Where Are We in Education and Visual Impairment?

For some families, specialized schools are the best option, but they lack the social element that general population schools provide.

Science and education are fundamental vehicles for producing and transmitting knowledge, but both areas have a significant bias that limits their potential and reach. No one considers how to integrate people with different abilities in the designs for these areas of knowledge.

 Wanda Díaz-Merced, a renowned astronomer and international speaker, who will be present at the next webinar of The Observatory of Educational Innovation about the digital inclusion of visually impaired people in science, revealed a surprising fact: She speaks about how far we are from accessibility in our production and transmission of knowledge.

 “There are only four astronomers with visual impairment in the world,” she explained to Nature. Díaz-Merced is the creator of sonification, a method that converts large sets of data to audible sound.

This resource represents a critical effort to open the doors of Astronomy to people with visual impairment. It is undoubtedly a testament to the resilience of Diaz-Merced, who has continued her career in science despite her visual disability. However, why should it be the norm that recognized scientists or academicians with disabilities are so few that they can be counted on one hand? What efforts do we find in the educational sphere to avoid this exclusion?

When students have different capacities, a fundamental challenge to resolve is how they will receive their educational training. Will they be educated at home, attend classes in a specialized institution, or perhaps go to special classes in a public school?

A misconception regarding students with different physical abilities or neurodivergent is that everyone with special needs must be segregated from the public school campuses to address those needs. There is no single approach that encompasses all students with different abilities. Even within the group of people with visual impairment, there are gradients.

“Many social behaviors that people with healthy eyesight take for granted are not taught (in these schools); instead, the students learn mannerisms typical of just the blind.”

Those who only need corrective lenses to those who can see shapes but require assistance moving, or even to those who have full blindness; students with visual impairment do not always have the same educational experience. For example, no one would question a student who only needs glasses remaining in public school.

Around the world, there are thousands of specialized schools for students with visual disabilities. However, in a modern era oriented to more inclusive education, one wonders whether separating the visually handicapped population is the best approach to a comprehensive education for these children and young people. One problem is that society must become sensitized to integrating and accommodating people with different visual abilities to benefit from their contributions.

A social disadvantage

The current educational system perceives visual impairment as a lack of capacity rather than a different one. This reflects the design of academic programs, teachers’ training, and school campuses’ physical layouts.

There are guides made by governments and some by NGOs to help teachers integrate visually impaired students into their classes. However, this kind of integration is not part of the educational system infrastructure; the teachers usually do it on their own, if they have the interest. For this reason, many parents with visually impaired children consider specialized schools as a good choice. However, these facilities with specially-trained staff to attend to these students lack the social elements present in public schools’ diverse populations.

“There are only four astronomers with visual impairment in the world.”

“Many social behaviors that people with healthy eyesight take for granted are not taught (in these schools); instead, the students learn mannerisms typical of just the blind,” says Alex Man, a digital-accessibility consultant and father of a visually weak child, addressing the main disadvantage of specialized schools. Also, an assistive-technology specialist, Man explained that his own educational experience at a specialized school motivated his decision not to enroll his child in one.

The socialization and enculturation aspects necessary for visually weak people to live in a seeing world are not experienced in a specialized school. Social feedback that helps shape children’s behavior is essential for both those who can see and those who cannot. So, what do schools need to consider to ensure the integration of visually impaired students?

Towards visually accessible schools

Current educational systems do not necessarily need structural changes to provide accessibility to visually weak students. Perhaps just more strategic and consistent use of existing resources is required in order to get started.

Accessibility manuals to support teachers in integrating visually weak students could be resources in their training. It would also be helpful to understand that educating students with different visual abilities cannot be done only by the teacher. There must be academic staff trained as braille tutors and mobility coaches to instruct students on how to move around in the school’s physical spaces to eliminate the extra challenges they confront.

“Access to information gives us the power to prosper, gives us equal opportunities to showcase our talents.”

Content such as audiobooks and braille-printed material would also help close the gap that complicates their educational experience in a public school. Ensuring accessibility to educational content and information is crucial to integrating students with diverse abilities and unlocking the potential knowledge and contributions they can bring to the rest of the world.

“Access to information gives us the power to prosper, gives us equal opportunities to showcase our talents,” comments Wanda Díaz-Merced. She is blunt in her explanation about why educational opportunities for people with different abilities are so significant. She adds that accessible education helps people like her decide what they want to do in their lives based on their interests rather than potential barriers.

Readers who want to know more about how visual accessibility can converge with science and education, remember that Diaz-Merced will be present at our next webinar with the topic “The digital inclusion of people with disabilities in science.” This talk will take place on November 19 on the Facebook page of The Observatory.

Have you had students with visual impairment? Are you a student with different visual abilities? What has been your experience been in the public school system? Do you think specialized schools are the best choice? How would you improve the educational offerings for visually impaired people? Tell us in the comments.

Translation by Daniel Wetta.

Sofía García-Bullé

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This article from Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education may be shared under the terms of the license CC BY-NC-SA 4.0