Dr. Emmanuel Uminya Ikwen

MBBS (Sydney), FRACS (Paediatric Surgery)

Dr. E. U. Ikwen is a senior lecturer in the Department of Special Education, Faculty of Education, University of Calabar, Nigeria. He began his services in the University of Calabar in December 1998 as a graduate assistant. He has attended over twenty (20) professional conferences and workshops locally and intentionally with over twenty-six (26) publications in scholarly journals and conferences. His presentations at various conferences have provided him with a vast experience in action research, qualitative and quantitative studies which have impacted positively on his academic prowess. He has taught many courses at both undergraduate and graduate levels including, the exceptional child in the classroom, psychology of persons with special needs, vocational rehabilitation for special needs children, reading and reading disabilities, principles and practice of individualized instruction, diagnosis of persons with intellectual disability, psychological and philosophical trends in learning disabilities, biochemical models of reading remediation, and so on. He has supervised well over forty (40) undergraduate projects, four (4) masters theses, and currently supervising three (3) Ph.D dissertations. He has served in diverse capacities within and outside the university including executive chairman of Obudu Local Government Area; coordinator and examination officer for special education department, chairman of Department of Special Education examination/examination malpractice committee, member of Faculty of Education final year students’ screening committee, member of Faculty of Education Student Advisory Committee, member Faculty of Education Annual Conference Planning Committee; Secretary of Faculty of Education Home-Coming Planning Committee, managing editor of Journal of the Department of Special Education, member of Faculty of Education Teaching Practice Committee, etc. He has acted as head of Department of special Education on numerous occasions. His leadership prowess earned him various awards and honours by different organizations, including Community and Social Development Agency (CSDA), Faculty of Education, University of Calabar, FCE Obudu, Child’s Dream (Abuja-based NGO), National Youth for Good Governance CRS Chapter, CRS Chapter of Unijos Alumni Association, Grassroot Leadership Centre (NGO-Abuja), NYSC Obudu, One Kid-Smiling (NGO – Abuja – Based) etc, in recognition of his excellent performance, contributions to teacher education and community at large. Dr. Ikwen belongs to many reputable professional bodies including National Association for Exceptional Children (NAEC), International Reading Association (IRA), Reading Association of Nigeria (RAN), Nigerian Primary and Teacher Education Association (NPTEA), Association for Promoting Quality Education in Nigeria (APQEN), National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET), and Association of Childhood Educators, Nigeria (ACEN). Dr. Ikwen’s research areas include special education (learning disabilities), early childhood/emergent literacy instruction, reading instruction and remediation in beginning reading in lower basic and middle basic levels of education (primary schools). He has unusual flare for teaching, researching, writing and sports. He is a practising Christian and happily married with wonderful children. .