COMPLETE SCHOOL PROJECT TOPICS & MATERIALS :
CHAPTERS: Chapter 1-5 | DOC FORMAT: MS WORD/PDF | PRICE: ₦5,000

GET COMPLETE WORK

THE AVAILABILITY OF LEARNING FACILITIES AND ITS IMPACT ON THE ACADEMIC ATTAINMENT OF VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1. Background to the study

Education is a powerful catalyst for social change, often sparking upward mobility within the social hierarchy. It serves as a bridge, narrowing the gap between various segments of society. In 1944, the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) released the Sergeant Report, which focused on postwar educational development in the country. This report emphasized that measures for educating children with disabilities should be an integral part of the national education system, overseen by the Education Department. It suggested that children with disabilities should only be placed in special schools when the nature and severity of their issues necessitated it. Education plays a vital role in rehabilitating visually impaired children by teaching them independence, fostering a sense of belonging in the global community, bridging the gap between blind children and their peers, recognizing abilities within disabilities, nurturing inherent talents, and eliminating stigmatization.

Ong’eta & Nyambura (2018) highlighted that the educational landscape in the country has evolved significantly over the years, leading to more diverse educational offerings and practices. Special education caters to students with special educational needs, such as those who struggle with various aspects of learning or face difficulties in certain areas of their schoolwork. This includes students who are deaf or have hearing impairments, those who are blind or have vision impairments, students with physical disabilities, intellectual disabilities, learning difficulties, behavioral disorders, emotional disturbances, or speech and language difficulties.

Schools equipped with appropriate learning facilities are more likely to achieve superior educational outcomes than those lacking these resources. Therefore, teachers and other personnel must utilize teaching and learning materials (TLM), human resources, physical facilities, and equipment to achieve educational goals and enhance learning outcomes. These resources are crucial for students with visual impairments. TLM includes textbooks, instructors’ manuals, reference books, models, excursions/field trips, charts, calculators, computers and internet access, Braille machines, slates and styluses, Braille embossers, and other instructional materials (Andzayi and Ikwen, 2015). Access to these resources helps students complete assignments, thoroughly cover the curriculum, and achieve better academic results. Physical facilities that contribute to a conducive learning environment include desks and chairs, dormitories, dining halls, offices, laboratories, libraries, agriculture rooms, home science rooms, computer rooms, playgrounds, stores, toilets/latrines, and recreational facilities (Dada, Ikwen, and Fagbemi, 2016).

Vision plays a crucial role in classroom learning, and instructors must be aware of their students’ visual abilities. Many students with mild to moderate vision impairments go undiagnosed, making teachers pivotal in identifying these issues (Andzayi and Ikwen, 2017). Students with vision impairments, like those with hearing impairments and other disabilities, can often be misidentified as having intellectual disabilities or learning difficulties. Therefore, teachers should always check the vision and hearing of students who are struggling academically. If a student’s vision impairment is not addressed in school, it can lead to academic difficulties and behavioral issues as the student may miss important information, struggle to keep up with peers, lose confidence, and become frustrated (Ahon, Obi, and Ikwen, 2017).

Many vision problems are inherited and cannot be prevented. However, some vision issues can be avoided through the following measures:

• Students should be taught not to throw stones, sticks, or other sharp objects at others.
• They should learn to keep chemicals like lime, cement, gasoline, and cleaning products away from their hands and eyes.
• Hygiene education is essential, teaching students and parents to keep their eyes, faces, and hands clean.
• Eyes should only be washed with clean water, and no chemicals should be used in or near the eyes.
• If a child experiences eye problems or discomfort, they should be taken to a healthcare facility.
• Vitamin A is vital for children and mothers, with leafy vegetables, cassava, pawpaw, and other yellow and orange vegetables serving as good sources.
• Girls should be vaccinated against rubella (German measles).

