Knowledge of Plant Kingdom among Students with Special Needs at Secondary Level – An analysis

Abstract Plants represent a significant part of life science tutoring in schools. There are still lessons in botany, even though the plant no longer holds scientific significance and is now primarily viewed as a historical concept in everyday contexts. However, biology is one of the disciplines in which students have a lot of misconceptions because it includes abstract and concrete concepts together (Galvin et al., 2015). This research seeks to determine and evaluate knowledge of plant kingdom among students with special needs (Visual impairment, hearing impairment, Mild intellectual disabled, learning disabled and hyperactive problem) at the secondary level (VI to IX standard) under the age group of 11,12, & 13 years and their ability to classify plants. The study adopted experimental method with 30 students as samples. The investigator used a questionnaire (with 60 questions from plant kingdom – algae, fungi, bryophytes, pteridophytes, gymnosperms & angiosperms) as an exploratory tool. The data gathered was analysed through SPSS using descriptive analysis, independent t-tests, and ANOVA. The findings envisaged that students with Visual Impairment have the peak average score and the students with learning disability have the least mean score in the knowledge of plant kingdom at the secondary level. The outcome showed that even if the school plan nurture teaching plant in the area of classification, students encounter challenges with understanding and applying knowledge and skills related to plant kingdoms. Key words: Plant Kingdom, Visual Impairment, Hearing Impairment, Mild Intellectual Disabled, Learning Disabled.