Factors against Effective Implementation of Inclusive Education in Tertiary Institutions in Imo State: A Case Study of Alvan Ikoku Federal University of Education, Owerri
Keywords:
Inclusive Education, Special Needs Students, Implementation, Tertiary InstitutionAbstract
The study examined the factors against the effective implementation of inclusive education among tertiary institutions in Imo State. The design was a case-control study of all academic staff in the Faculty of General Education, Alvan Ikoku Federal University of Education, Owerri. Out of 400 staff members, 300 were randomly selected from every Department in the Faculty and used as the sample of the study. Two researcher-constructed questionnaires titled: Students Perception on the Factors against Effective Implementation of Inclusive Education Questionnaire (SPFMEIIEQ) and Lecturers’ Perception on the Factors against Effective Implementation of Inclusive Education Questionnaire (LPFMEIIEQ) were used for data collection. The instrument is segmented into two sections, A and B. Section A consists of demographic data, while Section B consists of 18 affective items arranged in line with the research questions. The questionnaire was a 4-Point Likert Rating with Strongly Agree (SA) 4 points, Agree (A) 3 points, Strongly Disagree (SD) 4 points, and Disagree (D) 1 point. The criterion mean value was 3.00. The face and construct validity of the instrument were duly ascertained. The reliability of the instruments was obtained as 0.67 and 0.76 using Cronbach’s Alpha. The data were analysed using the mean statistical tool and standard deviation. The findings include the inability of special needs students to access the classroom and other significant places in the university, which was an infrastructural factor mitigating against the effective implementation of inclusive education in the university. The study recommends, among others, that the various school management and the government must take drastic measures to ensure that the mainstream classrooms are made accessible to special needs students; the stakeholders of inclusive education in Nigeria should ensure that an adequate number of shadow teachers are employed in schools if the objectives of that programme are to be achieved.
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