ABSTRACT
A qualitative study to investigate the school influence on learners with hearing impairments was carried amongst primary school teachers Shinyalu division, Kakamega East district in Kenya. The following objectives guided the study; to identify the number of learners with hearing impairments who are currently in regular schools. To establish the teachers attitude towards learners with hearing Impairments, to establish whether the teachers teaching learners with hearing impairments in an inclusive educational setting have been trained, and to establish if specialized teaching learning materials were available in primary schools. A questionnaire was drafted and used to collect relevant data about school influence on learners with disabilities. Findings revealed that there existed 88 children with H.I in the 8 primary schools. The percentage ratio of learners with H.I to their normal peer was 2%:98%, this posed a great challenge to the learners with H.I as they could be neglected because of the minimal number. The study discovered that the teachers teaching had lowly professional qualifications to handle learners with diverse needs and characteristics. Findings also showed that the school learning environment had not be restructured to accommodate all learners with diverse needs. And it was also discovered that a number of teachers had a negative attitude towards learners with H.I because they knew little about them and how to instruct to them in class, the teachers were also found to be overwhelmed with other tasks and therefore found no time for the H.I. It was recommended that the school learning environment be modified to suit all learners; government to intensify both in service and preservice training while bearing in mind to equip the teachers with appropriate skills and knowledge to handle learners with diverse needs. And to sensitize all the stakeholders in the implementation exercise.
