THE ATTITUDE OF THE SOCIETY TOWARDS SPECIAL

EDUCATION IN UVWIE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF

DELTA STATE
BY
ORJI OMAFUME MEWHOROREN
Department o Petro!e"m En#$neer$n# % Geo&'$en'e&
Petro!e"m Tra$n$n# In&t$t"te( P) M) B) *+( E"r"n( De!ta State
"me!$n,&-.a/oo)'om
+0+12340245
An6
ACHI ANTHONY NDUBUISI
Department o E6"'at$ona! Fo"n6at$on&
Fe6era! Co!!e#e o E6"'at$on 7Te'/n$'a!8 A&a9a
De!ta State
a'/$9e,e-#ma$!)'om
+0+13420***
0

ABSTRACT
With the quest for better living for all persons, the education of the physically challenged persons
becomes more and more significant for their integration and productivity into and towards the
betterment of the society in which they live. One of the educational disciplines equipped to meet this
challenge is the subject of Special Education. Sadly, this subject does not get the recognition it
deserves. This study was aimed at investigating the attitude of the society towards special education
taing a focus on the !vwie "ocal #overnment $rea of %elta State. The study adopted the survey
design. The sampling method used was cluster and simple random sampling techniques. The sample
si&e was one hundred and twenty '()*+ comprising of forty ',*+ Teachers, forty ',*+ -arents and forty
',*+ senior secondary School students. The instrument used for the study was the questionnaire. .t
consisted of thirty '/*+ items divided into three parts to elicit information on the status0 acquaintance as
well as perception, attitude and interest of the respondents directly or indirectly with any -hysically
1hallenged -erson '-1-+ were sought. The data collected was analy&ed using frequency and
contingency Test 2chi3 square '4
)
+ test5. Three hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The study
revealed that there is no significant difference among parents, teachers and students of the effect of
their perception on the study of special education as a discipline0 higher remuneration would probably
increase the interest in the subject of special education and there is no significant difference among
parents, teachers and students on the motivation to speciali&e in special education. 6ollowing the
findings, the researchers recommended that each state ministry of education should be responsible for
special education programmes in its own state0 this responsibility must include planning, supervision
and funding0 and 1onferences for -arents to eradicate attitudinal -roblems should be organi&ed
annually. $ll sessions should be conducted in both English 'the official language of 7igeria+ and other
indigenous 7igerian languages
:EY WORDS: Attitude, Special Education, Special Educator, disabled Person and Physically
Challenged Person
1

INTRODUCTION
Education is indispensable for and in nation building. Without education, there will be no
deelop!ent, for no nation can rise aboe its educational leel. Education therefore can be seen as the
heartbeat of a nation and deelop!ent of the indiidual. According to "ordon

#1$%$& 'Schooling can
help people deelop their innate capacities to lie and wor( in een better way). *e went further to
stress that each person has a right and obligation to deelop his aptitudes, a right to learn and a right to
!a(e choices, only those choices he perceies and understands to contribute to the larger society, what
he has learnt and hae the capacity to offer. +ro! the foregoing, eery !e!ber of the society has the
right to deelop and contribute to the better!ent of the society in general. ,isabled persons are no
e-ception. .n lieu of this, the /nited 0ations #/0& 1esolution of 2334 of 1$4% declared the right of
disabled persons to education which enables the! deelop their capacities and s(ills and which will
hasten the process of their social integration. 5he +ederal "oern!ent of 0igeria in her 0ational Policy
on Education of 6003 !ade proisions for the education of disabled persons. 7et with the world)s
changing attitude towards the educational needs of the disabled person, there is still a great dearth of
Special Educators to !eet the rapidly increasing educational aspirations of the disabled person.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWOR:
W/o $& a D$&a9!e6 Per&on;
A disabled person is defined as an indiidual who suffers a loss of a part or structure of the
body but does not interfere in his functioning, while a handicapped person is an indiidual who cannot
perfor! certain duties or tas(s due to the presence of a disability. .n recent ti!es, with the awareness of
hu!an rights, the ter! 'disabled) is frowned upon rather the ter! 'the physically challenged)#PCP& is
!ore preferred.
Spe'$a! E6"'at$on
5he 0igerian Educational 1esearch Council #1$44& defined special education as an area within
the fra!ewor( of general education that proides appropriate facilities, speciali8ed !aterials and
teachers #special educators& with ade9uate training for all types of children within the nation education
syste!s who hae unusual needs without portraying the child as different fro! all other hu!an beings.
5he +ederal "oern!ent of 0igeria #6003& in the 0ational Policy on Education defines special
education as the education of children and adults who hae learning difficulties because of different
sorts of handicaps: blindness, partial sightedness, deafness, hardness of hearing, health handicaps, and
so on due to circu!stances of birth, inheritance, social position, !ental and physical health patterns or
accidents in later life. As a result, few children are able to cope with nor!al school class organi8ation
and !ethod.
Spe'$a! E6"'ator&
Are specially trained teachers to !eet the uni9ue needs and abilities of disabled and gifted
children who !ay fare poorly in regular education progra!s to help the! !a(e progress in special
educational progra!!es. Weber

