Capacity Building and Human Resources Development Objective:

‘To facilitate provision of effective and efficient professional and support services to learners with special needs and disabilities in institutions of learning/training.’

The MoE acknowledges that there is a shortage of specialist SNE teachers and other personnel such as: ‘…teacher-support, house mothers and fathers, sign language interpreters, physiotherapists and readers’ (MoE, 2009 p29).

Moreover, the ADEA (2012) (MoE, 2009; MoEST, 2005; KESSP, 2005) state that many teachers lack the capacity to handle children with special needs; there is lack of co-ordination among service providers, inappropriate placement of children with disabilities, inadequate and expensive teaching and learning materials and inadequate supervision and monitoring of special education programmes. Moreover, little is known of the ways in which teachers view SEN and how they plan curriculum experiences for children with learning difficulties. Teachers should be considered to be important in ensuring quality and relevant education.

The above objective does not statewhat is effective and efficient professional support services and for which category of disability. Capacity Building and Human Resources Development may not only include and relate to professional and support services as indicated. The situation seems to suggest key changes in the education of special education as marked by the different national and international agreements and documents the Kenyan government has signed and shown commitment to, which also imply major reforms. The question is what needs to be changed and what can the government afford to ensure sustainability of SNE practices. This may call for, among other aspects: evaluation of the education system (Daniels, 2010), construction of standards (Erickson, 1998; accountability and assessment of standards (King and Newmann, 2001; Erickson, 1998; Newmann King and Rigdon 1997). Additional strategies for school improvement may also include: curriculum development, organizational restructuring and professional development for teachers as emphasized by (Hardman, McDonnell and Welsh, 1998; Newmann, King and Rigdon (1997).

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However, it is the participation of every teacher in identifying and taking stock of barriers and challenges to learning in collaboration with other stakeholders that is likely to lead to the identification of a common ground which may contribute to working towards a common direction. Since teachers are in more direct and sustained contact with students and control what is taught (Hardman, McDonnell and Welsh, 1998) within a specific environment, it is important that they are involved in establishing new and better ways of increasing students’ learning and establishing high standards (King and Newmann, 2001; Massell, 2000).

The Kenya SNE Policy also mentions the Resource teacher (p5) without the corresponding role of the resource room. In order to gain insight into how teachers view SEN in public primary schools it was critical for the researcher to explore what happens between the teacher and the pupils in the day-to-day classroom and what SNE policies the government espouses.

In 2003 there were 4,225 SEN teachers and the population of children said to have SEN was estimated at 1.8m. Applying the 10% prevalence rate would imply that the Teacher pupil teacher ratio (TPR) would be 1:422. Such a high TPR is contrary to the already mentioned government’s acceptable level which is 1:40. However, the TPR for SNE was not provided but the goal is to have one teacher in each school. It appears that TPR has continued to rise and there were only 20% of teachers in the special needs education programme.

(http://www.Kenyadeafnet.ort/content/view/79/138).

On the other hand, the Teachers’ Service Commission (TSC) endorses that the number of teachers falls short by 70,420. The Kenyan government restricted the number of teachers to 235,000 following the World Bank SAP in the 1990s. The restriction was lifted in 2007 (KESSP, 2009; MoE, 2007). Special programmes or special schools are still far from adequate in the provision of education and training for this target (MoEST, 2005 p50). However, the Kenyan government set up measures to improve access, quality and relevant education through an

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education investment programme strategy for five years (ADEA, 2012; KESSP, 2005) for, among other things:

 In-service teacher training from regular and special schools  Training assessment for teachers

 Developing flexible curriculum to cater for special needs  Sign language.

 Developing modules for teacher training colleges.

