Instructional methods for students with mental retardation in Tanzania

The present study explored the instructional methods used by teachers of students with mental retardation in Tanzania. The knowledge of instructional methods used by these teachers is important for decision-making regarding the content of pre-service and in-service teacher training in Tanzania.;The purpose of the study was to develop an observation instrument that could identify and evaluate the instructional methods used by teachers of students with mental retardation in Tanzania, evaluate its validity for the Tanzanian context, and use the observation instrument to identify instructional methods used by teachers of children with mental retardation in Tanzania. The observation instrument was developed on the basis of effective instructional methods identified in North American literature.;Five special education experts and five special education teachers evaluated the observation instrument's suitability for the Tanzanian context. The observation instrument was used in a total of 44 observations, of 15 teachers from seven instructional programs for students with mental retardation in Tanzania. A second observer participated in nine of the observations to evaluate inter-observer reliability of the observation instrument.;The results of the study indicated that Tanzanian special education experts and teachers, in general, thought that the observation instrument was appropriate for the Tanzanian context. However, some suggestions for improvements to the observation instrument were made. The teacher observation data indicated that teachers of students with mental retardation in Tanzania, in general, used most of the assessed instructional methods appropriately. The observation instrument was also useful in identifying areas in which the teachers observed needed prescriptive feedback and in-service training.;To provide a robust test of reliability of the instrument, and to assess the need for training in the use of the instrument, a reliability test was conducted by using an untrained and inexperienced observer/evaluator--the "worst possible scenario" of reliability. For some of the items the inter-observer percent agreement was unacceptably low indicating the need for observer training. The observer's lack of training in the use of the observation instrument and in the use of observation procedures in general, may have contributed to the low inter-observer percent agreement.