#1$:2& re!ar(ed that to teach e-ceptional children successfully, one
re9uires scientific (nowledge and s(ill, abundant patience and a genuine interest in handicapped and
their welfare. 5he uni9ueness of special education teachers include e-tra patience, fle-ibility, alertness,
resourcefulness, enthusias!, e!otional !aturity and stability, personal war!th, friendliness,
understanding, sy!pathy together with ob;ectiity and sensitiity and a host of other attributes that
would best help the! in their interaction with the e-ceptional child. +or !any years, een to the present
6

day, !ost 0igerians do not (now nor appreciate the need for special education. 5oo !any people are
uninterested in special education until they or their loed ones is handicapped.
Att$t"6e
Attitude could be defined as a consistent tendency to react in a particular way<often positiely
or negatiely = toward any !atter. Attitude possesses both cognitie and e!otional co!ponents. >(e
and A;eigbe #in 0wa8uo(e and ?olo 1$$:& cite @ohnson #1$4$& who sees attitudes as: Aa co!bination of
concepts, erbal infor!ation and e!otions that result in a predisposition to respond faourably or
unfaourably towards particular people, groups, ideas, eents or ob;ects.A An attitude describes the way
we thin(, feel about and act towards our fellow hu!an beings and how they thin( and act towards us.
Attitudes are shaped by internal and e-ternal forcesB the for!er to one general philosophy of life and the
latter to the preailing nor!s of the society. Abosi and >8o;i

#1$C%& states that the public generali8e that
disability is perasie of the personality with the unfortunate association of uselessness. .n other words,
the loss of a aluable aspect of the body is !isunderstood as a loss of the whole personality. 5he loss is
interpreted as helplessness, dependence, worthlessness and unproductieness. 5he attitude of 0igerians
towards the handicapped has been classified into four i8:
i. Send the! to beg
ii. . a! asha!ed of you
iii. .t)s not !y business
i. So!ething ought to be done
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ATTITUDES TOWARDS DISABILITY AND SPECIAL
EDUCATION
*istory is replete with e-a!ples of disabled people worldwide being ridiculed, (illed,
abandoned to die or conde!ned to per!anent e-clusion in asylu!s and ridiculed #Pritchard, 1$:2&.
Anang #1$$6& clai!s that the "ree(s abandoned their disabled babies on hillsides to die while early
Chinese left their disabled people to drown in riers. .n Europe, 0ero Co!!odus is said to hae
targeted bow and arrows on physically disabled indiiduals and the Church in the 1%th century
sanctioned the e-ter!ination of disabled persons #,urant, 1$33B >nwuegbu, 1$CC&. Coleridge #1$$2&
traces through history the (illing of people with disabilities, beginning with the Spartans who (illed
disabled persons as a !atter of lawB the endorse!ent by Dartin Euther to (ill disabled babies because
they were Fincarnations of the deilFB the English eugenicists who eli!inated disabled people under the
,arwinian eolution theory of the Fsurial of the fittestF and the 0a8i Euthanasia Progra!!e under
*itler to e-ter!inate disabled people as they could not !a(e any contribution to society. 5hese
persecutions recorded in western cultures are still eident today.
.n a world guided by econo!ics, with its concern for inest!ent and !a-i!u! rate of return,
ine9ualities of opportunities are created for people with disabilities. 5here are people today who are
strongly in faour of non<treat!ent of newborns with seere disabilities, !uch as were the nineteenth
century eugenicists #Dc,aniel, 1$C$&. 5er!ination of life is now affecting foetuses. +or instance,
"udalefs(y and Daddu!a #1$$6:4& gie an account of the Ashoc(ing and unacceptableA state!ent by a
European delegate at a recent world conference who reported Athat his country has soled the proble!
of defecties by the introduction of widespread a!niocentesis and other prenatal testing proceduresA.
*oweer, a!id the raging persecutions, history also presents rays of positie societal
perception and action. +or e-a!ple, Anang #1$$6& reports on the interest in the proble!s of blind
2

