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This study assessed parents’ involvement in the education of their deaf children, focusing on St. Anthony School for the Deaf in Webuye, Bungoma County, Kenya. The study’s objectives entailed determining the parents’ level of awareness of their involvement, establishing their level of involvement, assessing barriers to their involvement, and providing recommendations for improvement of their involvement in the education of their deaf children. The study employed a qualitative and quantitative research approach. The sample size was 33 deaf children, their parents, three teachers, and eight key informants. Focused group discussions (FGDs) and questionnaires were used for data collection. The collected data was coded and organized by utilizing an excel sheet. It was then analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 25, and presented in frequency tables, bar graphs, and pie charts. Qualitative data was organized into emerging themes for analysis. As per the findings of the study, 100% of parents considered themselves involved in the education of their deaf children. The level of parents’ awareness of their involvement in their deaf children’s education was limited, as only 20.7% of parents reported a high level of awareness. The major barrier to parental involvement was communication as most parents (82.3%) exhibited a limited understanding of Kenya Sign Language (KSL), thus unable to communicate with their deaf children. Other barriers included low awareness, distant special schools, and a heavy burden of paying school fees. Based on its findings, the study recommends direct investment towards the establishment of more deaf schools to reduce distance of access, improve KSL communication among children, teachers, and parents, increase government budgetary capitation for deaf children’s education, and raise awareness of education policies, programs, right to education, and roles of parents in the education of their deaf children |
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