https://kerd.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/97 2026-08-10T05:18:58Z https://kerd.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/1449 Identification Process of Articulation and Phonemic Disorders in Children with Communication Disorders in Primary Schools, Nairobi Province, Kenya Maneno, Robert J. Many children with speech and language disorders are silently affected academically and psychologically as they articulate words wrongly when they try to communicate verbally to their peers. Academically, they do not perform well since speech and language problems in most cases affect their reading and writing abilities. At times, they shy off as other children laugh at them. It is worth noting that, since the establishment of educational assessment centres in Kenya in September, 1984, many children with speech and language problems have been identified and placed in schools. Studies carried out in other, countries such as Finland, the United States, Canada, among others show that specific speech articulation problems have been identified and effective intervention procedures carried out in children with communication disorders. However, a study to identify speech sound disorders has never been done in Kenya. This prompted a study of this magnitude to identify speech sound disorders in children with speech and language disorders and ultimately recommend intervention measures. The research designs used were ex-post facto and ethnographic which were quantitative and qualitative. The population from which the study sample was drawn came from schoolgoing children in Nairobi Province aged between 6 to 13 years 11 months. The institutions included units, special schools, integrated special schools, and regular schools. The sample comprised children who had hearing impairments, mental handicap, stutterers, cerebral palsy and learning disabilities. The researcher in identifying the sample, used purposive sampling for piloting and for the actual study. From confirmed cases of 320 children with speech and language disorders, the researcher sampled 30% using purposive sampling. The actual sample came to 96 out of which 48 were females and the other 48 were males with ages ranging from 6 to 13 years 11 months. The data were collected using three different instruments namely: speech sound disorders assessment tool; speech mechanism observation tool and a home background information tool. When using the speech sound disorders assessment tool, the researcher listened to how the respondents pronounced targeted phonemes in the different names representing pictures displayed to them; while in speech mechanism observation instrument, the researcher looked at observable oral structures which if abnormal, would affect speech such as abnormalities as cleft palate or thick tongue. The background information tool was a questionnaire to find out the socio-economic status of the respondents, where the researcher was trying to find out whether the misarticulations were due to one being from a poor or rich family. Research questions and hypotheses were used for collecting and analyzing data. The collected data were qualitatively and quantitatively analysed. To achieve this, the data were crosstabulated. The results were analysed by use of pie charts, frequencies and tables. Anova was also used in testing the hypotheses. The study revealed that, the most highly ranked speech sound disorders were omissions, distortions and substitutions. The most highly omitted speech sound was phoneme /h/, with most respondents not able to pronounce the words "hoho" and "hema." /t/ as in thin was the most highly misarticulated phoneme of all 22 phonemes tested. Phonemes /r/, /s/, /z/ and /f/ were either highly substituted or distorted. Majority of children with communication disorders were those who had mentally handicapping conditions, hearing impairment and learning disabilities. The study found that children with communication disorders were also known as speech and language disorders found in all communities regardless of socio-economic status A PhD Thesis Submitted to the School of Education, Kenyatta University 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z https://kerd.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/1134 Effectiveness of Assistive Technology on Teaching Mathematics to Learners with Visual Impairments in Special Primary Schools in Kenya Mary Wairimu, Chege There has been a problem in Mathematics of learners with VI as a result of inadequate AT and reluctance of teachers to apply appropriate teaching strategies when teaching Mathematics using AT in special primary schools. To address these problems, four objectives were formulated to identify types of AT that were available, teaching strategies, their role and factors that had influenced their use of the AT. Therfore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate on effectiveness of Assistive Technology on teaching Mathematics to learners with visual impairments in special primary schools for learners with VI in Kenya. The study was guided by the Theory of Didactical Situations in Mathematics (Brousseau, 1997). A descriptive research design was adopted to carry out the study. The study was conducted in five counties namely: Kisumu, Siaya, Mombasa, Meru and West Pokot. Purposive and stratified random sampling techniques were used to sample the study participants. The researcher sampled the following study participants, all from whom the study‟s data was collected: twenty learners with VI selected from classes seven and eight, their ten teachers of Mathematics and the five deputy head teachers of the selected special primary schools. The total study sample therefore, comprised of thirty five participants. Interview guides, observation schedule and observation checklist based on the four study objectives were used to gather the information. Study data was analysed manually through narrative means using thematic information arrangement approach following the order or chronology of the study’s six research objectives. The results were also presented through