The lived experiences of higher education for students with a visual impairment : a phenomenological study at two universities in theWestern Cape, South Africa

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Introduction: In the last two decades there has been an increase in the numbers of visually impaired students accessing universities in South Africa. However, very few studies have documented the experiences of these students. Through the lens of a phenomenological understanding of disability, this study thus aimed to capture the lived experiences of visual impairment, as recounted by participants from two universities in the Western Cape, South Africa.Methods: Data were collected and analysed according to the principles of the interpretative phenomenological approach. I conducted semi-structured, in-depth individual interviews with 23 participants, and 13 students participated in focus group sessions.Results: The analysis yielded important findings. First, participants described the challenges related to the transition from school, namely: orientating themselves to the new physical environment; making new friends; and deciding whether they wanted to disclose impairment. This transition was sometimes closely tied to introspection and a new sense of self. Mainstream versus special schooling experiences seemed to shape this transition and their experiences in higher education to a degree. Second, participants discussed complex social interactions with nondisabled peers, in which the latter reportedly offered help, and avoided or stared at participants, leaving them feeling 'not seen. In response, visually impaired students often denied impairment and concealed their emotional pain. Third, within the learning environment, the participants were sometimes confronted with unwilling lecturers, a lack of communication amongst important role-players, late course material and/or headaches and muscle tension from the effort of reading with limited sight. The students recounted that they commonly self-advocated and took the responsibility upon themselves to get special accommodations. There were also many positive accounts of supportive lecturers and disability units who did more than was required of them.Discussion: Overall, these findings showed that the experiences of students did not seem to differ according to the institution they attended. Their visual category and/or secondary schooling seemed to have played a more significant role where their experiences differed. The findings also revealed that, in addition to the typical demands of university studies, the participants also took a lot of responsibility upon themselves to manage their studies and their physical and social environment. Participants seemed resilient and innovative, yet the effort sometimes drained their energy and left them frustrated. Despite valuable steps towards inclusion, these visually impaired students were still not fully included on tertiary campuses.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University