EXPLORING THE PERCEPTION OF PARENTS TOWARD INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN LOKOJA METROPOLIS, KOGI STATE, NIGERIA

This study investigated the perception of parents of children with a birth impairment and those of children without special needs toward inclusive education in Lokoja Metropolis, Kogi State, Nigeria. This study adopted a descriptive survey design. All parents of students in both basic and secondary schools in Kogi State constituted the study population. Purposive random sampling technique was used to sample 400 parents. The PPTIEQ was used to collect data. Experts in the fields of Educational Psychology, Special Education, and Measurement and Evaluation validated the instrument. The reliability coefficient determined through pilot testing was 0.78. The first research question was answered using descriptive statistics, and four null hypotheses were tested using inferential statistics. The findings of this study indicated that parents had very high positive perceptions regarding inclusive education. It was equally revealed that there is no statistically significant difference between the perceptions of parents of children with and without special needs toward inclusive education. No statistically significant difference was found between parents’ perceptions of inclusive education on the basis of gender, education qualification, and income. Based on the findings and conclusions of this study, it was recommended that the government should provide all necessary physical and human facilities in all inclusive schools to further increase positive perceptions of parents toward inclusive education for students with learning disabilities