An Investigation Of The Support Rendered To Teachers Of Learners With Visual Impairments In An Inclusive Secondary School In The Oshana Region In Namibia

ABSTRACT

This study explored the support rendered by education stakeholders to teachers of learners with visual impairments. This study was conducted at an inclusive secondary school in the Oshana region. The purposeful criterion sampling technique was used to select seven teachers who were teaching learners with visual impairments at the time of research to participate in the study. The interview guide was used as an instrument to collect data from the participants. With the permission of the respondents, a voice recorder was used and field notes were kept to capture the information during the interviews. Data were analysed by means of content analysis through coding and categorising into themes. The findings of the study revealed that only some of the education stakeholders, such as the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture and the resource teacher, rendered meaningful support to teachers of learners with visual impairments in inclusive schools. The Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, non-governmental organizations and Eluwa Special School provided material support while the resource teacher provided practical support. The findings of this study revealed that some of the reasons for the poor support from other stakeholders in inclusive schools were a lack of skills and knowledge regarding inclusive education. After critical examination of the findings of the study, various recommendations were made to Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, parents, teacher counsellor and the resource teacher regarding their support roles. The study also made recommendations for future studies.