WHERE ARE WE IN SPACE: EXAMINING TEACHERS’ ICT COMPETENCY IN TEACHING LEARNERS IN SPECIAL SCHOOLS IN KENYA

Information Communication Technology (ICT) plays a central role in facilitating education in the 21st century. For successful integration of ICT in teaching and learning teachers play a key role. As such, there is a need for competent teachers in applying ICT skills to teach and facilitate learning. This study sought to examine teachers’ ICT competency in implementing Digital Literacy Programme (DLP) in public primary special schools in Nairobi County ii Kenya. The study used a semi-structured questionnaire tool to collect data from 99 teachers and 41 head teachers from public primary special schools in Nairobi County. Mixed-Methods Research (MMR) where both Statistical Methods and thematic analysis approaches were used to analyse the data. Statistical Methods used include descriptive analysis such as frequencies and percentages and bivariate analysis approaches including Chi-square tests of hypothesis regarding the relationship between teacher’s ICT competency and implementation of DLP. The study found that the role played by DLP in building teacher ICT skill capacity is 28.4% lower in special schools compared to regular schools. As a result, teachers of children with disabilities and special educational needs have limited relevant ICT skills such as assistive technology to support teaching and learning. The study also found that whilst there may be a significant proportion of teachers skilled with ICT skills, lack of access to digital devices and internet connectivity makes it difficult for them to demonstrate their competency and apply the same to the teaching of children with disabilities. Based on the results of this study, recommendations for policy enhancement and improvement of practice have been made.  Article visualizations: