Teachers’ assessment practices for children with intellectual disabilities in inclusive classrooms in the Kumasi metropolis, Ghana

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the various assessment practices teachers employ in assessing children with intellectual disabilities in inclusive classrooms in the Kumasi metropolis. A descriptive survey design was adopted using a sample of 120 early childhood teachers from 22 public inclusive schools in the Kumasi Metro. The purposive sampling technique was used to select all 22 public inclusive schools, while convenience sampling technique was employed to select the actual respondents for the study. Questionnaire was used to gather the research data. Means and Standard deviations were used as statistical tools to analyse the data. The findings revealed that most inclusive public early childhood teachers in the Kumasi metropolis have a positive view about assessment practices and confirm to employ it in assessing children with intellectual disabilities in inclusive classrooms. It was also evident that most inclusive public early childhood teachers in the Kumasi metropolis have knowledge about assessment practices in inclusive schools. Again, it was revealed that most public early childhood teachers in the Kumasi metropolis employ assessment tools in supporting the learning need of children with intellectual disabilities in inclusive schools. However, from the findings, it was found that most public early childhood teachers in the Kumasi metropolis are faced with many problems that hinder them in their quest to administer assessment tools on children with intellectual disabilities in inclusive classrooms. It was therefore recommended that more workshops and in-service training should be organized to inclusive public early childhood teachers in the Kumasi metropolis with respect to their assessment practices for the intellectually difficult children. In addition, teachers should also be sensitized on regular basis on the importance of their assessment practices with regard to construction, administration and scoring of tests.