TEACHERS' TRAINING NEEDS FOR IMPLEMENTING INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN DELTA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study assessed the training needs of primary school teachers in Delta State across five competence domains: comprehension of inclusive education principles, pedagogical skills for differentiated instruction, behaviour management strategies, use of assistive technologies and adaptive resources, and collaborative skills with specialists. The area of the study was Delta State, Nigeria. Five research questions guided the study. A descriptive survey design was adopted. From a population of 17,075 basic education teachers in the state, a stratified sample of 157 was drawn. Data were collected with the Teachers' Comprehension and Competence for Inclusive Education Scale which had 72 items. The instrument was structured on a four-point rating scale. The reliability was sought using Cronbach Alpha coefficient which yielded 0.812 for the comprehension cluster, 0.722 for the pedagogical skills cluster, 0.789 for the behaviour management cluster, 0.804 for the assistive technology cluster, and 0.763 for the collaborative skills cluster of the instruments respectively.  Results showed that primary teachers were found adequate only in their comprehension of inclusive education principles (2.75), and fell short in behaviour management (2.49), differentiated instruction (2.44), collaboration with specialists (2.36), and especially assistive technology (2.13), where every item registered a need. It was therefore recommended that training for this group should move beyond awareness and target the practical and material gaps the data expose.