BUILDING AND SUSTAINING INCLUSIVE EDUCATION SOCIETY: THE NIGERIA EXPERIENCE

Abstract

Inclusive education is a global policy aim at total integration of individuals with special needs into the society most importantly total adaptation and adjustment into learning environment without negative feeling of neglect and abandonment from anybody in the school setting and by extension, the society. Though the policy has gained popularity, but the practice and acceptance differ from country to country and region to region. Hence, this study is on building and sustaining inclusive education society: the Nigeria experience. The study employed descriptive survey research design. The samples for this study comprised the inclusive schools, teachers, administrators, parents, students, NGO where there is inclusive school. The instrument for the study is stakeholders’ participation inventory with reliability of 0.70 consisting of teacher perception, administrator attitudinal, parents’ perception, NGO attitudinal, community members’ attitudinal, and learning environment rating scales (environmental factors) and classroom assessment checklist for instructional delivery and facilities and resource checklist. The inventory, assessment scale and facilities and resource checklist were administered. Three hypotheses were tested and the results revealed that that there was joint significant prediction of instructional delivery and stakeholders’ participation on inclusive education implementation, resources availability relate positively to the implementation of inclusive education and there was joint prediction of environmental factors, instructional delivery, resource availability, NGO involvement, learner participation, parent involvement and stakeholders’ participation on the implementation of inclusive education in Nigeria. Parents, teachers, Government and non-governmental agencies should work in synergy in the implementation of inclusive education.