PROBLEM OF EDUCATING THE PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED IN NIGERIA
ABSTRACT
The aim of this study is to investigate the problems of educating the physically handicapped students in Edo State as some selected schools in Benin City will be used as the sample. A questionnaires designed by the researcher was used to collect information from one hundred and fifty (150) respondents comprising of teachers and students in some selected schools in Benin City. During the course of the research, the researcher found out that the talent of educability is all innate tendency in human beings whether disabled or not. It also covers the roles of teachers in educating the physically challenged. It was also found out that physically challenged students could perform excellently well in academic work like the normal students. The researcher recommended that the handicapped should be encouraged to remove the ill feelings of their disability and feel free with their normal peers. It was also suggested that government and well meaning Nigerians should fund the education of physically challenged persons.
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 INTRODUCTION
The handicapped children are gifted children who have the ability to be educated irrespective of their disabilities, like the deaf, the blind, the dumb, lame etc. there is a need to redirect national interest, support and understanding for the plight of the disabled away from the traditional attitude of seeing them as qualified only for aims.
A situation where handicapped persons, expect those who could be taken care of by their families are relegated to relyn on public emotions expressed in the form of alms, does not augur well for our sense of social responsibility. Yunusa (1993) believes that physical handicapped does not mean they cannot contribute their quota to various facets of national development. Therefore, the handicapped students in Edo State posses the talents and all the aggregate of learning just like their counterparts at school. Education which is a life process must be provided for every individual, the physically handicapped inclusive. The term ‘handicap’ can be viewed in many ways mainly psychological and maladjustment.
WHO IS A HANDICAPPED CHILD?
A handicapped child is a child that lacks some things that made him/her incapable of living like other children, it could be the hands, legs, eyes, ears, etc in reverie day life, the term handicap is often used to signify a physical defect, limb paralysis, partial or total blindness etc. all these features renders the child incapable of living in quite the same ways as the normally endowed.
The term handicapped when used in a wider sense include intellectual disabilities and disadvantages, which are to cause learning hardship. In the light of the above discussion, the study will look into various hardship likely to be faced by the handicapped child I school., previous researchers have revealed that Behaviour are judged in terms of the societal existing standard therefore the ability of the handicapped can be under estimated by their teachers because already they are termed “special children”. Many assume that they cannot perform as well as the naturally endowed students.
This study will examine the various problems facing the education of the handicap ones.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS
This study is to assess the problem of the handicapped students in schools in Edo State.
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
To identify the handicapped conditions that are suitable for learning.
To consider the effects of the physically handicapped on the career of the physically handicapped students.
To correct the general belief of people that handicapped students cannot contribute significantly to the society.
To assess the problems of the handicapped students in schools in Benin City and Edo State in general.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
a. Does being handicapped affects students performance in learning?
b. Are there no special problems that prevent the handicapped students from performing effectively in learning?
c. Is it not possible for handicaps to take part in learning activities like other normal students?
1.5 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
a. That being handicapped does not affect student’s performance in learning.
b. That there are no special problems that prevent the handicapped students from performing effectively in learning.
c. That it is not possible for handicaps to take part in learning activities like the normal students.
1.6 DELIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
The investigation embraces only one type of handicapped condition, which is physical deformity. This study will be carried out in five schools in Benin City with handicapped children.
1.7 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
i. Handicapped students need extra attention in order to be successful.
ii. They need special attention from their teachers before they can learn effectively.
iii. There are no special problems that can prevent the handicapped children not to learn.
iv. The responsibilities of teachers to the handicapped students has to be gr4eatly improved than that of the normal students.
1.8 DEFINITIONS OF TERMS
Handicap: This implies the inconveniences an individual encounter as a result of its impairments thereby hindering a person from living a normal life.
Disability: This is a loss of ability of activity restriction or disturbance of the activity level of an individual.