Supporting Children With Learning Disabilities In The General Education Classroom In The Private And Public Basic Schools In Ghana

Inclusionary education has been endorsed in many countries across the world.This is because children with learning difficulty learn most when they are included in general education setting.However,for pupils with special learning need to derive maximum benefit from inclusionary classroom settings,both teacher and institutional support must be accorded to children who cannot learn at the same pace as their more able peers.In a developing country such as Ghana,these supports are lacking.In seeking to assess support for children with learning disability in basic school in Ghana,this study sought to find among other teachers knowledge and awareness of learning disability,how teachers and school heads identify children with learning disability;what strategies teachers use in teaching inclusionary classroom,and what institutional support system are available to children with learning difficulty.Using a mixed study methodology,with both interviews and questionnaire as instrument for primary data collection,the study found that majority of basic school classrooms are overcrowded exceeding the GES approved 45 pupils maximum per class and teachers have a fair idea of what constitute learning disability.However,many of the teacher report having challenge identify children with disability.The study also found that teachers rely heavily on teacher-centered approach in teaching and very little attempt is made to differentiate in their teaching.The study further observed that majority of basic school selected for the study do not have any institutional support system in place for children with learning disability in their school.Finally,the study found that difficulty in identifying children with learning disability and lack of training were the two most prominent challenges to inclusionary or differentiated teaching.The study also recommends that management of schools take steps to reduce class sizes in basic school to facilitate differentiated teaching.Government should seek to provide specialized training to teacher in differentiated teaching across the country.