Assessing Inclusive Education Pedagogies for Students with Visual Impairment in Zimbabwean Universities: Challenges Encountered in Implementation

Abstract

Inclusive education continues to attract many students with visual impairment despite challenges experienced in learning institutions that previously did not cater for such specific categories of disabilities. In Zimbabwe, the institutions that enrol students with visual impairment include primary and secondary schools as well as higher education institutions. Research has shown that most teachers in such institutions are not pedagogically well versed with the diverse academic needs and interests of students with visual impairment whom they sometimes find in inclusive classes. Researches done in Zimbabwean schools have shown that effective orthopedagogics and orthodidactics are affected by lack of resources and specialisation in visual impairment teaching and learning. However, very little research in this area, if any, has been done in Zimbabwean universities. Therefore, the aim of this study was to find out how inclusion of students with visual impairment was being handled in university learning. This study is informed by the qualitative paradigm, using a case study design. A sample of thirty five participants comprising university administrators, lecturers and students with visual impairment was purposively drawn from universities that had students with visual impairment. Semi-structured interviews and an open ended questionnaire were used to generate data. Data showed that almost all lecturers had not been trained on the mechanics of handling inclusive classes. It also emerged that university lecturers used traditional teaching strategies without taking into consideration the academic needs of students with visual impairment. It was recommended that there be training workshops to equip all concerned lecturers in universities with requisite training in specific contemporary technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK) that would help them meet the academic needs of students with visual impairment in inclusive university education.