DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIAL EDUCATION FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED LEARNERS IN KENYA: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

David Kavinje Chikati, Lydiah Njoki Wachira, Joseph Munyoki Mwinzi

Abstract


History informs the present and helps in prediction of the future. This paper examines the historical development of special education for the Visually Impaired (VI) learners in Kenya with key focus on establishment of the institutions offering special education for the VI. The paper presents the strides made and the challenges experienced in the development of this type of education from the time it was introduced in Kenya up to the present. Historical research design was employed in data collection, analysis and interpretation. Data was evaluated through external and internal criticisms. The historical inquiry was done through collection of archival data through archival research, collection of data through interviews and research into secondary materials in libraries. Data collected was analyzed qualitatively through triangulation and deduction of themes. The research findings in the paper provide an overview of the state of education for the visually impaired learners in Kenya. The research findings also reveal the disintegrated efforts in training of the blind before the establishment of the first educational institution for the VI in 1946. The paper presents the developments realized thereafter such as development of other institutions and increased enrolment. The findings thus present the strides, struggles and challenges encountered in terms of access in the process of providing education for the VI learners in Kenya. The study came to the conclusion that provision of education for the VI in Kenya has changed from charity model in 1940s to a human right model at the present.

 

Article visualizations:

Hit counter

DOI

Keywords


perception and attitude, sex education, students with special needs

Full Text:

PDF

References


Gargiulo, R. M. (2003).Special Education in Contemporary Society: An introduction to Exceptionality. CA: Wadsworth Learning Inc.

GoK, (2010). Constitution of the Republic of Kenya. Government Printers: Nairobi, Kenya.

GoK, (2015). Education for All. The 2015 National Review. Nairobi: Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.

Guion, L. A., Diehl, D. C. & McDonald, D. (2013). Triangulation: Establishing the Validity of Qualitative Studies1. Retrieved from http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fy394

Khanani, S. B. (2015). The Role of the Church Missionary Society in the Development of

Girls’ Education in Western Kenya: the Case of Butere Girls High School, 1957 – 2007. Unpublished M.Ed. Dissertation. University of Nairobi, Kenya.

Kiarie M. W. (2004). Education of Students with Visual Impairments in Kenya: Trends and Issues. International Journal of Special Education. 19(2). 16-22

Korir. B. C. (2015). The effect of Integration on Academic performance for Students with Visual Impairment: A case Study of Integrated Secondary Schools in Kericho County, Ainamoi Constituency, Kenya. British Journal of Education, 3(3)6-11.

MoEST. (2016). Records of Special Schools in Kenya. 2016.

Mbugua W. A., & Okul K. F. (2013). Psychological Dispositions of Anxiety among Learners with Visual Impairment: A Study of High School for the Blind, Thika. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 3 (17) 67-76.

Milimu, G. (2018, June 13). Oral Interview.

Muchiri, M. W. (1982). Developing special education in Kenya. Unpublished Dip. Dissertation, University of London.

Mutua, D. M., & Dimitrov, N. K. (2001). Parents' expectations about future outcomes of children with mental retardation in Kenya: Differential effects of gender and severity of MR. The Journal of Special Education, 35(3), 172-180.

Nguyo W.R. (2015). Effect of Assistive Technology on Teaching and Learning of Integrated English Among Visually Impaired Learners in Special Secondary Schools in Kenya. Published PhD Thesis. University of Nairobi, Kenya.

Nzoka, S. (2019, February 19). Oral Interview.

Ojwando, J. O. (1990). A Study of the Historical Development of the Primary Teacher Training Programme for Teachers of the Visually Handicapped in Kenya. Unpublished M.Ed. Dissertation. Kenyatta University, Kenya.

Oketch, A. S. (2009). Special Education in Kenya, Evolution or Revolution: Comparison with the British System of Special Education. Published M. Ed. Thesis, Wichita State University.

Orinda, O. J. (2008). The History of Special Education in Kenya: a Case of Kisumu and Nyando Districts 1945 – 2003. Unpublished M. Ed thesis. Kenyatta University, Kenya.

Parkash, R. (2007). Historical Research in Education. New Delhi: Common Wealth Publishers.

Sifuna D. N. & Oanda I.O. (2014). Historical and Contemporary Trends in the Development of Education in Kenya: Government Policy, Gender and Regional Dimensions. Nairobi. The Jomo Kenyatta Foundation.

WHO. (2012). Global Data on Visual Impairment. Geneva: Switzerland.

Archival Sources

KISE/1: File of records of KISE 1987-1990

KNA, BY/12/21: Kenya National Archives (KNA)-Salvation Army Blind School, Piece Dates 1956-1964

KNA, BY/27/4: KNA-Education for the blind, Education for the crippled, British Empire society for the blind Kenya branch. Piece dates 1958-1961

KNA, DC/TTA/3/15/1: KNA-Institutes for blind and institutes general, piece dates 1950-1964

KNA, KTI/3/7/11: KNA-Institute for the Blind Thika. Piece Dates 1950-1965

KNA, MOH/3/282: KNA-Education for the blind

TSB, P/4/1970 Records File at Thika Primary School for the Blind 1960-1970

TSB, S/1/2000: File of records of annual graduation/speech days, 1987-2000

TSB, S/2/1994: File of CBM Budgets for Thika High School for the Blind1984-1994




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejse.v0i0.2437

Copyright © 2015 - 2023. European Journal of Special Education Research (ISSN 2501 - 2428) is a registered trademark of Open Access Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

This journal is a serial publication uniquely identified by an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) serial number certificate issued by Romanian National Library (Biblioteca Nationala a Romaniei). All the research works are uniquely identified by a CrossRef DOI digital object identifier supplied by indexing and repository platforms.

All the research works published on this journal are meeting the Open Access Publishing requirements and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).