Social Inclusion, a Pathway for Educating All Pupils in Mainstream Primary Schools in Cross River State, Nigeria

Moses Apie Ewa

doi:10.37284/eajes.7.2.1944

Moses Apie Ewa, PhD University of Cross River State

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37284/eajes.7.2.1944

Keywords: Social Inclusion, Education for All, Pupils, Mainstream Primary Schools, Nigeria

Share Article:

Abstract

This survey investigated whether social inclusion influences education for all pupils in state mainstream schools in Cross River State, Nigeria. Two research questions, and hypotheses, were posed for the study. 704 pupils were drawn from eight public primary schools located across the education zones of the state to participate in the study. The social inclusion and mainstream schooling questionnaire (SIMSQ) were utilised to generate data. Following the social inclusion theory, data was analysed using the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient via SPSS software. Findings revealed that policy on inclusion and learner engagement significantly influence education for all pupils in mainstream schools within the context. It is therefore recommended that: the government of Nigeria should revise the national policy on education to properly emphasise mainstream schooling for inclusion to be effective in general schools; special schools should be abolished to give way to mainstream schools; the idea of parity in education can be broadened to inclusion of all children in education; awareness campaigns should be conducted regularly to educate stakeholders about general schools based on social inclusion, and to get their support; pro inclusion laws should be enacted to give legal backing to mainstream schooling; Nigeria should give force to inclusion to make it compulsory for all pupils to receive education in mainstream schools; substantial empirical studies have to be conducted in Nigeria to spark a policy change in the direction of mainstreaming in the country

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Ainscow, M. (2005). Developing inclusive education systems: what are the levers for change? Journal of Educational Change, 6(2): pp.109-24.

Ainscow, M. (2006). Inclusive education ten years after Salamanca: setting the agenda. European Journal of Psychology of Education, xxi (3), pp. 231-38.

Ajuwon, P. M. (2008). Inclusive education for students with disabilities in Nigeria: benefits, challenges and policy implications. International Journal of Special Education, 23(3).

Check, J. & R. K. Schutt (2012). Research methods in education. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Committee on the Rights of the Child (2009). Convention on the rights of the child. Geneva: United Nations

Creswell, J. (2003). Research design: qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approach (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Cross River State Universal Basic Education Board (2022). Pupil enrolment for the year 2022. Calabar: CRSUBEB.

Dunleavy, J. (2008). Listen up: Student voice and educational change. Canadian Education Association, 48(2), p. 31.

Dyson, A., Farrell, P., Polat, F., Hutcheson, G. & Gallannaugh, F. (2004). Inclusion and pupil achievement. Department for Education and Skills. Research report RR578.

Eleweke, C. J. & Rodda, M. (2002). The challenge of enhancing inclusive education in DCs. International Journal on Inclusive Education, 6 (2), pp. 113-26.

Ewa, M. A. & Ewa, G. M. (2019). Making education for all inclusive in developing countries. British Journal of Education, 7(3), pp. 19-35.

Ewa, M. A. (2015). A study on the inclusion of primary school children in a rural district in Nigeria. PhD Thesis submitted to the University of Manchester, England.

Ewa, M. A. (2019). Learner voice, praxis for democratic schooling in Nigeria. British Journal of Education, 7(4), pp.84-97

Federal Government of Nigeria (2013). National policy on education. Abuja: NERDC Press.

Fielding, M. & Bragg, S. (2003). Students as researchers: making a difference. Cambridge: Pearson.

Fielding, M. (2004) Transformative approaches to student voice: theoretical underpinnings, recalcitrant realities. British Education Research Journal, 30(2).

Fielding, M. (2008) Interrogating student voice: pre-occupations, purposes and possibilities, critical perspectives in education, p. 2.

Fielding, M. (2012). Beyond student voice: patterns of partnership and the demand of deep democracy. Revista de Educacion, 359, pp. 45-65.

Flutter, J. & Rudduck, J. (2004). Consulting Pupils: what is in it for schools? London: RoutlegdeFalmer.

Flynn, P. (2014). Empowerment and transformation for young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties engaged with student voice research. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 49(2).

Fredricks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P. C. & Paris, A. H. (2004). School engagement: potential of the concept, state of the evidence. Review of Educational Research, 74 (1), pp. 59–109.

