An investigation into the lived experiences of visually impaired music students in the South African system of higher education

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The present study investigated the lived experiences of visually impaired music students within the South African system of higher education. Due to the strong interpretative impetus of the study, the design of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was decided upon, whereby rich data was gathered via semi-structured interviews. Participants were selected via the method of snowball sampling, whereby 11 individuals agreed to partake in the present study, all of them either current music students or university alumni.The findings identified three overarching themes, namely academic life regarding tertiary studies, with the sub-themes including transitioning from school to university, academic support, access to information, and interaction with faculty. The second theme is that of social life during university years, where the focus was on participation on campus, as well as peer support. Regarding the third theme, inner life of visually impaired students within the South African system of higher education, the focus was on participants' subjective experiences, where various personal coping strategies were identified, including self-advocacy, self-reliance, social support, and the masking of emotional hardship and pain. Finally, the issue offinding meaning within the university experience was discussed.The stories of participants revealed that, despite democracy and the enactment of anti-discriminatory legislation and government policies and initiatives, there is still a significant gap between policy and practice, and that the pervasive problems of racial, economic, and social inequalities are still prevalent to some extent. Furthermore, it also became evident that the pervading medical discourse regarding disability prevalent in special schools within the country has a lasting effect on visually impaired individuals, who were subjected to these injustices, and that it works to silence the voices of visually impaired musicians and sometimes conditions them to internalise the deficit views and normalised assumptions of visual impairment. In addition, participants reported experiencing structural and psycho-emotional impairment within their university, which had an effect on their psychological well-being.Finally, practical recommendations for relevant stakeholders are discussed.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University