A Study to Understand the Inclusion of Learners with and without Visual Impairment in a Secondary School in Lesotho

Autor/in	Ralejoe, Malehlanye
Titel	A Study to Understand the Inclusion of Learners with and without Visual Impairment in a Secondary School in Lesotho
Quelle	In: South African Journal of Education, 41 (2021) 1, Artikel 1746 (12 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Ralejoe, Malehlanye)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0256-0100
Schlagwörter	Inclusion; Mainstreaming; Secondary School Students; Student Attitudes; Students with Disabilities; Visual Impairments; Adolescents; Educational Resources; Braille; Sensory Aids; Accessibility (for Disabled); Physical Environment; Peer Relationship; Teacher Student Relationship; Parent Participation; Physical Activities; Foreign Countries; Lesotho + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Inklusion; Sekundarschüler; Schülerverhalten; Student; Students; Disability; Disabilities; Schüler; Schülerin; Studentin; Behinderung; Visual handicap; Sehbehinderung; Adolescent; Adolescence; Adoleszenz; Jugend; Jugendalter; Jugendlicher; Bildungsmittel; Sinnesreiz; Accessibility; Zugänglichkeit; Natürliche Umwelt; Peer-Beziehungen; Teacher student relationships; Lehrer-Schüler-Beziehung; Elternmitwirkung; Ausland
Abstract	The study reported on here was conducted to investigate the perceptions of 8 learners in a secondary school in the Maseru district of Lesotho about inclusive education as it relates to learners with visual impairment. This school had integrated children with visual impairment. The study was conducted using a qualitative research approach, and a case study format was adopted. Eight participants (aged 16-23; 5 girls and 3 boys) participated in the study. Two focus groups were formed: one comprised 4 learners without visual impairment, and another 4 learners with visual impairment. Focus-group discussions were followed up with individual interviews. The results reveal that learners (with and without visual impairment) had mixed opinions about the integration of learners with visual impairment in their mainstream school. On the one hand they pointed out that inadequate resources and the unwelcoming infrastructure of their school discouraged this integration. Those with visual impairment also pointed to their exclusion from sports activities by their peers, as well as the occasional use of exclusionary language by some of their teachers, as indicating that special schools were better places for them. On the other hand, the learners stated some of the benefits of including learners with visual impairment in their school. These included enabling peer tutoring, peer consultations, and a slower pace of teaching. Learners with visual impairment also stated that inclusion had improved their social life, by enabling them to learn better ways of living with people without visual impairment. Based on these benefits, learners welcomed the inclusion of those with visual impairment in mainstream schools. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Education Association of South Africa. University of Pretoria, Centre for the Study of Resilience, Level 3, Groenkloof Student Centre, Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education, George Storrar Road and Lleyds Street, Pretoria 0001, South Africa. Web site: http://www.sajournalofeducation.co.za/index.php/saje/index
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01