Gardener, J. & Subrahmanian, R. (2006). Tackling social exclusion in health and education: Case studies from Asia’ mimeo. Brighton: Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex and London: GHK International.

Garuba, A. (2003). Inclusive education in the 21st century: challenges and opportunities for Nigeria. Asia Pacific Disabilities Rehabilitation Journal, 14(2), pp. 191-200.

Hanková, M. & Kalenda, S. (2022). Social inclusion into mainstream classes: voices of high school students with congenital physical disabilities. Issues in Educational Research, 32(3), pp. 960-981.

Harper, S. R. & Quaye, S. J. (2009a). Beyond sameness, with engagement and outcomes for all. Student Engagement in Higher Education. New York and London: Routledge, pp. 1–15.

Humphreys, S. & Crawfurd, C. (2014). Review of the literature on basic education in Nigeria. Issues of access, quality, equity and impact. EDOREN - Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria, p. 5.

Isa, S. G., Mammam, M. A., Badar, Y. & Bala, T. (2020). The impact of teaching methods on academic performance of secondary school students in Nigeria. International Journal of Development Research, 10(07), pp. 37382-37385.

Maciejewski, Michael A. (2002). The effectiveness of mainstreaming special needs students with regular students in a high school classroom setting. OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers. 202.

Mertler, C. A. & Charles, C. M. (2014). Introduction to educational research. London: Pearson Education Limited.

Muijs, D. (2011). Doing quantitative research in education with SPSS. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Ltd.

Mushingwa, M., Muleya, G. & Simui, F. (2022). Exploration of attitude of mainstream teachers in the provision of special education: a case study of Chibote Girls Secondary School in Kitwe District, Zambia. International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI), IX(III), pp. 69-77.

Nelson, E. (2015). Student voice as regimes of truth: troubling authenticity. Middle Grades Review, 1(2).

Okolie, U. C., Mlanga, S., Oyerinde, D. O., Olaniyi, N. O. & Chucks, M. E. (2021). Collaborative learning and student engagement in practical skills acquisition. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, pp. 1–10.

Peters. S. (2004). Inclusive education: an EFA strategy for all children. Washington, DC: World Bank.

Robinson, C. (2014). Children, their voices and their experiences of school: what does the evidence tell us? York: Cambridge Primary Review Trust.

Rose, R. & Shevlin, M. (2004). Encouraging voices: listening to young people who have been marginalised. Support for Learning, 19(4).

Rose, R. (2008). Promoting inclusion in primary classroom. In Forlin, C. & Lian, M. J. (Eds.), Reform, inclusion and teacher education. London: Routledge.

Rudd, T., Colligan, F., Naik, R., (2007). Learner voice: a handbook. Bristol: Futurelab.

Shirley, D. (2015). Education for voice: challenges and opportunities. Journal of Education Change, 16, pp. 125-28.

Taylor, L. & Parsons, J. (2011). Improving student engagement. Current Issues in Education, 14(1).

Trowler, V. (2010). Student engagement literature review. Department of Educational Research, Lancaster University. Accessed via https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/StudentEngagementLiteratureRevie w_1.pdf.

UNESCO (1994). The Salamanca Statement and framework for action on special education. Adopted by the World Conference on Special Needs Education: Access and Quality. Spain: UNESCO, p. viii.

UNESCO (2008). Inclusive education: the way of the future. 48th International Conference on Education. Reference Document. Geneva.

Universal Basic Education Commission of Nigeria (2004). Standard action plan based on the UBE Act. Nigeria.

Walker, L. & Logan, A. (2008). Learner engagement, a review of learner initiatives across UK’s educator sector. Futurelab.

Williams, C. (2007). Research Methods. Journal of Business and Economic Research, 5(3), pp. 65-72.

Willms, J. D. (2003). Student engagement at school: a sense of belonging and participation. Results from PISA 2000. Paris: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Woodcock, M. (2013). Social inclusion: its significance for development theory, research and policy. World Bank and Harvard University. Paris: UNESCO.

World Bank (2013). Inclusion matters: the foundation for shared prosperity. Washington, DC: World Bank. ISBN 978-1-4648-0010-8.