Teacher Perspectives on Pre-Vocational Skills Training in two Special Schools in Ghana

The purpose of the study was to elicit the views of teachers on the prevocational skills training in two special schools in Ghana to ascertain how they connect students to appropriate job placement. Particularly, the study sought to (a) find out the vocational programmes studied in special schools, (b) find out how individuals with intellectual disabilities were prepared towards employment,(c) investigate the transitional programmes available in the schools, and (d) examine whether the vocational programmes were meeting students' future needs. The study involved 38 special educators from two special schools selected purposively for the study. The study found that, vocational programmes studied in the two schools were not meeting students' future needs, even though they may not be accepted in any competitive employment. Finally, the two schools did not appear to be running any transitional programme for their students. The implication of this is that, students' may remain in school for a longer time or drop-out from school. One of the key conclusions drawn was that, even though vocational programmes studied in the two schools were seen to have been meeting students' future needs; they may not be accepted in any competitive employment. It was therefore recommended that, vocational programmes studied in the schools should be planned to link the type of employment for which the child is trained. The implication of this work for future research was also suggested.