Comparative Study to Assess the Knowledge of Teachers Regarding Specially abled Children in Selected Primary and Special School of Kashmir Valley

Specially-Abled Children are those who need proper care, support and attention from their elders, parents, and teachers due to their mental and physical disabilities. According to UNESCO, India is home to 8 million children with disabilities, and 45% of them fail to attain literacy. The most common disability type among children both years was cognitive difficulty, which saw one of the largest jumps in prevalence between 2008 and 2019. The data show some children and households were more likely to experience childhood disability than others. The aim of the study was to assess and compare the knowledge and of teachers regarding specially abled children in selected primary schools and special schools of Kashmir valley. Methods: Quantitative research approach and descriptive research design was used. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the sample, the study was a comparative research study in which 20 teachers were taken from 2 government primary schools of Anantnag and 10 teachers were selected from shafaqat special school, Bemina. Prior permission was taken from all concerned. Data was collected using semi structured knowledge questionnaire. Data analysis (descriptive and inferential stastics) was done using SPSS ver29. Results: In order to analyse, compare and interpret the results, the study subjects were divided into two groups. Group A consisted of teachers of government primary schools of anantnag and Group B consisted of teachers of Shafaqat special school Bemina. The result of the study showed that (Mean ± SD) knowledge score of primary school teachers (group A) was (14.50 ± 2.685) and (Mean ± SD) knowledge score of teachers of shafaqat special school (group B) was (17±2). The study found that there was significant difference between knowledge of study subjects of government primary schools of anantnag and shafaqat special school (p=0.015). The study found that there was significant association between knowledge scores of study subjects of group B with Age (P=0.019) at 0.05 level of significance, and there no association between knowledge score of group A and B with other selected demographic variables. Conclusion: From the research conducted the researchers have concluded that the knowledge of teachers of shafaqat special school was higher than that of primary school teachers of government primary schools of anantnag. Thus, indicating that teachers having special education are special for the specially abled children for their better understanding, growth and development than those teachers having general education to be the teachers.