Abstract:
The success of curriculum implementation in any country depends on the
quality of the teacher with regard to the requisite knowledge, skills, and
attitudes. In the move toward inclusive education in Kenya (ROK, 2005;
ROK, 2009; ROK, 2012a; ROK, 2017), one of the strategies is the
expansion of teacher education curriculum to include a component of
special needs in order to develop the capacity of the teachers to support
children with special needs in regular schools. This paper presents part of
the findings of a survey of Primary Teacher Colleges in the Rift Valley
region of Kenya on the integration of Special Needs Education (SNE) in
the curriculum vis-à-vis instructional efficacy among the teacher trainees.
It examines the integration of SNE in the objectives and evaluation
elements of the Primary Teacher Education (PTE) curriculum and its role
in the development of instructional efficacy among the teacher trainees.
The findings revealed that the PTE curriculum did not provide adequate
coverage and integration of aspects of SNE in the objectives and evaluation
elements of the PTE curriculum and consequently inadequate
development of instructional efficacy among the teacher trainees. The
study recommends adequate coverage and complete fusion of aspects of
SNE in the objectives and evaluation elements of the curriculum as a
significant strategy for achieving instructional efficacy among teacher
trainees.
