INCLUSIVE LOWER PRIMARY EDUCATION: PARENTS’ AWARENESS OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL BENEFITS

The education given at lower primary classes (Primary I to III), for instance, meant to monitor and enhance the holistic development of the pupils, however, education at this level in Nigeria generally, and particularly, at Ifako-Ijaye Local Government area of Lagos State has not enjoyed the implementation of inclusive system. Several reasons have been deduced for the poor implementation, some of which are lack of resources and poor parental cooperation. Research studies have been carried out on the implementing of inclusive education, but there is dearth of empirical studies on parents’ awareness of economic and social benefits of inclusive education at lower primary education, hence this study. Descriptive survey research design was adopted with 161 parents who were sampled using multistage sampling technique form the sample of the study. A self-designed research instrument, Parents Awareness of Inclusive Education Questionnaire (α = 0.84) was used to collect data. Two research questions were answered and two hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Parents have low awareness of the economic (Weighted Average = 2.06) and social (Weighted Average = 2.29) benefits of inclusive lower primary education. Parental education has no significant influence on their level of awareness (r= 0.12; P>0.05). Based on the findings, it was recommended that teachers should sensitize parents about the economic and social benefits associated with inclusive lower primary education.

Abstract

Introduction

Social and Economic Benefits of Lower Primary Education

Parental Influence on Provision of Needed Education

Theoretical Background

Research Questions

Hypotheses

Methodology

Results

Conclusion

Recommendations