Attachment, Knowledge, and Attitude of Special Needs Teachers Toward the Use of Assistive Technology in the Teaching of Students with Special Needs in Port Harcourt Metropolis
Keywords:
Assistive Technology, Special Needs Teachers, Students with Special Needs, Knowledge and Attitude, Inclusive EducationAbstract
The study investigated the attachment knowledge and attitude of special needs teachers towards the use of assistive technology in teaching of special needs students in Port Harcourt Metropolis. A survey research design was employed for the study. Four research questions and four corresponding null hypotheses were raised to guide the outcome of the study. The population of the study comprised 54 special needs teachers of students with special needs in Port Harcourt Metropolis. census sampling technique was used to select the entire sample for the study. The instrument for data collection was a researcher-structured questionnaire titled: ‘Knowledge of Teachers Towards the Use of Assistive Technology Questionnaire (KTUATQ). The instrument was validated by the researcher’s supervisor in the Department of Educational Psychology, Guidance and Counseling and other experts in the Measurement and Evaluation and Special Education Unit of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port-Harcourt. The reliability of the instrument was determined using the Cronbach’s alpha method. The KTUATQ yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.77. The data obtained were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical tools. The research question was analyzed using mean and standard deviation, while the null hypotheses were tested using independent sample t-test at 0.05 alpha level. The findings of the study showed that there is significant difference in the knowledge of special needs teachers towards the use of assistive technology in special needs students in Port Harcourt metropolis, based on gender, years of experience, qualification, and school ownership. It was recommended that teachers should be trained and retrained on the use of assistive technologies in teaching these students, amongst others
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