CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Education has a significant impact on both individuals and society. It is all about knowledge in education. Teachers are the keepers of knowledge. The Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN, 2004) stated that no educational standard can surpass the caliber of its professors. Teachers are defined by Webster's Comprehensive Dictionary (WCD, 2013) as "one who teaches, especially one whose occupation is teaching." Teaching (W.C.D.) is the act of imparting knowledge, instructing, directing, and demonstrating by precept or example. It is a profession to teach. According to the National Teachers Institute (NTI, 2000), a profession is any occupation that requires all employees to have extensive and specialized knowledge, abilities, and attitudes in order to provide a specific community contribution. A teacher's service is required in every community. Individuals that choose education make up a community. Primary school is the first stage of education for most students. Primary education objectives, according to FRN (2013), include (a) permanent literacy, numeracy, and the ability to communicate effectively; (b) laying a solid foundation for scientific, critical, and reflective thinking; and (c) providing opportunities for the child to develop life's manipulative skills that will enable the child to function effectively in society within the limits of the child's ability. The following topics must be introduced to students.Among the students are all children with special needs.Special education, according to FRN (2013; 65), is "a personalized educational curriculum designed to satisfy the unique needs of people with special needs that general education can not meet." FRN went on to say that people with special needs should be able to receive inclusive education services at schools where regular students go, in age-appropriate special education classes supervised by special teachers. Pupils with vision impairment are among those with special needs. Blind and partially sighted people were identified as people with visual impairment by FRN (2013). As a result, an inclusive education is said to benefit them.In Chukuka (2013), Ozoji defined inclusive education as a program that allows children with impairments to attend regular school with other children. Inclusion education is the process of normalizing learning conditions for students with disabilities so that they can learn and thrive alongside their able-bodied peers in school and in the community. Today, there appears to be skepticism about the viability of inclusive education. It should come as no surprise that FRN (2013; 66) stated that special needs students who are unable to benefit from inclusive education, special classes, or units should continue to attend special schools...The preceding threw the popular push for inclusive education into disarray. Not only that, but there's more. In the face of today's technological growth, it is critical to address teachers' professional preparedness for inclusivity, according to WCD (2013). Technology is the application of science to the arts.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

There is a popular campaign for universal education. The idea of segregating people with visual impairments has been lobbied against, and inclusive education is now the in-thing. Visually impaired students should be in the same classroom as sighted students. In an inclusive setting, teaching and learning are supposed to be result-oriented, with trained teachers using resources and educational technological facilities to teach them. There appears to be some skepticism about how the above works. In the state in question, the inclusion of visually impaired students in elementary schools appears to be failing.Teachers appear to be unprepared for a much-valued inclusive education, as evidenced by their lack of professional and technical development readiness. Teachers' preparedness in terms of having a solid background in the principles and practices of inclusive education, as well as developed abilities for using modern educational technologies to teach students with visual impairment, should be explored. The researchers found no literature that addressed the above to evaluate inclusive settings for kids with vision impairment at school in Cross River State, Nigeria. Because the aforementioned is regarded as a significant development, inclusive education will remain a pipe dream for students with visual impairment, who will be disappointed, helpless, and despondent. Because the teachers from whom they should learn are unprepared, they may not be able to receive a quality and equal education, and they may not be able to adapt to the 21st century technology era.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

I.         To learnmore about the difficulties that teachers experience when teaching visually impaired children,

II.      .Determine the extent to which teachers are familiar with the principles and practices of inclusive education for students with visual impairments.

III.   To learn about the teaching methods used by teachers while engaging with visually impaired students.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

I.       What difficulties do teachers experience when teaching visually impaired children?

II.    What level of familiarity do teachers have with the principles and practices of inclusive education for students with visual impairments?

III. What teaching methods are used by teachers while engaging with visually impaired students?

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 

The importance of research, Several other unique issues, as they are discussed in this study, may provide guidance in evaluating the gap between policy and practical uses of special education in Enugu's educational system. In this light, the new study has the potential to not only expand special education research in terms of teaching and learning, but also to offer researchers detailed information about the specific obstacles that visually impaired students have when learning high school mathematics. The study's findings may have larger implications for teachers, parents, policymakers, and large-scale project managers. Teachers, parents, policymakers, and large-scale project managers can benefit from this study by learning about the distinctive learning styles of visually impaired kids.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study of the Special Education Centre, Oji River, Enugu, Enugu State, Nigeria, as a case study, is limited to the Challenges in Teaching Visually Impaired Students.

1.7 LIMITATION OF STUDY

The questionnaire was administered by the researcher alone, hence it is not a standardized instrument. It could have an impact on the study's outcomes. Because no random sampling will be employed, the results will be rigorously generalized.

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Challenges: a call for someone to participate in a competitive situation or fight to decide who is superior in terms of ability or strength.

Teaching: the occupation, profession, or work of a teacher.

Visually Impaired: partially or completely blind.

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