The Appropriateness of the Science Curriculum for Students with Mental Disabilities in Intellectual Schools from the Perspective of Teachers in Kuwait

Abstract

The study aims to identify the appropriateness of the science curriculum for primary school students with mental disabilities in intellectual schools in Kuwait from the perspective of teachers according to their educational standards, in order to identify the weaknesses and strengths points. The research sample consists of (29) male and female science teachers at schools of students with mental disabilities from the first grade to the fifth grade in the primary level in Kuwait. The study adopted the descriptive analytical approach, througjh administering a questionnaire that includes the criteria that must be met in the science curriculum for students with mental disabilities in the intellectual schools after verifying their validity and reliability. The questionnaire consisted of the main curriculum elements: First: (Objectives, teaching methods, curriculum content, activities, evaluation). Second: The content analysis form for the science curriculum books from the first grade to the fifth grade to identify how appropriate they are for students with mental disabilities. The study results showed the following: • Teachers evaluate the relevance of the content and units of science curriculum in the intellectual schools at a high grade value of 3.16. • Teachers evaluate the relevance of the content and units of the science curriculum in the rehabilitation schools with an average value of 3.59. • Teachers of rehabilitation schools evaluated the standards of the curriculum of intellectual education at a higher level and are statistically significant than the evaluation of teachers of the intellectual schools.