people which beca!e !anifest in Egypt in 6:%0 GC. Subse9uently Egypt began to proide opportunity
for blind people Ato engage in gainful e!ploy!entA and to be (nown as the Acountry of the blindA. As a
result of this fa!e, Anang #1$$6:14& writes: -ythagoras travelled to Egypt and observed the wor being
done with the blind in Egypt and carried the story of their wor to #reece. PythagorasF isit to Egypt
created interest in the study of eye diseases and influenced public attitudes towards people with
blindness and other disabilities.
+aourable practices in rehabilitation and co!!unity care were found all oer the world. +or
e-a!ple, Diles #1$C2&, in his reiew of literature, reports of the use of prosthetic and artificial eyes in
.ndia around the :th century GC and Aa re!ar(able tradition of co!!unity care for the !entally
disorderedA which began in Gelgiu! in the %th century A,.
>n the educational scene, the contributions !ade by such educational thin(ers as +roebel,
1usseau, Eoc(e and Dontessori, to na!e but a few, hae had an indirect influence on the understanding
of disabled learners #.shu!i, 1$4:&. 5he history of special education is in fact a story of changing
attitudes towards people with disabilitiesB fro! priate tuition, institutions, special schools to integration
and now gradually to inclusie education. .t is worth noting that the idea and practice of integrated
education is not a 60th century innoation. @ohann Wilhel! ?lein adocated it igorously in Austria in
1C10, prepared a guide to assist regular class teachers who had blind children in their classes in 1C1$,
and this led to the issuing of a policy state!ent on integration in 1C36 #"earhart and Weishahn, 1$4:&.
*istorically, therefore, attitudes towards disabled people hae been a !i-ture of persecution as well as
tolerance. *oweer, the tolerance shown has been paternalistic. ,isabled people were perceied as
incapable of !a(ing their own decisions and of ta(ing control of their liesB they were iewed as people
who always need to be helped or as ob;ects of pity and charity #Coleridge, 1$$2&. 5his paternalistic
conception of disability is clearly eident in the wor( of oluntary organi8ations, especially in their
fund<raising actiities #1alph, 1$C$&.
/nfortunately, paternalistic attitudes tend to create dependency and an incapacitating learned
helplessness in people with disabilities. .t erodes the self<estee! of the recipient of charity #>lier,
1$$0&. Dodern practices recogni8e and respect the disabled person as a person first and as disabled
second. ,isabled people are not perceied as inferior or second<class citi8ens, but capable of
co!!unicating and participating, entering into dialogue with other people #+reire, 1$42&. 5hese are the
e!powering practices, the ery basis of people<centred deelop!ent, which recogni8e that disabled
people, or any other group of hu!an beings in society, need to be responsible for their own affairs.
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIAL EDUCATION
Special education is a relatiely new field which started as a result of the ostracis! that
disabled persons suffer in their bid to ac9uire for!al education. As ciili8ation progressed,
considerations were gien to the plight of the disabled person. Abang
2
deduced that special education
deeloped as society searched for ade9uate ways to care for the e-ceptional child who could not profit
fro! regular educational serices. Abang
3
and other authors ad!it that it was the adent of the
1enaissance that !ar(ed the beginning of the consideration of the educational needs of the e-ceptional
indiidual. *istorically, societies response towards the e-ceptional indiidual has coered irtually the
entire range of hu!an reactions and e!otions = fro! e-ter!inations, superstition, ridicule, pity, and
e-clusion to serice, scientific study and respect as hu!ans first and the handicapped persons second.
3

