functional education for children with visual impairment as an antedote to poverty reduction:...
TRANSCRIPT
Functional Education for Children with Visual Impairment as an
Antedote to Poverty Reduction: Perspectives of Primary School Teachers in Oyo State, Nigeria
Theo Ajobiewe, Ph.D.FICMA, MAAIA, FNCEC
Special Educator & Rehabilitation CounsellorFederal College of Education (Special), P.M.B. 1089 Oyo, Oyo
State, Nigeria
GOD BLESS NIGERIA Oludare J. Odewenwa
Special Educator & Braille TranscriberFederal College of Education (Special), P.M.B. 1089 Oyo, Oyo
State, Nigeria E-mail: [email protected]
&
BackgroundPoverty has been an
intercontinental phenomenon affecting many nations of the world, thus, its inclusion in the MDGs.
Globally, progress has been uneven across regions and countries, leaving significant gaps, particularly among persons with disabilities.
Where we are? In Nigeria, the target for 2015 is to reduce
it to 21.40%. No report has been released officially to determine how far it has been achieved, but, global report shows that school enrollment has increased from 83% to 91% in year 2015.
As good as these goals and highly promising as those efforts geared towards its achievement, persons with visual impairment are still at disadvantage, thus the need for concerted efforts (UN, 2015).
There is no better way to reduce poverty than qualitative functional education.
Functional Education - Skills
The focus of the presentation is on Vocational Skills
The Problem Yearly, tertiary institutions in Nigeria turn
out graduates with visual impairment in various disciplines such as law, language, education, etc. with little or no job in the labour market for them to earn a good living.
Literature revealed that vocational skills which is to equip them was found not taught by all primary schools.
As a result, some of the students are not taught these skills while majority of those who were taught are not practicing it to earn living
Therefore, there is the need to approach the problem from the grass root by examining the position of primary school teachers on these vocational skills.
Purpose - Specifically
Determine whether all primary schools for children with visual impairment in Oyo State are teaching vocational skills to their pupils with visual impairment.
To examine the interest of the teachers in those vocational skills;
To establish what structural adjustment would the teachers want in the teaching process.
Methodology Descriptive survey research
design was usedA total of Twenty three (23)
teachers were selected randomly from five selected primary schools for children with visual impairment
A researcher made instrument titled “PTTFECWVI” was used
The instrument was validated by experts and tested reliable using test-retest and a reliability coefficient of 0.66 was got
Results
Research Question One: Are pupils with visual impairment in Oyo State being taught vocational skills alongside the literacy education?
3, 60%2, 40%
Pie Chart Distribution of Schools Teaching Vocational Skills
Yes No
Bar Chart Distribution of vocational skills being taught in primary school
Weavin
g
Knitti
ng
Tie & Die
Bead
s mak
ing
Leathe
r work
s
Compu
ter Ope
ration
Others
0
1
2
3
4
Skills being taught
Num
ber
of S
choo
ls
Bar chart distribution of how often are the vocational skills being taught
Daily Thrice in a week
Twice in a week
Once in a week
Occasionally None0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
How often the functional skills are being taught
Num
ber o
f SCh
ools
Research Question Two: Are the primary school teachers of children with visual impairment interested in vocational skills?
16, 64%
9, 36%
Pie Chart Distribution of Teachers In-terest in Vocational Skills
Yes
No
Research Question Three: What structural adjustment would the primary school teachers want in the teaching process?
Responses Frequency
Percentage
Periods 4 16%Content 12 48%Materials 7 28%Settings 15 60%
Summary of Major Findings Not all primary schools are teaching vocational
skills to pupils with visual impairment in Oyo State, Nigeria.
Weaving, knitting, tie & die, leather works, and beads works are the only skills being taught to pupils with visual impairment, though at variance.
None of the primary schools teach skills on computer operation
Not all primary school teachers have interest in the vocational skills.
Majority of the teachers recommend adjustment in content of the skills and the settings where the skills are being taught.
Recommendations
Provision of Voc. Training
Workshop in Schools
Periodic Exhibition by Schools
Expansion of Skills Content
Advocacy on the need for Voc. Skills
It has been established that children with visual impairment can actually live on the vocational aspect of functional education later in life provided they are taught the lucrative ones right from primary school level.
This study concludes that all primary school teachers should show positive interest towards these vocational skills and should encourage pupils to learn it provided there is avenue to market the products.
Conclusion
GOD BLESS NIGERIA
GOD BLESS NIGERIA