TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION .1
APPROVAL
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEGDEMENTS iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS v
LIST OF TABLES vii
LIST OF FIGURES viii
LIST OF ACRONYMS ix
ABSTRACT x
CHAPTER ONE 1
INTRODUCTION 1
1.0 Back Ground to the Study 1
1.1 Back ground to the subject of study 1
1.2 Back ground to the area of study 2
1.3 Objectives of the Study 2
1.3.1 General Objective 2
1.3.2 Specific Objectives 2
1.4 Research Questions 3
1.5 Significance of the Study 3
1.6 Statement of the Problem 4
1.7 Scope of the Study 4
CHAPTER TWO 5
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 5
2.0 Introduction 5
2.1 The state of disability in Kenya 5
2.2 Activities Available for Deaf Children 6
2.2.1 Inclusive education 6
2.2.2. Universal Primary Education 7
2.2.3 Vocational Training 7
2.2.4 Special Needs Education (SNE) for CWDs 8
2.3 Level of Participation 13
2.4 Challenges 14
2.4.1 Government Commitment and Attitudes 14
2.4.2 Social Exclusion of People with Disabilities 16
v
CHAPTER THREE 17
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .17
3.1 Study Design 17
3.2 Study Area 17
3.3 Population of the Study 17
3.4 The Sampling Size and Selection 17
3.5 Data Collection Methods 18
3.5.1 Focus Group Discussions 18
3.5.2 Questionnaires 18
3.5.3 Interviews 19
3.5.4 Observation 19
3.5.5 Literature Review 19
3.6 Data Processing and Analysis 20
3.6.1 Data Processing 20
3.6.2 Data Analysis 20
3.7 Limitations of the Study 20
CHAPTER FOUR 21
DATA PRESENTATION, DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS 21
4.1 Introduction 21
4.2 Socio-Demographic and Distribution of the Respondents 21
4.3 Activities Available in the Formal Education Sector for children with deafness 24
4.3.1 Education Levels 24
4.3.2 Universal Primary Education and Its Relevance to Children with deafness 25
4.3.3 Secondary Education 27
4.3.4 Special Needs Education 27
4.4 The Importance of CWDs’ Participation in Education Activities 28
4.5 Challenges Faced by CWDs While Participating in Formal Education Activities 29
CHAPTER FIVE 32
SUMMARY MAJOR FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS...32
5.1 Introduction 32
5.2 Summary of the Findings 32
5.2.1 Level of Education 32
5.2.2 Opportunities Available 32
5.2.3 Integration in the General Community 33
5.2.4 Attitudes of the Disabled towards their hearing impairment 33
5.2.5 Level of Participation 33
5.3 Conclusions 33
5.4 Recommendations 34
REFERENCE 37
APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNAIRE 40
APPENDIX B: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR OFFICIALS 45
ABSTRACT This study aimed to investigate the role of participation of children with deafness in formal education activities and its contributions to their socio-economic empowerment. Participation of CWDs in formal education activities that included, universal primary education, secondary education, special needs education among others was hindered by the inaccessibility in the institutional context like educational structures for example, the staircases and latrines, curriculum inadequacies, lack of instructional and scholastic materials, and special needs education teachers. Social challenges were identified as negative attitudes towards hearing impairment, negligence of their parents while the environmental ones included long distances, traffic and terrain. However, poverty was identified as the key economic barrier. The study provided a deeper analysis of the levels of participation of CWDs in the formal education activities. It was conducted to increase the awareness of the concerned stakeholders particularly policy makers and planners charged with the responsibly for providing universal education. A number of recommendations were made that would help to improve the level of participation of children with deafness in formal education activities and its contributions to their socio-economic empowerment following the order of the study objectives.