand inclusive education. To the teachers, inclusive education is the right of all children to basic education irrespective of their physical disability. On the curriculum, the study found that teachers concern relate to the unsuitability of the curriculum to the standard of the children. In most cases, teachers find it difficult to use the current curriculum as it is either above or below the capabilities of the children. The study revealed that in New Horizon School, the teachers used child friendly standard methodologies as teacher’s exhibit participatory teaching practices and care for their children were vital to ensuring literacy attainment and child participation in the classroom. Certain challenges as the study revealed including non-adapted curriculum, irrelevant assessment, lack of teachers, limited appropriate teaching materials, stigmatization from the society, poor remuneration for teachers, poor parental attitudes towards their wards and lack of community support impede the attainment of inclusive education in the country. To make special education curriculum relevant, the study strongly recommends to the Ministry of Education to review the curriculum to make it appropriate for teachers in school curriculum/flexible school curriculum to facilitate adaptation. Going further the study recommend the scaling up of special education in all Colleges of Education for trainee teachers to have find hand skills in children with such special needs. The development of teachers through in-service training programs to equip them with current and relevant methodologies and pedagogies that are child friendly.