EFFECTS OF MAINSTREAMING LEARNERS WITH AUTISM ON THEIR EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE IN PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN NYAMACHE SUB COUNTY, KISII COUNTY, KENYA.

Abstract

Autism is neuro developmental disorder resulting into impairment in communication and social interaction. Mainstreaming of learners with autism in schools is a global trend and has been the subject of ongoing research and discussion in recent decades. There exists little documented evidence on various strategies used by teachers to improve education experiences of learners with Autism in the mainstreamed schools, and their effects on educational experience for the autistic learners. This study therefore, aimed to assess the effects of; learners Peer Interaction, learners’ Selfmanagement, Antecedent Procedures, and Peer-Mediated Interventionsstrategies on educational experience of learners with autism in primary schools in Nyamache subcounty in Kisii County. The study was guided by Vygotsky’s theory and Autism Inclusive collaboration Model. A descriptive survey design was adapted in this study employing purposive sampling to select 47 respondents. The selected population was composed of 11headteachers and 36 SNE trained teachers from mainstreamed schools with Autistic learners in Nyamache Sub County. Structured questionnaires and observation schedules were formulated and examined for validity and reliability by computing the validity coefficient index and usingCronbach alpha reliability test. The instruments had 0.67 and 0.8 validity index and reliability index respectively hence, they were considered appropriate for use in data collection. Data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptively, frequency and percentages were used while inferentially, the Spear-man Correlation and Chi Square test were used. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 25 and Microsoft Excel were used as appropriate tools in the analysis. It was established that most of the respondents (84.8%) agreed that; peer interaction plays a significant role in enhancing education experience of learners with Autism. Similarly, majority of the respondents (62.1%, 80.5%, and 69.5%) indicated that learner’s self-management, use of antecedent procedures and the peer mediated Intervention respectively were important strategies for enhancing education experience for autistic learners. The Chi Square and Spearman correlation tests revealed significant association between the four selected strategies and educational experience of learners living with autism in mainstream primary schools reporting t values of 4.698, 5.393, 4.560, and 5.084 respectively. The study concluded that mainstreaming assists the learners with Autism as they learn new skills from their peers and hence their educational experiences were improved effectively. Based on the study findings, it was recommended that schools teaching model incorporated with antecedent procedures and peer mediated learning be considered as effective strategies in the mainstreamed schools to enhance the learning process and improve learning experience for autistic learners.