THE KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES OF TEACHERS AND STUDENTS TOWARDS EDUCATING CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES IN REGULAR SCHOOLS IN GARU-TEMPANE DISTRICT OF UPPER EAST REGION

Abstract

The marginalization and exclusion of Persons with Disabilities (PWD) is a challenge in the world today affecting their active participation in decision making in their communities. The purpose of the study was to examine the knowledge, attitudes and behavior of teachers and students that affect the education of children with disabilities in regular schools in the Garu- Tempane District. The cross sectional design was adopted to guide the study. A sample size of 186 was contacted through cluster sampling simple random sampling and purposive sampling techniques for both the quantitative and qualitative study. Questionnaires and semi structured interviews were used to solicit views from teachers, students, the District Education Director, and other staff members for the study. Descriptive statistics, chi-square test and emerging themes were used to analyze the data. The findings showed that teachers, students, and other key informants shared positive thoughts and attitudes towards inclusive education. The study discovered that, educating children with disabilities has the power to inculcate equality and equity among children with and without disabilities. Also, the study indicated that, educating children with disabilities in regular schools has the tendency to compromise quality education if not well implemented. Therefore, the study concluded that the implementation of the policy was problematic because teachers' inadequate knowledge (p-value=0.000) influenced their attitude (p-value= 0.000) and behavior (p-value=0.012) towards educating children with disabilities among others. The researcher recommended that the Ghana Education Service should build teachers capacity and provide the necessary resources needed for the smooth implementation of the policy in order to enhance quality education for all children.