Abstract:
This study employed sequential explanatory design to find out the performance of
students with visual impairments in mathematics in the Ghana National and St. Joseph
Basic Schools in Ghana. Sixty students with visual impairments and two mathematics
teachers were purposively sampled for the study. Documentary analysis,
questionnaires and one-on-one interview were used to elicit data for the study. The
data gathered were analysed using descriptive statistical tools such as simple
percentages, frequency, mean and standard deviations. The results of the study
revealed that the performance of students with visual impairments in mathematics was
below average. The findings also revealed that the students’ performances in
multiplication and division were low. The findings further showed that, teachers’ and
students’ attitude, teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge in mathematics, class
size, non-availability and inadequacy of teaching and learning resources were some of
the factors that hampered students with visual impairments’ performance in
mathematics. Additionally, the findings showed that, recruitment of more qualified
mathematics teachers, verbal descriptions of instructions and adaptation of
mathematics materials were some of the strategies that could be adopted to improve
the performance of the students. It was recommended that the Ghana Education
Service (GES) should collaborate with school heads to organize in-service training,
seminars, and workshops for regular education teachers on how to teach mathematics
to students with visual impairments.
Description:
A Thesis in the Department of Special Education, Faculty of Educational Studies, submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Philosophy (Special Education) in the University of Education, Winneba
JUNE, 2020