Influence of physical orthopedic design consideration on access to school facilities by pupils with physical disabilities in public integrated schools in Kitui County, Kenya

Abstract

This study sought to establish the extent to which infrastructural design considerations influence access to school facilities by pupils with physical disabilities in public integrated schools in Kitui County, Kenya. The research used a descriptive crosssectional survey and a correlational design within a pragmatic paradigm to support a mixed method approach. There were 159 participants in the study, which had a total population of 767. The respondents comprised of head teachers, standard six and seven class teachers, pupils with special needs in classes six and seven, as well as BOM Chair persons. The instruments were tested in a pilot study to confirm their reliability and validity. Analysis of inferential statistics used Pearson's Product Moment Correlation (r), regression, multiple regression, and stepwise regression (R2) and F-statistics for hypotheses, as well as arithmetic mean and standard deviation in descriptive data. Physical orthopedic considerations in the construction of school infrastructure in Kitui County, Kenya, were shown to have a substantial impact on access for students with special needs at public integrated schools in the county. The study recommends formulation of appropriate policies that supports school infrastructural development and specifically that address physical orthopedic design considerations, Policy provision should support resource allocation, research and implementation. It is important to investigate the same variable in both public and private schools. This will enable comparison of the findings of the current study and the future ones. In addition, secondary school level learners are more mature than those from primary schools and their challenges could be different therefore, another similar study can be carried out at that level to enable comparison of findings.