Students with vision impairments often struggle with spelling because they cannot perceive word patterns or visualize words as students with normal vision do. Teachers must be sensitive to this need, avoid assuming that poor spelling indicates a learning disability, and encourage students to overcome this challenge.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

In recent years, children with visual impairments have learned academic skills and activities in the same way as their sighted counterparts, but at a slower speed. According to Corn and Wall (2022), for people with limited vision, print may look distorted, posing issues for both blind and partially sighted students. Because of these issues, the visually handicapped have limited visual simulation and experience. They may have advanced hearing and speaking abilities, but they need more actual experience, such as auditory and Braille, to broaden and enhance their notions and vocabulary (Ikwen and Ezera, 2017). This effort may have an impact on their reading and writing abilities. The availability of teaching and learning resources improves school effectiveness since they are essential factors that can lead to improved academic achievement in students. According to Maicibi (2018), all institutions or organisations are comprised of human people (workers) and other non-human resources. He goes on to say that when the correct amount and quality of human resources are brought together, they may influence other resources to achieve institutional aims and objectives. Special education is the development and implementation of teaching and learning techniques for people with impairments or learning problems who may or may not be enrolled in regular schools (Oyeniran and Ikwen, 2017).

In contrast, teaching those with visual impairments should be goal-oriented. This requires adequate people resources, facilities, and equipment. They should be well-taught with adequate human resources, facilities, and equipment. Due to a lack of human resources, facilities, and equipment, effective instruction of visually impaired individuals has not occurred, resulting in difficulties such as: poor learning, poor performance, loss of self-confidence, dissatisfaction, retreat from people, and dream damming, among others. To the best of the researcher’s knowledge, little or no work of this nature has ever been done in this section of the nation. Based on the foregoing, this study seeks to evaluate human and material resources for successful instruction of students with vision impairment at the Ministry of Education Special Education Centre in Awka, Anambra State.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The study aims to find out the availability of learning facilities and its impact on the academic attainment of visually impaired students. Specifically, the study will:

1. Examine the availability of human resources and its utilization in special schools in Awka, Anambra State .

1. Access the availability of physical facilities and its utilization in special schools in Awka, Anambra State.
2. Investigate the effectiveness of available equipment and its utilization in special schools in Awka, Anambra State.
3. Ascertain whether availability and utilization of learning facilities impacts academic attainment of visually impaired students in special schools in Awka, Anambra State.

1.4 Research Questions

The following research questions are aimed to guide the study:

1. To what extent are human resources available and utilize in special schools in Awka, Anambra State ?
2. What is the extent to which the facilities are available and utilize in special schools in Awka, Anambra State?
3. To what extents are equipment available and utilize in special schools in Awka, Anambra State?
4. Does availability and utilization of learning facilities impacts academic attainment of visually impaired students in special schools in Awka, Anambra State?

1.5 Significance of the Study

Most of the studies carried out in academic field have their own significances in enlarging the knowledge bank. This is true that the finding of this study will be of great benefits to (special educators, policy makers, curriculum designers, parents and family members, the society and the global world, students, the government). To special educators in planning of instructions, to policy makers in their policy making, to curriculum designers in restructuring curriculum design, to parents and family members it will erase stigmatization, to the society and the global world in their misconception about this group of persons, to student in developing the inherent talent in them and giving them sense of belonging, and to the government in providing adequate and sophisticated facilities equipment to aid the teaching and learning of persons with visual impairment. I sincerely believed that this study will go a long way to salvage the image of special education especially the failing standard of resources for effective teaching and learning.

1.6 Scope of the Study

The scope of the study borders on availability of learning facilities and its impact on the academic attainment of visually impaired students. The study covered only ministry of education special education centre Awka, Anambra State. It is concerned about the facilities, equipments and personnel‟s tor teaching and learning of students with visual impairment and it focuses only on that.

1.7 Limitation of study

This research project, like all human endeavors, had some challenges that threatened to derail the study’s completion. One of the reasons is that the time allotted for this work was so limited that the researcher did not have enough time to complete the task thoroughly. During data collection, the researcher also had to put forth extra effort to understand the respondents’ interview schedules, several of whom fell into the incomprehensible age group. Also, there were financial and transportation constraints to deal with. Insufficient funds tend to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire, interview).

1.8 Definition of Terms 

Human resources: These are resources mainly carried out by human. 

Material resources: These are concrete object used by the visual impairment persons and personnel as instructional materials. 

Facilities/equipment: these are resources that aid teaching and learning process. They are classrooms, library, ICT, sporting facilities and instructional materials.  Effectiveness: this is the extent to which the resources are expected to achieve its objectives such as producing highly competitive graduates who are best literates in the society. 

Teaching: It is the process of impacting knowledge to those who are committed to it.

Visual impairment: this is a genetic term that includes a wide range of visual problem. This visual problem includes the blind, low vision, partially sighted, long and short sightedness.