Literacy for Students with Low Vision in Special Schools: Perceptions of Teachers on Instructional Media in Kenya

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of teachers’ perceptions on instruction of print and Braille literacy in special primary schools for learners with visual impairment in Kenya. It is a summary of findings of a Ph.D study that sought to address the problem of decline in Braille literacy as a result of teachers’ reluctance to learn and teach Braille in these schools. The study targeted five (5) primary schools which had learners with visual impairment in the country. The target population comprised 132 teachers, teaching in the five primary schools and five headteachers. The research adopted the descriptive survey research design and was based on Bruner’s perceptual model which explains the process of perceptual development. Multiple sampling techniques were applied to select the five schools and respondents. Out of fifty-eight (58) respondents, fifty-three (53) were teachers while five (5) were headteachers. A questionnaire focusing on the objectives of the study was used to collect data from the teachers. An interview schedule was used to collect data from the headteachers. Pilot testing of the research instrument yielded a reliability of 0.842. The questionnaire was reviewed by experts to enhance validity. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics namely: frequencies and percentages. The statistics were generated by means of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0, while qualitative data was analyzed through narrative analysis and thematic approach. The findings of this study established that teachers believed that teaching both Braille and print reading and writing has a positive advantage for some learners with low vision, with a mean response of 1.68. They strongly supported the statement that learners with low vision should be taught both Braille and print reading and writing (dual media), regardless of how good their vision is, with the mean response of 2.06.

The study also established that teachers provided Braille as an alternative medium for children who are experiencing progressive loss of vision, with a mean of 2.08.

Keywords: Literacy, Students with low vision, Perceptions, Print and Braille