5he deelop!ent of the care and treat!ent of the e-ceptional indiidual has been eolutionary. +ro!
early "ree( writings, the handicapped child was left to die on the hillside. 5he 1o!ans e!ployed the!
as entertainers for the rich and powerful. ,uring the !iddle ages, they were e!ployed as ;esters in the
royal courts and so!e were forced to undergo scourging to drie out the de!ons thought to posses
the!. So!e still were gien the right to beg as still seen in so!e countries today, 0igeria inclusie. 5he
co!ing of Christianity failed to bring about the resolution of the caring of the e-ceptional indiidual.
5he !odern era began with the wor( of Pedro de Eean #1%60 = 1%C3& in the care of the deaf and
stretches to Edward Seguin #1C16 = 1CC0& who established the first school for intellectual retardation in
Paris in 1C24. 5he /nited 0ations resolution 2334 which established the right of the physically
challenged to education also aided the growth of special education. 5he resolution was passed the sa!e
year that President +ord endorsed the proision of education of the disabled in A!erica.
NIGERIAN SOCIETAL ATTITUDE TOWARDS DISABLED PERSONS
0igeria is a !ulti<ethnic nation and each tribe has its own culture which influences the attitude
of tribal !e!bers to disabled people. 5here is therefore no ho!ogenous H0igerian cultural attitudeF to
anything. *oweer, both >gbue #1$C1& and >bani #1$C6, citing @onson 1$%4, 0du(u 1$:3, and >(edi;i
and >gionwo 1$40 as sources& collated and synthesi8ed the beliefs of !any 0igerian cultures regarding
the causes of handicapping conditions. 5hese are seen as any one of, or a co!bination of:
#1& A curse on the fa!ily or the wider co!!unity for offenses against "od or the godsB
#6& Anger of the ancestors or ancestral gods for neglect or breached pro!isesB
#2& Punish!ent of the child for offenses co!!itted in a preious incarnationB
#3& Punish!ent for a parentFs !isde!eanorB
#%& A potential eil person curtailed by the godsB
#:& Punish!ent for offenses against the laws of the land or breaches of custo!B
#4& Wic(ed acts of witches and wi8ards.
.n the light of such beliefs about the causes of handicaps, it is hardly surprising that attitudes to
disabled 0igerians are generally negatieI ,espite this, so!e 0igerian cultures treat their handicapped
!e!bers faourably for a ariety of reasons. +or e-a!ple, where the handicap is belieed to be caused
by a !aleolent god, so!e groups will treat the handicapped child well to aoid further offending the
god. >ne of the pillars of .sla! is al!sgiing, thus beggars !ay be considered to be bringing a blessing
to others by proiding the! with an opportunity of earning !erit #@a9uess 1$44 and Eaoye 1$C6&. 5hus
in Dusli! areas, handicapped beggars will nor!ally receie al!s, often being regarded as those who!
HAllah the supre!e "od has created that the laws !ay be fulfilledF #>gbue 1$C1 and >bani 1$C1&.
*oweer this can also fuel negatie attitudes as handicapped beggars are seen as dependent and
helpless. Against this bac(ground there is an increasing interest a!ong 0igerian Special Educators in
studying attitude and how it can be changed. >8o;i #1$$1,1$$2& states that integration ai!s at pro!oting
close interaction between disabled and non<disabled children in early life, and this hope of integration
dispelling negatie and pre;udiced attitudes towards the disabled, is shared by !ost 0igerian Special
Educators. 5his is based on the principle that attitudes are learnt and are ac9uired through e-periences,
fro! which it follows that positie e-periences can lead to positie attitude change.
%

