Teachers’ Attitudes as a Factor in the Realization Inclusive Education Practice in Primary Schools in Nyeri Central District

Abstract

In spite of the enormous efforts put forth by families, special educators, and mental health professionals, the individual with a learning disability has one final challenge to meet in life: social acceptance (Frengut, 2003). Today, a child with disability must be capable of gaining acceptance into a societal structure that can be cruel and rejecting at times. By definition, the person with disability already feels marginalized from mainstream society, and entry into the world community places a tremendous burden on their shoulders. As was the case in the United States before the enactment of the Education for all Handicapped Children Act (1975), (Ryndak & Alper, 1996), it is very likely that majority of children with disabilities do not receive any educational services in Kenya. These are the children and youth most likely to be denied access to the schools as they are deemed unlikely to benefit from any education or be hidden away by their parents (Dorothy, 2003). Even though parents may recognize education as a right for every child and rise above society’s negative attitudes, they cannot require that schools open their gates to all children. Schools can still decide that some children are ‘uneducable’ and therefore do not belong in the school environment. There are bound to be challenges that schools face in the effort to fully embrace the notion of inclusive education.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n5p117