REGULAR SCHOOLS AS CHILD FRIENDLY SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT FOR PUPILS WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENT.

Project Abstract: This study examines the extent to which regular school environment is friendly to pupils with hearing impairment in Rivers State of Nigeria in the following areas:  school environment and location, classroom environment, provision and placement of school material resources for teaching and learning. Four research questions guided the study while one hypothesis was tested. The descriptive research design was used. The population of the study consisted of all the teachers in the primary schools in Rivers State. Sample comprised 330 teachers who were randomly selected using simple random sampling technique from selected public and private primary schools which include 165 teachers from public schools and 165 teachers from private schools, 88 males and 242 females.  Questionnaire tagged “Child Friendly Environment for Pupils with Hearing Impairment (CFEPHI) was the instrument used to elicit information from teachers. The reliability of the instrument was established using Cronbach Alpha technique with reliability coefficient of 0.86 for school environment and location items, 0.85 for classroom environment items, 0.88 for provision and placement of school material resources items. Data were analysed using means, standard deviation and t-tests. Results showed that the environment of school location, classroom environment and provision and placement of school resources of private schools are significantly more friendly than that of public schools for pupils with hearing impairment.  Based on the results, it was recommended that all education stakeholders in the primary education sector should make classroom environment attractive and pleasant for all pupils including pupils with hearing impairment. This would enhance quality teaching and learning and improve teacher productivity.