However, a Basic Education Sector Analysis Report prepared by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA, 2012) for 13 sub-Saharan countries including Kenya analysed existing education documents, international documents on education, conducted field surveys for government agencies, international partners and organisations and visited schools. This report pointed out that the lecturers in the pre-service and in-service training lack capacity, a comprehensive framework and insufficient coordination. In-service courses were infrequent and courses not well prepared (Kenya Institute of Education (KIE, 2011a), where training is expensive with incompetent resource persons and all the diverse needs of the teachers were not addressed (MOE, 2009a). This raises the question of whether or not teachers are involved in the education reforms and work together to determine key factors that affect student achievement and address barriers to learning in collaboration with other stakeholders (Daniels, et al., 2012). The KIE has been cited in different places in this policy as the sole body dealing with the curriculum. It is important to improve teachers’ knowledge and skills but it is equally important to ensure that best practices are established. The purpose of this study is to try to understand what SNE training is accessible to the teachers as well as understand how teachers meet the needs of children said to have SEN. Furthermore, the Kenya SNE Policy gave the insufficient number of teachers as the major limitation affecting capacity building (MoE, 2009, p29). However Glennerster et al (2010) pronounced that there was inadequate money to employ teachers graduating from the national system of teacher-training colleges.

Education International (2007) reported that the TSC pays some teachers a special allowance which ADEA (2012) declared as 10% of the basic pay to some SNE

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teachers (the number of teachers was not given). Despite there being teachers from three universities graduating with a degree certificate, the policy states that: ‘SNE teachers do not have established promotional structure or scheme of service and this could be the reason given for them to opt out of the service after training’ (Kenya SNE Policy, MoE, 2009, p29).

Evidence from different researchers seems to highlight the nature of classroom practices in primary schools, for example, Pontefract and Hardman (2005) asserted that whole-class teaching is prevalent; while Ackers et al (2009) noted repetition and choral answers as some of the teaching approaches. However, child-centred strategies are well known to meet the unique individual needs of children said to have SEN. Hence, one of the aims in this study is to establish h what strategies teachers use to meet the needs of children said to have SEN. (Berkhout and Wielemans, 1999). Teachers’ applied

‘…ability to influence education policy is equally restricted by their limited access to resources, their exclusion rendering them ‘voiceless’ (Berkhout and Wielemans, 1999, p408).

It is envisaged that the participants in this present study will give a ‘voice’ to the teachers and provide needed information on the training required to support the government’s aspirations for SNE. Since the government spends a large proportion of the government budget on teachers’ salaries, it would be sensible to retain them in the profession. Consequently, there is a general agreement that motivation is one of the key elements associated with quality education, yet research evidence on the aspect of understanding teachers’ ability to do their job effectively is normally neglected (Watkins, 2000). Similarly, the social context of teachers, their attitudes and their working conditions are complex, interrelated and need to be understood. There is no clear picture of what motivates or what de- motivates teachers or teachers’ job satisfaction in developing countries (VSO, 2002). This study forms a basis on which this may be researched.

The Human Resource Development issue in schools among other aspects may determine how teachers view schools and education, find their work meaningful, relate and interrelate and work together to achieve specific outcomes. This aspect is not adequately covered under this policy. Hence the aim of this study is to

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explore how teachers view SNE. On the whole, it is vital that teachers demonstrate ways to facilitate collaborative and trusting relationships with other teachers (Daniels, 2010) parents, and professionals to advance their teaching skills and provide different forums and networks for them to consider key factors that affect student achievement within a given environment. McGregor (2003) asserts that relationships in schools are dynamic with interconnecting networks of practice which extend beyond what is variably conceded as the institution.

The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and MoEST (2004) affirmed that Kenya has been ‘exporting teachers to neighbouring countries such as Sudan, Rwanda and Seychelles’ (Education International, 2007, p38). The aspects affirmed by JICA (2012), (World Bank, 2011; MOE, 2009; KNUT and MoEST, 2004) above cast doubts on how the Ministry of Education demonstrates attention to the human resource issue. Some of the issues also tend to have an implication on the risk of financial management of the government (JICA, 2012, World Bank, 2011), a scope that is beyond this study but which affects the entire ‘topography’ of the teachers’ world in different ways.

3.2.11 Participation and Involvement