Parents are continually faced with the challenge of making the best decisions regarding choice of school that reflect values of their children with disabilities considering the quality of available inclusive and segregated schools, in a bid to maximize the educational opportunity for their children. Research and experience have demonstrated that despite the global adoption of inclusive education as the most effective means of building solidarity and meeting the learning needs of all children regardless of disability, a large percentage of parents still send their children with hearing loss to special or segregated schools due to dissatisfactory service delivery thereby creating more disintegration in the society. It is against this background that this study was keen on investigating the predictive contribution of certain school factors to parental choice of school for children with hearing impairment. Survey design of correlational type was adopted for the study. The population of the study was parents of children with hearing impairment. A total sample of 205 respondents was selected for the study. One instrument self-designed and well validated was used for data collection. The formulated hypotheses were tested using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient Analysis and Multiple Regression Analysis at 0.05 level of significance. The result of the study revealed that there were significant relationship between school factors (school facilities, teacher quality, and school safety) and parental choice of school (Table 1). This shows that parental choice of school has a positive correlation with school facilities (r=0.611, P < 0.05), teacher quality (r=0.802, P < 0.05), and School safety (r=0.617, P < 0.05). The findings give a clarion call and create awareness among schools and proprietors of parental values in the education of children with hearing impairment. Based on the findings of this study, it is therefore recommended that Government and schools should ensure that appropriate school facilities are provided both in quality and quantity to promote quality education and development of children with hearing impairment. The scope of the study needs to be expanded beyond Akwa Ibom, Nigeria to give a broader and more generalized picture of school factors as predictors of parental choice of school for children with hearing impairment.
School facilities, School environment, teachers’ quality, children with hearing impairment, Nigeria
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