ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to investigate the determinants of Reading Difficulties among standard five pupils with Learning Disabilities (LD) in public primary schools in Keiyo sub county, Elgeyo Marakwet County. The study intended to find out the extent to which reading difficulties exist among pupils with LD in class five. It also determined the learning strategies used by pupils with reading difficulties in class five. In addition, it determined the strategies used in teaching reading in class five. Finally, the study aimed at determining the availability of resources used for teaching reading in class five. Descriptive Survey Design was used in the study. The study was carried out in Keiyo Sub- County. The study targeted a population of 2628, consisting of all class five pupils, their English teachers and head teachers in public primary schools in Keiyo Sub- County. Simple random sampling was used to get the twenty public primary schools to be involved in the study. Purposeful sampling was used to select five learners with reading difficulties in each of the twenty primary schools selected. The pupils were selected from those pupils who perennially post low marks in academic areas especially in English subject as per their class end term mark lists and the subject teachers also played a crucial in identifying pupils with reading problems in their respective classes. The purposeful sampling was also used to get class five English subject teachers. On the other hand, Convenience sampling was used to get the twenty Head teachers from the sampled schools. In summary, the sample size was 100 pupils, 20 teachers and 20 head teachers making a total sample size of 140. The data collection instruments employed entailed these: observation schedule for the pupils and questionnaires for the English teachers and the head teachers. The observation schedule was used to find out the extent to which reading difficulties exist among pupils with LD in class five by testing on three reading areas which entailed; oral word recognition, oral reading of passage and silent reading of passages. A pilot study was conducted at Salaba primary school which is found within the Sub-County thus bear similar geographical characteristics with the sampled schools and therefore was used to determine the validity and reliability of the data collection instruments. The data collected was analyzed using combined designs i.e both quantitatively and qualitatively. The quantitative data was first coded and entered in SPSS spread sheet and then checked for errors. All the gathered information was analyzed using descriptive statistics by using percentages, frequency tables, bar graphs and pie–charts. The qualitative statistics was analyzed thematically basing on the respondents point of views. The study found out that children with reading difficulties do not have learning strategies like meta-cognition, self- directed, coping, organization, analogy skills and rehearsal skills. Most public primary schools did not have adequate learning resources therefore had direct influence in education of those pupils with disabilities. The study also found out the use of phonics, whole language peer tutoring and cooperation learning were effective methods of teaching if implemented adequately. The study therefore recommends that teachers should be trained on SNE in order to be equipped with appropriate pedagogical skills to address diverse needs of learners in inclusive settings, teachers should teach pupils better learning and reading skills, the government should allocation more funds for the purchase of instructional materials.
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Introduction
This chapter presents the background to the study, the statement of the study problem, the purpose of the study, objectives of the study and research questions. It also discusses the significance of the study, limitation of the study, delimitation of the study. It also presents the theoretical framework, conceptual framework and operational definition of terms.
Background to the Study
The term Learning Disability was coined by Samuel Kirk who authored the term in 1963. Learning disability is characterized by the ultra – individual difference usually in form of a discrepancy between the learner‟s ability and his/her achievements in areas such as reading, writing, mathematics or speaking (Lerner 2002). Clehan and Clark (1982) define learning disability as a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using spoken or written language. It may manifest in imperfect ability to listen, think and speak, write and spell or do mathematical calculation. It includes such conditions such as brain injury, dyslexia and developmental aphasia.
According to LD online (2010) the world‟s leading website on LD and ADHD, reveals that majority of children with LD (over 80%) experience severe reading problems. It is from this context that the researcher synonymously refers pupils with reading difficulties to be LD. Kline (2006) suggests that learners with reading problems experience
difficulties in reading comprehension, word recognition and word analysis skills problems. In Kenya, a study conducted by Runo (2010) indicates that reading difficulties may manifest in inability to understand the relationships between sounds, letters, words and comprehension problems which may be caused by inability to grasp the meaning of words, phrases and paragraphs. Signs of reading difficulties include: problems with letter and word recognition, understanding words and ideas, reading speed and fluency and general vocabulary skills.
Gargiulo (2009) puts forward that poor readers have bad reading habits such as tension movements. For instance, frowning, fidgeting, using high-pitched voice, lip biting, refusing to read, crying attempting to distract the teachers, lose places in reading, read by lateral head movements among others. They also have word recognition problems such as omission, insertion, substitutions, reversals, mispronunciation and transposition of words. He further suggested that poor readers perform poorly across all subject areas. They have negative feelings about learning and about themselves because of past experience. Seligman (1992) identifies this outlook as learned- helplessness resulting to loss of self- esteem and lack of motivation among the poor readers. They tend to be passive or in active.
Learners with poor reading capabilities have memory deficits (Swanson & Sachsso – Lee, 2012). CEC (2003) puts forward that success with reading and Mathematics seems to depend more on the working memory than on the short- term memory. Moreover,
Ashbaker & Swanson (1996) expound that working memory also appears to be crucial for word recognition and reading comprehension.
The prevalence of pupils with learning disabilities in USA makes up 1-30% of the school population that received special needs services (Lerner, 1999). In Africa, reading literacy among standard 6 pupils was conducted by Southern African Consortium for Monitoring Education Quality (SACMEQ). It conducted a large scale assessment project that was informative about reading literacy. The project investigated five general areas and two of these areas were related to reading. These are the level of reading achievement and instructional inputs. The findings revealed with 95 percent confidence level that 35 percent of children had acquired minimum mastery level of reading and about 77 percent did not reach desired level of reading. According to the study across Kenya there were performance clusters. Nairobi had the highest reading level followed by coast, central, Eastern and Rift Valley provinces. (Nzomo et al, 2001).
