Aѕѕeѕѕing Knowledge and Competence of Teacherѕ in Managing Children with Neurodevelopmental Diѕorderѕ in Mainѕtream Inѕtitutionѕ

Abstract

The Inclusive Education Policy (IEP) of Ghana has resulted in an increase in children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) in mainstream schools and its successful implementation has been largely dependent on mainstream teachers. This research assessed knowledge levels and competence of teachers in mainstream institutions in managing students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Learning Disability (LD), and Cerebral Palsy (CP). Using a quantitative cross-sectional survey design, 150 teachers were purposively sampled from 46 basic schools comprising 29 public and 17 private institutions through Special Needs coordinators in Eastern and Greater Accra Regions of Ghana. Measures including the LRC Teacher's Professional Competency Scale, the Autism Knowledge Questionnaire (AKQ), the Learning Disability Knowledge Questionnaire (LDKQ), and Knowledge of Cerebral Palsy were employed. Data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics analysis. Significant differences were found in the dimensions of competence among instructors of children with ASD, LD, and CP with teachers of children with CP exhibiting greater levels of competence followed by teachers of children with ASD and LD using MANOVA. Using Pearson correlation, significant positive relationship was found between knowledge of NDD and all dimensions of competence except attitudes. Also, higher levels of competence were discovered among older teachers as well as teachers who had more years of teaching experience. Hierarchical Multiple Regression showed that Knowledge of NDD and Years of teaching experience are significant predictors of competence. Also, teacher competence was found to be unaffected by gender. Implications of the findings of this study and recommendations are further discussed.