CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background of the Study

Education is critical in addressing the growing burden of public health problems in developing nations. The goal of sustainable developmental. Goals place emphasis on the functionality of education as a requisite to achieving health lives and wellbeing across the life-course (Maurice, 2015). Establishing available link between education and health is essential to setting policy priorities. Education empowers to make informed decision as well as dictating the behaviour of the individual attitudes towards a specific action.

Education started long before the Europeans arrived, education had been part of Nigerians. The children were taught about their culture, social activities, survival skills and work. Most of these education processes were impacted into the children informally. In these societies, there are formal teaching and instructions that governed the rites of passage from youth into adulthood. The youth is expected to have attained the necessary social and survival skill as well as having a grounded knowledge in the culture. These are the foundation of education in Nigeria, and upon them were the western education implemented upon.

European Education was introduced into Nigeria in the 1840’s. It began in Lagos, Calabar and other coasted cities. During the colonial years, great Britain did not promote education. The schools were set up and operated by Christian missionaries. The British in colonial government only founded a few schools the policy of the government was to give grant to mission schools rather than expand the system. In the northern part of Nigeria, which was predominantly Muslim populated, western-style education was prohibited. The religious leaders did not want the missionaries interfering with their belief (Islam). This gave way to establishing Islamic school that focuses primarily on the Islamic education only.

Today, adult literacy has been estimated to be 78 percent for men and 64 percent for women. These statistics were made based on estimated literacy in English. Nigeria had only two established post-secondary institution – Yaba Higher College (founded in 1934, now Yaba College of technology) and the University of Ibadan was founded in 1948. It was then a college of the University of London until two years after the independence when she became autonomous. More prominent universities were established e.g. Obafemi Awolowo University (formerly University of Ile Ife), Ahmadu Bello University and Mohood Abiola Kashimawo (formerly University of Lagos) were founded in the years that followed the Independence.

In 1970s more universities were founded which include University of Benin (founded in 1970). The present decline in the Nigerian education system can be traced back to the 1980s and 1990s. Then there was a shortage of qualified teachers, the few qualified teachers were not paid in a timely manner. The number of schools did not grow with the populations and many of the school existing were inadequately founded resulting in poor maintenance. The situation however is not entirely hopeless. The foundation of education in Nigeria upon which the Europeans laid the western –style education is strong. This has managed to hold the educational system of the country together through the trouble days.

Special education, these is an education given to persons with special needs Act (2004) define special educational needs as restriction in capacity of a person to participate in and benefit from education on account of an enduring physical, sensory, mental-health or learning disability or any other conduction which results in such individual learning differently from one without that condition. Special education needs relates to terms like disability, impairment, handicap, and other special needs. UNESCO (2006) refers to persons with special needs as those that have emotional, behavioural, sensory, physical or mental disabilities. Students who for a variety of reasons (intellectual, physical, social, psychological) experience learning disabilities which are more significantly than those experienced by majority of learners of the same age. Such students needs special educational needs.

According to Oliver and Williams (2005) the mentally handicapped child has special educational needs end is thus often regarded as special in the sense that he requires assistance and support to overcome contextual, social and individual difficulties. These difficulties may also include slow cognitive development reasoning, problem-solving, remembering and generalizing.

Egunjobi (2013) also asserts that persons with special educational needs refers to persons with visual auditory, physical impairments, the mentally challenged and the learning disabled. But no matter the disability one has such individual has constitutional right to education. Olusola (2013) sees persons with special needs as those who have difficulties in realizing their full potential, their emotional, physical, social or intellectual performance falls below or rises above that of others. The differences may be related to physical, cognitive, emotional or psycho-social factors or a combination of these. The person with special needs include those with hearing impairment gifted and talented, visual, speech and language impairment, orthopaedic impairment, social maladjustment, learning disabilities and multiples impairment (Olusola, 2013). However, these individuals with all forms of special needs require skilled identification, intervention and special care from trained professionals special educators to enable them achieve their goals and at the same time receive adequate quality educator.

A special education teacher are those who are specifically trained to provides academic intervention and support for children with unique needs. Serving as an advocate and a teacher, a special education teacher works with classroom teachers, counselors and family members to write an Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for children who are struggling academically, socially and personally. Assessment, instructional planning, and teaching special education teachers work with students who have behavioural issues, learning disabilities, visual impairment, autism are gifted and talented.

Job description of special education teacher everyday presents a new challenge and new job duties for a special education teacher. Special education teachers serve as a consultant to classroom teacher to offer advice about how to help at risk students succeed in the classroom. Administrative tasks consume a large portion of the day for special education teachers. Lesson planning, updating case files of students receiving special assistance and writing new IEPs. Often special education teachers supervise instructional assistants and this require managing their daily work and coaching them about how to work with assigned students. Finally, special education teachers regularly communicate with parents, teachers and administrator about student progress, classroom needs and special concerns that may arise.

Special education teacher must have been one who has a solid foundation. Based on the following the exceptional learners, learning environment, assessment, differentiating instruction for special needs learners, and health issues of special need students, you focuses on behavioral issues, emotional disturbances, autism or exceptional talent.

Teachers of special education comprises of both male and female teacher. But female teacher tend to have more understanding of genetic counseling as a preventive measure for intellectual disabilities because they are potential future mothers they show more interest than the male.

Counseling is the skilled and principled use of relationship to facilitate self-knowledge, emotional acceptance and growth and the optimal development of personal resources. Genetic counseling, combines education about genetic conditions with support for individual and families affected by these conditions. The field represents the transilation of empirical genetic knowledge to everyday healthcare (American Medical Association) (AMA, 2016). This is meant to assist the clients understand and adapts to the diagnosis of a genetic condition in the family. Its implications and make informal decisions (C.G.E). Diagnostic, carrier predictive and pre-symptomatic genetic testing options are also provided when appropriate (centre for Genetic Education, 2012).

Genetic counselling is a family-focused service that considers the effects of the genetical conditions on the whole family, not just the referred individual and provides support and appropriate resources to all who are interested, genetic counseling remain respectful to clients, culture, language, traditions, lifestyle, religious beliefs and values (American Board of Genetics Counselling (ABGC) 2007). In a clinical settings, genetic counselling is beneficial to individual and families with a high risk of either having, developing and inherited condition.

Major areas of genetic counseling includes pre-natal, pediatric, adult and cancer genetic e.g. a client may be referred to a genetic counseling if a possible genetic risk is discovered through regular pre-natal testing or screening. Pediatric genetic counseling involves seeing families following the birth of a child with known genetic condition like phenulketonuria (Pku), Medical concerns for genetic condition. Adult genetic counselling might includes seeing someone with a family history of genetic condition, such as Huntington Disease, who is interested in considering the option of genetic testing as well as individuals or families could seek genetic counselling to discuss their personal or family history of cancer.

Other specially areas in genetic counselling include cardiovascular disease, metabolic disease, neurology, ophthalmology, hematology, infertility, pharmacogenetics and genomic medicine (National Society of Genetics Counselors –(N.S.G.C) 2012). This is not a comprehensive list. The field is continuously growing and changing overtime. Some genetic counselors do not work in a clinical capacity. They may work in genetic testing laboratories or as part of clinical research studies, even in the business sector using their genetic and communications expertise.