Another Study by The Williams and Flora Hewlettt Foundation (2008) on the quality of education in Developing countries reported that although children are expected to be able to read fluently by the end of the three years in school, grade level testing indicates that even by grade 6, many students still cannot read or do basic math citing specific sources, the paper reported that for example, in Zambia, only 25% of grade 6 pupils demonstrated minimum literacy (Nkamba and Nkanyika). In Nigeria, 40% of grade 4 pupils were unable to copy a single word or punctuate from a five line passage (EFA, 2000). In Kenya, a study was conducted on literacy among pupils in schools by Uwezo Kenya
(2013) and the results indicate that pupils in Kenyan schools face serious challenges in reading and writing. It revealed that more than half pupils in class 3 cannot read class 2 materials. It also established that most children can neither read nor comprehend a simple story in English or Kiswahili. For instance more than 50% of children in class 4 and 5 and 21% in standards 6 to 8 cannot comprehend class 2 materials. In that respect, pupils‟ inability to read compromises their access to quality education.
Education is a basic child right and need for all children as enshrined in the child‟s right of (2001). It is therefore an indispensable means of unlocking and protecting human rights since it provides the environment required for securing good health, liberty, security, economic well-being and participation in social and political activities. To make quality and relevant education and training opportunities accessible to all Kenyans, the government has ratified and domesticated various international education frameworks. For example the government signed article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). Consequently recognized and committed itself to the right of every child to access education. The article recognizes the intrinsic human value of education underpinned by strong moral and legal foundation. Other international policy frameworks ratified and signed by the government are the (1984) United Nations Convention on the rights of the child, the 1990 Africa Charter on the rights and welfare of the child, Salamanca Statement (1994), the Framework of Action on Special Needs Education (1999) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGS) (2001) Education for all (EFA) by 2015.
Alongside signing international policy frameworks, the government since independence has also established educational commissions to check on the quality of education for all children irrespective of disabilities. According to Silsi (2005), the Ominde Commission of 1964 recommended learners with mild disabilities to continue learning in regular schools, the Gachathi, commission (1976) emphasized on improving education and other relevant services for persons with disabilities in the schools and in the community. The Mackay Commission (1981) recommended a change in the education systems and teaching methods, the Kamunge Report (1988) recommended the provision of the necessary resources to disabled learners. Moreover, Koech report (1999) recommended an inclusive, accommodative and life- long education. The government also allocates
27.3 percent of its total budget to the education sector . Therefore education takes the lion‟s share of all the budgetary allocations.
Despite the government‟s commitment to provision of education, low educational standards still prevail inflicting profoundly on pupils with reading difficulties. Since no research has been carried out to establish the determinants of reading difficulties which compromise the quality of education, the researcher delved deeper in these issues and find out intervention measures to improve reading competency among these pupils.
Statement of the Problem
Reading difficulties is one of the major challenges faced by learners with Learning Disabilities. According to online (2010), it is estimated that over 80% 0f children with LD have reading difficulties. It is from this context therefore that the researcher hoped to
use LD to mean pupils with reading problems. According to Mercer & Mercer (2001), between 10% and 15% of school- going learners have reading disabilities. Lerner also claims that more than 17.5% of learners have reading difficulties. It is reported that children are expected to read fluently by the end of three years in school (Williams and Flora Foundation, 2008). Researchers and teachers have come to a general consensus that if pupils with reading problems are diagnosed in the first two grades, more than 80% of the children are brought up to grade level (Clark & uhry,1995,Deshler,Ellis & lenz1996). However, if it is not made until fifth grade, only 10 to 15 percent are helped. From this scenario, the researcher sought to establish the underlying factors that lead some learners into poor readers even up to class five despite the long time they have spent in schooling and especially in lower classes in which the teaching of reading is highly emphasized in Kenyan schools. This therefore suggests that those poor readers in class five are most likely to be or developing into LDS and if no intervention measures are put in place, these pupils will persistently face challenges in higher classes hence comprise the quality of their education. Reading difficulties lead to dire consequences among the poor readers. They develop negative feelings about learning and themselves because of past experience which Seligman (1992) calls learned- helplessness resulting to lose of self-esteem and lack of motivation among the poor readers.
Kline (2006) also adds that poor readers have word recognition, word analysis and comprehension problems leading to poor performances in academic areas. Carnine, Silbert & Kameenui, (1997) further adds that reading difficulties are the major principal cause of failure in school. In Kenya, few studies; (Chege,1999, Kirigi, 1991 and Njoroge,
2000) are all in agreement that learners with reading difficulties in English have problems in school performance in general. English performances continue to decline due to inadequate basic resources used for teaching and learning English (Njoroge, 2000). Another recent study done in kenya, (Uwezo, 2013) indicates that pupils in Kenyan schools face serious challenges in reading and writing. It revealed that more than half pupils in class 3 cannot read class two materials. Furthermore, it established that most children can neither read nor comprehend a simple story in English or Kiswahili. For instance, more than 50% of children in class four and five and 21% of in standards 6 to 8 cannot comprehend class 2 materials. Given the two findings by Mercer & Mercer and Lerner, it quite disheartening to learn that the condition in Kenya was lower given the fact that even class 8 pupils, 21% of them cannot comprehend class two material. The few studies carried out in Africa and Kenya was most likely to correlate to the case in the area of this study.
