This article explores the work of 38 specialist itinerant teachers (ITs) supporting the educational inclusion of children with visual impairment in Kenya using participatory action learning. Findings provide information about local practices of ITs support for children with visual impairment in mainstream schools and raise broader questions about the barriers to learning and development facing children with disabilities in mainstream schools in Kenya.
Not all children require direct assistance from the ITs and are able to learn with the help of simple adaptations to classroom practice. The IT takes on an advisory role in these instances and delivers particular interventions with children with severe low vision. ITs also have an important role in the identification of visually impaired children in the community.
Questions arise as to the level of training required by individual class teachers, how IT’s manage their caseloads with an increase in the numbers of children identified and the ability to access resources – particularly in rural settings.
When itinerant teachers keep systematic records of their work with visually impaired children, it has the potential to feed into the management and development of the service. Consequently, children are able to get better diagnoses, access low vision devices and spectacles and receive services that improve their participation and learning.
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