tabulations and brief interpretation statements. The qualitative data generated from the structured interview guides was analysed through descriptive statistics based on Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 18.0. Main study finding was scarcity of AT in special primary schools for learners with visual impairments in Kenya. Largely, Low-Tech Assistive Technology was available while modern Mid-Tech and High-Tech Assistive Technology were visibly lacking. Major factors noted to influence the use of AT were; TOM lacked training in Mid-Tech and High-Tech AT, high cost of AT, costly maintenance and no time set on the time table to teach AT skills. The findings also indicated that many learners with VI had positive attitudes towards the use of AT in their learning of Mathematics. The study concluded that; inadequate use of AT especially Mid-Tech and High-Tech is real and this has contributed to lack of interest in working out Mathematics problems leading to a decline of Mathematics performance; there is a training gap among teachers of Mathematics on modern Mid-Tech and High-Tech AT and AT plays a vital role in teaching Mathematics to learners with VI. Based on the findings, the main recommendations were that: the government through Ministry of Education to allocate more funds for the physical supply of AT to special primary schools for learners with VI, ensure teachers of Mathematics are trained and also conduct regular classroom supervisions to ensure efficient use of all available AT in the special primary school. A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Education Special Needs Education Kenyatta University. February 2019 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z https://kerd.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/1131 Effects of Mainstreaming Learners with Communication Disability and Their Effects on Educational Performance in Public Primary Schools in Kericho County, Kenya Mutai, Paul Kipkorir This study sought to establish communication disability and their effects on educational performance of learners in mainstreamed public primary schools in Kericho County, Kenya. The study was guided by five objectives, these are to find out how learners with communication disability are mainstreamed in public primary schools, school’s policies on mainstreamed learners’ with communication disability in public primary schools, establish the teachers’ attitudes towards mainstreamed learners with communication disability in public primary schools, evaluate intervention strategies used to support learners with communication disability in public primary schools and determine the effect of mainstreaming learners with communication disorders on educational performance in public primary schools. The study was based on the Albert Bandura’s social learning theory which states that learning, both cognitive and behavioral, takes place through the observation, modeling, and imitation of others. This theory proposes that academic and behavior modeling takes place through verbal instruction, live modeling by a person, and symbolic modeling through four steps: attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation. Questionnaires were the main instruments of data collection. There was a questionnaire for head teachers, one for teachers and a different questionnaire for learners with CDs. Document analysis guide was used for collecting data on learners’ performance in the year 2017. The study yielded both quantitative data and qualitative data. Qualitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics; frequencies, percentages and the finding presented on pie charts, bar graphs and tables. Quantitative data was then analyzed using one-way ANOVA as it yielded a 2x3 factorial design. The study also established that teachers adopted various teaching strategies to assist learners with CD. Findings from the study also showed that schools were less equipped with teaching and learning resources for use with learners with CD and this affected their educational performance. The study recommends the training of all teachers to be able to teach learners with CD. The KICD should develop and disseminate teaching and learning resources specifically made for learners with CDs. The study suggests further research to be conducted to compare the effect of learners with CD in mainstream education on the performance of learners without CD. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for an award of a doctor of philosophy degree in the department of special education of, Kenyatta University. May, 2018 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z https://kerd.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/1045 The relationship between Kenyan Sign Language and English literacy Aura, Lillie Josephine; Venville, Grady; Marais, Ida This paper presents results of an investigation into the relationship between Kenyan Sign Language (KSL) and English literacy skills. It is derived from research undertaken towards an MEd degree awarded by The University of Western Australia in 2011. The study employed a correlational survey strategy. Sixty upper primary deaf students from four residential schools for the hearing impaired participated in the tests that evaluated their KSL proficiency and English literacy skills. KSL skills were tested using an adapted American Sign Language Proficiency Assessment tool while the English literacy skills were evaluated using a combination of five selected sub-tests of the Test of Reading Comprehension-Fourth Edition-TORC 4 and the Test of Written Language-Fourth Edition-TOWL 4. Additional data were collected from participants’ audiograms and a questionnaire completed by parents. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) computer software package. A significant positive correlation was found between participants’ proficiency in KSL and their English literacy scores. The results suggested KSL has a role to play in English literacy acquisition An article published in Issues in Educational Research 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z