THE ADE<UACY OF NIGERIAN SPECIAL EDUCATION
>n paper, special education proision in 0igeria is second to none in Africa, but sadly the
actuality often falls far short of the theoretical proision. +or e-a!ple, the 0ational Policy on Education
Para.%% #b& gies one of the ob;ecties of special education as being Hto proide ade9uate education for
all handicapped children...F. 5his leads to the consideration of what is Han ade9uate educationF and
whether handicapped 0igerian children are receiing it. .n our !odern technological age, few would
deny that an Hade9uate educationF should ensure that those educated are ade9uately grounded in science,
technology and !athe!atics #S5D&, but it is this aspect that is often woefully inade9uate or een totally
absent in the schooling receied by handicapped 0igerians, especially if their handicap is isual.
Although !athe!atics #or at least arith!etic& is nor!ally taught at special schools for the blind, once a
blind student enters hisJher integrated secondary school #all secondary education of the blind in 0igeria
is in integrated schools& heJshe is li(ely to be He-cusedF or een actiely e-cluded fro! !athe!atics or
the practical aspects of science and technology, thus receiing an education that is far fro! an
Hade9uateF preparation for life in an increasingly scientifically and technologically orientated 0igeria
#*ill 1$$1, 1$$3, *ill K @ur!ang 1$$2, 1$$:a, @ur!ang et al 1$$:&.
P"rpo&e o t/e St"6.
5he pri!ary ob;ectie of this study is to inestigate the attitudes of the society towards the
sub;ect of special education and the education of Physically Challenged Persons using /wie Eocal
"oern!ent Area of ,elta State.
Re&ear'/ H.pot/e&e&
5he study specifically tested the following hypotheses
1. 5here is no significance in difference in the perception of parents, teachers and students on the
education of the Physically Challenged Persons #PCP&.
6. 5here is no significant difference a!ong parents, teachers and students of the effect of their
perception on the study of special education as a discipline.
2. 5here is no significant difference a!ong parents, teachers and students on the !otiation to
speciali8e in special education.
METHODOLOGY
Re&ear'/ De&$#n
5he Si!ple Surey 1esearch ,esign was e!ployed in carrying out this study. 5he study was
carried out a!ong the indigenes and residents of the Eroie 9uarters in Effurun co!!unity of /wie
Eocal "oern!ent Area of ,elta State to ealuate the perception of the !e!bers of that group of
people to the sub;ect of special education. 5he respondents were li!ited to teachers, parents and
students of the secondary school leel.
Samp!e an6 Samp!$n# Te'/n$="e
5he sa!ple si8e was one hundred and twenty co!prising of forty #30& parents, forty #30&
teachers and forty #30& students. 5he sa!pling !ethods used were both the cluster and the si!ple
rando! sa!pling techni9ues. 5he researchers bro(e up the population #/wie Eocal "oern!ent Area&
into 'wor(able) seg!ents #clusters& using the si!ple rando! sa!pling in order to reduce research cost
in ter!s of ti!e and !oney.
:

In&tr"mentat$on
5he research instru!ent used was the 9uestionnaire. .t consists of 20 ite!s diided into three
parts: Part A was designed to elicit or generate infor!ation as relates to the status of the respondents.
Part G was to elicit infor!ation on the ac9uaintance of the respondents directly or indirectly with any
PCP. Part C was designed to !easure the perception, attitude, and interest of the respondents towards
the sub;ect of special education. .t consisted of eighteen state!ents with four response categories coded
as follows: Strongly Agree #SA&, Agree #A&, ,isagree #,&, Strongly ,isagree #S,&. 5he 9uestionnaires
were distributed to the respondents in their ho!es #parents& and schools #students and 5eachers& by the
researchers and collected by sa!e after a lapse period. 5he instru!ent was alidated by two special
education e-perts at the ,elta State /niersity. 5he alidity of the instru!ent was assessed in ter!s of
content and face. 5he instru!ent was trail tested to establish the reliability with 20 sub;ects in a school
and /wie suburb that were not selected to be part of the study. 5he ?uder<1ichardson 61 for!ula was
used in finding the coefficient of reliability which was founded to be 0.4$. >n the basis of the high
reliability coefficient the instru!ent was dee! to be suitable in conducting the research.
Met/o6 o Data Ana!.&$&
5he data was analy8ed using the fre9uency and contingency test Lchi< s9uare #M
6
& testN.
Re&"!t&
5he results of the research hypotheses are shown in tables 1 = : below.
H.pot/e&$& Ho5> 5here is no significance in difference in the perception of parents, teachers and
students on the education of the Physically Challenged Persons #PCP&.
5he result of hypothesis two is shown in tables 1< 6 below
TABLE 5> CONTINGENCY TABLE OF OBSERVED FRE<UENCIES
SA A D DS TOTAL
Parent& 33 32 30 22 1:0
Tea'/er& 32 34 32 64 1:0
St"6ent& 3$ 6$ 30 36 1:0
Tota! 12: 114 162 106 3C0
TABLE *> COMPUTED TABLE 7THEORETICAL8
SA A D DS TOTAL
Parent& 3%.%6 2$.1: 31.14 23.13 1:0
Tea'/er& 3%.%6 2$.1: 31.14 23.13 1:0
St"6ent& 3%.%6 2$.1: 31.14 23.13 1:0
Tota! 12:.0 114.0 162.0 106.0 3C0
M
6
O C.%2%4 P C.%%

