CHALLENGES THAT AFFECT ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN INCLUSIVE SETTINGS IN UMOJA ZONE, EMBAKASI DISTRICT, NAIROBI COUNTY, KENYA

Inclusion education advocates the notion that all children have a right to access high quality education and this right should not be affected by disability or any special needs in a child. Inclusion is the approach of integrating all children and their various needs in a similar setting to learn. The purpose of this study was to establish challenges that affect academic performance of children with special needs in an inclusive setting in early childhood educatio n. The study adopted a descriptive research design which embraced both quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze data which was collected from 50 pre-school teachers and 10 children with educational special needs. The study established that there is a lack of enough resources, competent teachers, quality time for individual attention and appropriate curriculum for children with special needs. The study concluded that a lack of collaboration from administration and parents, a lack of relevant resources, sufficient time and clear laid down polices on inclusive education is a major challenge of children with special educational needs in early childhood education. The study recommends that there should be a formalized system of support for parents of children with special needs and disabilities, and that the Governmant should intensify monitoring, supervision, and quality control in schools to ensure children with special needs are provided for without discrimination.