Role of assistive technology in enhancing perticipation of children with disabilities in basic education in Nigeria. Exploring the Perspective of Special Education Teachers

Sammanfattning: Aim: The core objective of this study is to investigate how assistive technology can be used to facilitate access to basic education among children with disabilities in Nigeria. Drawing on teachers’ perspective, the study investigated how assistive technology facilitates children wtih disabilities inclusion and engagement with classroom learning and how assistive technology is used to solve learning problems and its challenges Theory: Social model for disability was used to explain the conceptual meaning of disabilities in this study. Also, universal design for learning (UDL) theory provided the theoretical framework to investiagte the role of assistive technology in enhancing participation of children with disabilities in basic education Method: Qualitative approach was used in this study. Eight (8) teachers with cognate five years experience in teaching children with disabilities were purposively sampled and data was obtained through the use of interview. Deductive thematic analysis was therefore used to analyse the data Results: The findings show that assistive technology play a critical role in facilitating inclusive learning for children with disabilities by providing them with the tools they need to access education and participate fully in the learning process. Also, it was obtained that assistive technology is used to address learning difficulties such as reading, writing and arithmetic. Furthermore, it was found that assistive technology (AT) play a crucial role in facilitating independent learning among children with disabilities. However, challenges associated with the use of assistive technology in Nigeria such as lack of training, poor infrastructure, cultural barriers and limited awareness were also reported.