B degree of freedo! #f& #3<1&#2<1& 2 - 6 O :B the table alue at P #0.0%& or %Q O
16.:. At %Q of M
6
for si- degree of freedo! is 16.:, therefore the result is not significant.
De'$&$on: 5he null hypothesis is upheld. A total of 12: responses see! to be strongly in support of the
education of PCP as against the 106 responses that indicate otherwise.
H.pot/e&$& T?o 7Ho*&: 5here is no significant difference a!ong parents, teachers and students of the
effect of their perception on the study of special education as a discipline.
5he result of hypothesis two is shown in tables 2< 3 below
TABLE 1> CONTINGENCY TABLE OF OBSERVED FRE<UENCIES
4

SA A D DS TOTAL
Parent& 31 %$ 32 14 1:0
Tea'/er& 32 %4 33 1: 1:0
St"6ent& %0 %$ 36 $ 1:0
Tota! 123 14% 16$ 36 3C0
TABLE 4> COMPUTED TABLE 7THEORETICAL8
SA A D DS TOTAL
Parent& 33.:4 %C.2 32.0 13.0 1:0
Tea'/er& 33.:4 %C.2 32.0 13.0 1:0
St"6ent& 33.:4 %C.2 32.0 13.0 1:0
Tota! 123.0 14%.0 16$.0 36.0 3C0
M
6
O 2.:3%% P 2.:%

B f O :B the table alue at P #0.0%& or %Q O 16.:
At %Q of M
6
for si- degree of freedo! is 16.:, therefore the result is not significant.
De'$&$on: 5he null hypothesis is upheld. 5he result shows that !ost of the respondents had a wor(ing
(nowledge of the sub;ect of special education. 5his is reealed in the responses totaling 14% as against
123 responses that reeal an in<depth (nowledge of the sub;ect. 16$ respondents disagreed with the
opinion that their attitudes towards the *P affected their interest in the sub;ect.
H.pot/e&$& T/ree 7Ho18: 5here is no significant difference a!ong parents, teachers and students on the
!otiation to speciali8e in special education.
5he result of hypothesis three is shown in tables % = : below.
TABLE 2> CONTINGENCY TABLE OF OBSERVED FRE<UENCIES
SA A D DS TOTAL
Parent& 36 41 2C $ 1:0
Tea'/er& 32 3C 61 16 1:0
St"6ent& %0 :4 2C 4 1:0
Tota! 122 666 $4 6C 3C0
TABLE @ > COMPUTED TABLE 7THEORETICAL8
SA A D DS TOTAL
Parent& 33.22 43.0 26.22 $.22 1:0
Tea'/er& 33.22 43.0 26.22 $.22 1:0
St"6ent& 33.22 43.0 26.22 $.22 1:0
Tota! 122.0 666.0 $4.0 6C.0 3C0
M
6
O $.$1C% P $.$6

B degree of freedo! O :. 5he table alue at P #0.0%& or %Q O 16.:
At %Q of M
6
for si- degree of freedo! is 16.:, therefore the result is not significant.
De'$&$on: 5he null hypothesis is upheld. 5he results reeals that a total of 666 responses were
faourable to the postulation that higher re!uneration would probably increase the interest in the
sub;ect of special education.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
F$n6$n#&
5he study discoered the following findings:
1. 5he disparity between the iews that strongly support the education of the PCP is not so !uch
fro! the iew that sees the PCP as been unproductie.
6. 5he awareness of the sub;ect of special education is still below aerage. .t see!s not to be well
understood.
C

2. 5hat financial !otiation !ay be faourable to the increased interest in the sub;ect but it was
not considered a ery strong factor.

