Effects of Mainstreaming Learners with Autism on Their Educational Experience in Public Primary Schools in Nyamache Sub County, Kisii County, Kenya

Abstract

: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of mainstreaming among autistic learners on their educational experiences in primary schools in Nyamache sub-county, Kisii County, Kenya. The study specifically was guided to address the following objectives; to assess the effect of Peer Interaction on educational experience of learners with autism, to find out the effect of learner’s Self-management on educational experience of learners with autism, to assess the effect of Antecedent Procedures on educational experience of learners with autism and to examine the effect of Peer-Mediated Interventions on educational experience of learners with autism in primary schools in Nyamache sub-county. A descriptive survey design was adapted in this study. The researcher used purposive sampling to select the 11 mainstreamed schools out of 102 primary schools with ASD learners. The 11 head teachers from these schools and also the 36 SNE trained teachers were selected as the subject of the study totaling to 47 respondents. Structured questionnaires, and observation schedules were formulated to collect the required data. Data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptively, frequency and percentages were used while for inferential statistics the Spear-man correlation and chi square test were used. The results revealed that the application of the four strategies played a significant role in improving the education experiences of the ASD learners in the mainstream schools. It was established that most of the respondents agreed that; pear interaction played a very significant role in enhancing education experience of learners with ASD. Similarly, majority of the respondents indicated that learner’s self-management, use of antecedent procedures and the peer mediated learning were also important strategies for enhancing education experience of the ASD learners. Further analysis using the chi square test of association and spearman correction revealed that there was a very significant association between the selected strategies for the study and educational experience of the ASD learners in mainstream primary schools. The study concluded that mainstreaming assists the learners with ASD as they learn new skills from their peers and hence their educational experiences are improved effectively. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that mainstreaming should be improved in all schools in order to accommodate learners who are challenges. Besides, teachers and other stakeholders in the Ministry of Education Science and Technology (MOEST) should take center stage to assist in recommending strategies on how to handle diverse learning in classroom