INCLUSIVE EDUCATION PRACTICES IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN SOUTH EAST, NIGERIA

With inclusion, all children with disabilities are educated with other children in all aspects in the regular school. Most of the regular schools in the Nigeria appears to be non-inclusive with a few having the basic facilities to support inclusive education. Because inclusion is very important, it needs to be effectively implemented by teachers with a repertoire of skills, expertise, knowledge, pedagogical approaches, adequate teaching methods and materials to be able to address the diverse needs of learners in the inclusive classroom The aim of this study is therefore to investigate the extent teachers adopt inclusive education practices in primary schools in South East, Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The sample comprised of one thousand and seventy-eight teachers. Questionnaire was used for data collection. Mean and Standard deviation were used to analyze the data. Results revealed that many of the teachers were unaware of appropriate inclusive education practices and were therefore not adopting them. The study concludes on the ground that teachers should be trained on appropriate inclusive practices and special education teachers should be employed in the schools to work with general education teachers in making the general education curriculum accessible to all children.