DISABILITIES

This study investigated the views of students with disabilities and B.Sc. (Ed.) Special Education students regarding inclusive education practices and peer support at the University of Benin during the 2025/2026 academic session. A descriptive survey design was employed for the study. Data were obtained from a sample of 40 participants, comprising 20 students with disabilities and 20 Special Education students, using a validated 25-item questionnaire with a Cronbach's Alpha reliability coefficient of 0.69. The study addressed four research questions and tested two null hypotheses using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and Pearson Product-Moment Correlation at the 0.05 level of significance. The results indicated that students with disabilities were generally dissatisfied with the implementation of inclusive education practices, particularly regarding the availability of accessible facilities and the use of inclusive instructional methods. Despite these concerns, respondents reported positive experiences with peer support, noting that classmates were generally willing to assist them during lectures and treated them with respect and dignity. Furthermore, the correlation analysis showed that peer support was not significantly associated with the level of inclusion experienced by students with disabilities (r = .332, p = .152). Likewise, no significant relationship was found between the perceptions of students with disabilities and those of Special Education students concerning inclusive education practices (r = .343, p = .138). Based on these findings, the study concluded that the implementation of inclusive education at the University of Benin remains below the expected standard, although peer support among students is encouraging. The study therefore recommended that the university improve the provision of accessible learning facilities, strengthen disability support services, actively involve students with disabilities in decisions related to inclusion, and provide regular professional development for lecturers to enhance the adoption of effective inclusive teaching practices.

This study aimed at examining the influence of assistive technology in special education. Four research questions were raised to guide the study. The design adopted for this study is the survey research design. The sample consisted of 100 respondents (teachers) randomly selected from 10 schools in Ovia North East Local Government. Questionnaires were used for the collection of data from 100 (one hundred) respondents which were basically teachers. The research instrument was validated by the researcher’s supervisor and two expert in the department of educational evaluation and counselling psychology The test re-test method was adopted in testing the reliability of the instrument after which the research instruments were administered by the researcher herself. The data obtained were analyzed using mean and standard deviation. Findings revealed that teachers have the right perception on the effects of assistive technology in classes with special needs children. It was also revealed that Teachers have the right attitude towards the use of assistive technology in classes with special needs children. Based on the findings, it was recommended that Government and other stakeholders should organize workshop, seminars and other capacity building training regularly for teachers as means of updating their knowledge and skills in the use of assistive devices considering the dynamic nature of special education technology. It was also recommended that Special education teacher training institutions should include assistive technology in their preparatory programme that will equip pre-service teachers with the necessaryknowledge and skills that will ensure a minimum level of competence in the classroom.

Disability based on the definition of the medical model is a physical or mental condition that limits a person’s movements, senses, or activities. It is an umbrella term covering impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions. This model views disability as a physical or mental issue which must be treated and cured. Also, the United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), 2006, took a different approach in determining what disability is. Accordingly, the CRPD approached disability from the aspect of human rights; recognising PWDs as right holders and their impairment should not be used as a justification for denial or restriction of their human rights. The World Health Organization (W.H.O) in its World Report on Disability, 2010, shows that PWDs have poorer health outcomes, lower educational achievements, less economic participation, and higher rate of poverty than their counterparts who are without disabilities. These outcomes are partly as a result of the fact that PWDs experience barriers in accessing certain basic services which they are entitledto; such as healthcare, education, employment, transportation as well as information. These difficulties are even worse for PWDs in poor or less advantaged communities. This essay examined the right to employment of PWDs as a means of ensuring that they achieve economic and financial independence; thereby assisting them to reach their full potentials. In this regard, there are international and national legislations and policy frameworks with provisions that safeguard the general rights of PWDs in Nigeria. Pertinent questions as to the efficacy, compliance, and implementation of the existing legal frameworks, as well as issues that pose as challenges to the rights of PWDs were examined and the essay finds that the rights of PWDs, especially their right to employment has not been effectively implemented in Nigeria and that more realistic efforts has to be made to see that the rights of PWDs are safeguarded.