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Full Length
Research Paper
Challenges and strategies of working with learners with low
vision: Implications for teacher training
John Ayieko Yalo1, Francis Chisikwa Indoshi2,
John Odwar Agak3, Charles Michael Were1
1Department
of Special Needs Education, Maseno University, Kenya
2Department
of Educational Communication, Technology and Curriculum
Studies, Maseno University, Kenya.
3Department
of Educational Psychology, Maseno University, Kenya
*Corresponding author E-mail:
findoshi@yahoo.com
Received 11 July, 2010; Accepted 31 July, 2010
Learners with low vision can be trained to increase their
visual functioning through a planned programme of visual
experiences. Such a low vision training programme was
introduced in Kenya in 1994. However, despite its
implementation over the last fifteen years, challenges still
persist among teachers who work with such learners. The
purpose of this study was to document challenges that
learners with low vision have on teacher performance when
teaching learners with low vision in special primary schools
for the visually impaired in Kenya. The study was carried
out in six schools for the visually impaired. Participants
in the study were 78 teachers. Survey design was used to
gather data. The study established challenges faced by
teachers as lack of appropriate devices for learners, lack
of adequate training of teachers and lack of regular teacher
auditing. Strategies suggested to address the challenges
were supply of low vision devices, low vision teams based at
each school be reconstituted to provide co-ordinated
learning support and regular case conferencing be mounted to
provide teacher support.
Keywords: Low vision training, challenges,
strategies. |