CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Introduction

Special education is the education for children with special educational needs. The provision of this special needs education can be through regular schools in what is known as inclusive education or in special classes in regular schools also known as mainstreaming.

Mainstreaming is the process of teaching learners with special needs in a circular classroom setting for educational purposes. Inclusive education on the other hand is a process of enabling all children to learn and participate effectively within the school systems. It does not segregate children who have different abilities or needs.

In Cameroon, the movement towards inclusion or inclusive education continues on the assumption that teachers are willing to admit students within the regular classroom setting and be responsible for meeting their needs. However, negative perceptions and misconceptions have begun to be reflected in researches conducted in some schools and it was found out that most teachers’ reject the admission of students with disabilities or special needs in their schools and this rejection is stronger with those children with severe disabilities. On the other hand, a growing body of researchers is claiming that perceptions of teachers are gradually improving in a positive direction in an inclusive educational setting.

Background Of The Study

A teacher is a facilitator who transmits knowledge to a learner.

Perception: it is the view you have over something that is the way you see or look at that thing

Inclusion: Inclusion is the process of teaching children with special needs.

Underlying the process of inclusion is the assumption that the general classroom teacher has certain knowledge and understanding about the needs of different learners, teaching techniques, and curriculum strategies. Florian and Rouse (2009) state: ‘The task of initial teacher education is to prepare people to enter a profession which accepts individual and Collective responsibility for improving the learning and participation of all children’.Savolainen (2009) notes that teachers play an essential role in quality education and quotes McKinsey and Company who say: ‘the quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers’. Studies;

Bailleul (2008), says that the quality of the teacher contributes more to learner achievement than any other factor, including class size, class composition, or background. The need for ‘high quality’ teachers equipped to meet the needs of all learners becomes evident to provide not only equal opportunities for all but also education for an inclusive society.

Reynolds (2009) says that it is the knowledge, beliefs and values of the teacher that are brought to bear in creating an effective learning environment for pupils, making the teacher a critical influence in education for inclusion and the development of the inclusive school..Cardona (2009) notes that concentration on initial teacher education would seem to provide the best means to create a new generation of teachers who will ensure the successful implementation of inclusive policies and practices.

The OECD Report ‘Teachers Matter’ recognizes that the demands on schools and teachers are becoming more complex as a society now expects schools to deal effectively with different languages and student backgrounds, to be sensitive to culture and gender issues, to promote tolerance and social cohesion, to respond effectively to disadvantaged students and students with learning or behavioral problems, to use new technologies, and to keep pace with rapidly developing fields of knowledge and approaches to student assessment.

Teachers, therefore, need confidence in their ability and the knowledge and skills in inclusive education to meet the challenges that they will encounter in the present school climate. (Carroll, 2003) This review sets out to provide an overview of literature that will inform further work on the Agency Teacher Education for Inclusion project, with a focus on initial teacher education for mainstream teachers.

Statement of the Problem

During my practicum I and II, in some schools around the southwest region, I realize that the number of disabled children in this institution is very few and even there in those institutions they are not included in the school curriculum until I even thought that the disabled persons around the region are not obliged to go to school or is it poverty of the parents of these persons, this study is to find out why children with disabilities do not attend full-time service regular schools with homogenous children’s under the supervision of a regular teacher around the southwest region.

Objectives Of The Study

General Objective

To find out how regular teacher’s perceptions towards inclusive education affect the teaching and learning process in regular schools in the Buea municipality.

Specific Objectives

1. To determine the difference between male and female elementary school teacher’s perception towards inclusive education, In regular primary schools in the Buea municipality.
2. To identify the difference between government and private primary school teacher’s perceptions towards inclusive education in regular primary schools in the Buea municipality.
3. To access the difference between trained (special educators) and untrained teachers’ perception towards inclusive education in regular primary schools in the Buea municipality.