Teacher Characteristics in Supporting Deafblind Learners: A Case of Kabarnet School for Deafblind Children, Baringo County, Kenya

Abstract

Supporting students with special needs has been a source of concern for most stakeholders including the government because the expectations of the program exceed actual outcomes. The purpose of the paper was to investigate teacher characteristics in supporting deafblind learners.  The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The study was conducted in Kabarnet School for deafblind learners. The study targeted one (1) head teacher and 39 teachers in school. Thus the study adopted a census technique. The researcher used questionnaires as data collection instruments for the different respondents in the school. Data was coded and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Pearson correlation was used to test the relationship between the variables. Frequency tables, percentages, and charts were used to present the data. The study findings indicated that teachers’ training (r=0.753), and teachers’ experiences (r=0.555) were positively and significantly related to the level of support provided to deafblind learners. However, the findings indicated that teachers were not well trained and experienced in supporting deafblind learners. Since there were some gaps on teacher support for deafblind learners, this study recommended the need for the stakeholders to enhance training as well as capacity building so that the teachers are well informed on the needs of the Multi-Sensory Impaired (MSI) learners.

Keywords: Teacher Training, Teacher Experience, Teacher Support, Deafblind Learners