Inclusive Education And Self-Help Skills' Development Among Mentally Impaired Students:A Case Of Kuwadzana Primary School In Harare, Zimbabwe

According to the statistics of the Education Management Information Systems of Zimbabwe,over 14,000 mentally impaired students were enrolled in the Zimbabwean primary schools.About 1,634 were revealed to be hearing impaired while 2,635 visually impaired.The World Health Organization also estimated that out of about 10% worldwide children with various forms of impairments in primary schools,about 300,000 were likely to be Zimbabweans(“Education Management Information Systems”,2004).Following the country's independence in 1990,it became signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability(UNCRPD).Together with other education Acts and circulars(Disabled Persons Act,Education Secretary's Policy Circular No.P36),Zimbabwe adopted the Inclusive Education system to cater for the educational needs of all irrespective of class or social groupings,especially,the persons with disabilities.To implement the Inclusive Education adopted,four inclusion models were proposed;unplanned or de facto inclusion,inclusion with partial withdrawal from ordinary classroom settings,the locational inclusion and the inclusion with clinical remedial instruction.Schools were then entreated to choose and implement the model based on the types of inclusion students enrolled.The study was guided by the Vygotsky's Social Constructionist Concept of Disability.On such basis,the current thesis investigated how the inclusion model adopted in Kuwadzana inclusion school contributed to the development of self-help skills among students with mental impairments.Within this broad objective,the study also aimed to investigate;a)the types of inclusion students enrolled in the school,b)the inclusion model that was adopted in the school,and c)how it was operationalized.Depending on the severity levels of students with mental impairments,they live dependent lives.They depend on their caretakers and parents for survival.It was hereby relevant to study how inclusion could contribute to the development self-help skills that could enable students with mental impairments live independent lives devoid of support.The findings of the study would provide for literature on inclusion in the Zimbabwean contexts,how inclusion models can contribute to Self-Help skills development among mentally impaired students.The findings would also be of benefit to parents and non-profit organizations working with children with disabilities,especially,the mentally impaired.A qualitative research method and a case study design were used investigate how inclusion contributed to Self-Help skills development of mentally impaired students in Kuwadzana.A total sample of 47 participants were recruited and used for the study.They were made up of 15 families;fathers(N = 15,aged 40 – 69),mothers(N = 15,aged 30 – 59),and children(N = 15,aged 12 – 19).Two teachers(N = 2,aged 38 and 42)were also recruited for the study.The mentally impaired students(children)used for the study were of varying severity levels(moderate;60.0%,mild;13.3%,and severe;26.7%,).Observation,semi-structured interviews,and focus group discussions were the instrument used to collect data for the study.The study showed that,firstly,the content taught and the teaching and learning technique adopted in the inclusion classroom contributed to the development of self-help skills among mentally impaired students.Secondly,it also illustrated that the main content taught were life and daily living skills.Thirdly,the study also revealed that in operation the Individualized Educational Plan(IEP)was used to teach content related to life skills,daily living skills,numeracy and literacy.The IEP method was shown to be employed in both lesson planning and delivery processes.Fourthly,the study also illustrated that the school investigated adopted locational inclusion and clinical remedial instruction inclusion models.Finally,types of inclusion students revealed were mentally,physically,hearing and speech and language impaired students including other forms of impairments.Some students were revealed to possess more than one impairment.