Social Inclusion Impact among Learners with Intellectual Disability Participating in Unified Schools’ Programmes in Kenya
Abstrakt
Participation in sports has contributed positively to persons living with Intellectual
Disability(ID) as documented in the impact of Unified Sports though an out of school activity. In Kenya, children spend most of their time in school ,thus a need for Unified
Schools Programme activities that provide an opportunity for learners with (out) intellectual disabilities to participate in play and sports. They also need to work together in inclusive youth as well as whole school engagements. This study aimed at evaluating the perceived effects on social inclusion among participating learners. The research tool had both structured and unstructured questions thus, mixed research method was used specifically to cater for both quantitative and qualitative data. The study targeted 40 schools that had a special unit within the same environment and had fully implemented the three Unified School
Programme Activities. To calculate the sample all the school administrators were purposively sample and 2 teachers per school who had been trained, 2 learners (1 with and 1 without
ID) and a parent of each were randomly picked making a sample size of 280 respondents.
Research questionnaires for the survey were adapted from a pool of questions and were administered one on one basis by trained research assistants who also conducted interviews and Focus Group Discussions.Ethical clearance and consent were acquired before the study commenced. Statistical Package for Social Sciences software was used to analyse data.
Descriptive statistics was used to calculate frequencies that was then presented in tables and graphs. Findings revealed that implementation of the Unified Schools programme activities resulted to improved social inclusion. It is recommended that the programmes to continue and be expanded to all schools in Kenya.