D$&'"&&$on&
5he !ain thrust of this research wor( was to inestigate the attitudes of the society towards the
sub;ect of special education and the education of Physically Challenged Persons. Also discussed were
the i!plications of the study on the society and reco!!endations were !ade which !ay be helpful for
further studies.
+ro! the reiew of related literature, three stages in the deelop!ent of attitudes towards the
handicapped can be seen in the educational history of 0igeria. According to 5ha(ur and E8enne

#1$C%&,
first, during pre<Christian era, the handicapped was persecuted, neglected or !urdered. Secondly, during
the spread of Christianity and .sla!, the handicapped were protected and pitied. 5hirdly, in recent years,
there has been a !oe!ent towards accepting the handicapped and integrating the! into the society to
the fullest possible e-tent. +actors !ilitating against the education of the disabled are lac( of population
statistics, inade9uate !anpower, attitude of the society, lac( of fund, non<i!ple!entation of legislation
and poor attitude of practicing teaches towards the inclusion of the special needs people in regular
schools.
Physically Challenged Persons #PCP& has not been faourably loo(ed upon by the society, but
with the /nited 0ations resolution, PCP is declared to hae of !eaningful education. 5his has thus
increased the awareness of special education, although the strides in this direction hae not been
gigantic.
RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION
Re'ommen6at$on&
.n iew of the findings, the following reco!!endations were !ade:
1. 5hat there is the need for the "oern!ent, the general populace and een religious bodies to
consider the necessity, usefulness and econo!ic gain to be accrued in educating physically
challenged persons.
6. 5o address the inade9uacy of the curriculu! for special education in teacher education, schools
and regulatory authorities should organi8e practical hands on dec( wor(shops and se!inars to help
teachers who teach children with disabilities as well as teachers who teacher in conentional
schools where disabled children attend.
2. Conferences for Parents to eradicate attitudinal Proble!s should be organi8ed annually. All
sessions should be conducted in both English #the official language of 0igeria& and other
indigenous 0igerian languages. .n each conference a wide ariety of topics should be coered.
.nfor!ation should be presented to counteract !yths, generali8ations and other false beliefs that
lead to negatie attitudesB techni9ues to be included: tal(s, role<play, discussions and counter<
attitudinal adocacy. 5here should be Counselling sessions to create aenues for intensie
discussions on parental and co!!unity inole!ent. A nu!ber of sessions should be led by
handicapped staff !e!bers. 5heir co!petence and professionalis! will hae an enor!ous i!pact
on parents. Seeing these positie Hrole !odelsF will raise their e-pectations for their own
$

handicapped children. #*ill K @ur!ang 1$$: b&. An enlighten citi8enry can adocate, litigate and
legislate for rights.
3. Each state !inistry of education should be responsible for special education progra!!es in its
own stateB this responsibility !ust include planning, superision and funding.
%. 5here should be !a-i!u! effort to e-pand special education fro! preschool to uniersity leel.
5he Dinistry of Education should !ount large<scale child<find actiities and !a(e well for!ulated
decisions regarding screening and identification.
:. Roluntary agencies should be allowed to build their own schools in rural parts of 0igeria and other
deeloping countries. 5his will help to ease the financial and ad!inistratie burdens on federal and
state goern!ents.
Con'!"&$on
,isabled people need to lie in a !ore ;ust society which recogni8es their needs and acts to
reduce or eli!inate the societal harsh eniron!ents, social and physical barriers which preent the!
fro! participating in the welfare of the state and co!!unity. .ndeed, one cannot !eaningfully spea( of
deelop!ent in the co!!unity fro! the autono!ous standpoint when disabled people are left out or
ignored. 5his is what Coleridge #1$$2& refers to as a dehu!ani8ing e-perience. +rontline wor(ers in
rehabilitation and integrated education ought to ta(e into account the cultural basis of disability as an
entry point in the co!!unities they wor(. 0igeria appears to hae !ade tre!endous efforts to co!bat
proble!s confronting indiiduals with special needs. Section C of the 0ational policy on Education was
pro!ulgated as a policy to address these needs. ,espite this refor! effort, special education has been
approached in a!ore theoretical than practical !anner. While 0igeria should be credited for
recogni8ing and establishing a policy to help indiiduals with e-ceptionalities, this policy has not been
enacted in national law by its !e!ber of parlia!ent.
Special education can be successful if the country focuses on: #a& deeloping an appropriate
philosophical foundation of education which accurately reflects the characteristics and needs of the
peopleB and #b& ealuating educational policies and progra!!es to reduce inconsistencies in progra!!e
i!ple!entation.
10

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