Development of a guidance programme for students with special educational needs in Kenya: a study on personal orientation

In this article, Franciscah Wamocho, lecturer and chairperson, Geoffrey Karugu, senior lecturer, both in the Department of Special Education, and Augustine Nwoye, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology, all from Kenyatta University in Nairobi, argue that people with disabilities are likely to need the support of counselling services. The study reported here sought to collect baseline data that could be used in designing a comprehensive guidance programme for students with disabilities in secondary phase special schools and vocational rehabilitation training centres in Kenya. A personal orientation inventory was employed to measure values and behaviours among 229 students with visual impairments, hearing impairments and physical disabilities. The results reveal that the students with special educational needs may be non-self-actualising. The trend suggests that students with special needs may be living in the past or future with a lot of regrets and negative sentiments. Taking account of insights derived from Maslow's theory of self-actualisation and other related literature, the findings of this study appear to reinforce the need for a guidance and counselling programme to be developed for students with special educational needs in Kenya. This study reveals the direction that such a programme could take if it is to be of benefit to a Kenyan clientele with special educational needs.