Influence of Teaching Strategies on Reading Comprehension of Learners with Learning Disabilities in Selected Public Primary Schools in Kyuso Sub-County, Kenya

This study evaluated the influence of teaching strategies on reading comprehension of learners with learning disabilities in selected public primary schools in Kyuso Sub-County, Kenya. The choice of this locality was based on the fact that it is home to most learners with learning disabilities in the entire County and the performance of these learners in reading comprehension has continuously been poor. The study area also has a mixed demography with some public primary schools located in wealthy areas while majority are in poor areas. The study was guided by Bandura’s Social Learning Theory as advanced in 1977. The study employed quasi-experimental study design. The target population for this study was 420 consisting of 20 class five teachers and 400 class five learners with learning disabilities within the available 20 public primary schools in Kitui County Kenya. Purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used to select the respondents. Primary data was collected by use of structured questionnaires. Data was grouped, coded, cleaned and analyzed descriptively using SPSS version 21.0 to generate frequencies and percentages. The collected data were presented in tables created with SPSS and figures created with Microsoft Excel 2010. The study found that common teaching strategies had a negative effect on reading comprehension test scores of students with learning disabilities, while learners-centered strategies improved these learners test scores in reading comprehension. The study therefore concluded that learners with learning disabilities underperformed in reading comprehension due to the use of traditional teaching strategies which are teacher centered. The study recommends that learners-centered instructional methods be employed to improve reading comprehension among learners in Kyuso Sub-County in selected public primary schools.