Background: Vision disorders are a public health problem as they cause a delay in academic progress and affect learners' future career. Teachers spend most of the time with children at school and can help in the early identification and referral of children with visual problems. Aim: To evaluate the knowledge of Grade R to Grade 3 teachers on…

Globally, career construction (CC) for learners with visual impairment (LVI) continues to be a challenge, despite enacted policies on inclusive education. In South Africa, literature suggests that teachers, especially full-service schoolteachers, are failing in implementing CC for LVI. Yet, few studies have been conducted to find out why. The aim…

Although South Africa has numerous impressive policies for inclusion, the unfortunate fact on the ground is that the rhetoric of inclusion is still not reflected in reality. The majority of students with visual impairments are still in special schools where they have to contend with very poor learning conditions. For example, in 2015, 17 out of…

In this article, we explore how collaboration between Foundation Phase teachers could address and support the teaching of Foundation Phase learners with visual impairments (VI). By actively involving teachers in the research process, teachers contributed to changes that promoted the inclusion and success of FP learners with VI. This qualitative…

Globally, education of children with disabilities increasingly occurs in inclusive school settings, requiring specialised teacher education. Scholars emphasise relational and instrumental skills, to overcome prejudice and exclusion. Visual impairment (VI) is emotionally evocative, presenting particular challenges to inclusion. Using data from…

Background: Despite anatomically correct models (ACMs) being recommended internationally for their ability to serve as real-life, age-appropriate, and practical models in comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) for learners with visual impairment, there is still limited research exploring South African teachers' views regarding their use.…

The purpose of the qualitative study on which this article is based was to explore the experiences of students with visual impairments registered at an Open Distance and e-Learning University in South Africa, through a phenomenological research design. Literature was reviewed on student support in distance education and concepts from the critical…

Following the ongoing study to develop a Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) curriculum for visually impaired learners in South Africa, teachers reported hesitance from parents/guardians to inform their visually impaired children about sex. As such, this study sought to explore parents/guardians' involvement in their children's psychosexual…

Training teachers of learners with visual impairment (VI) emphasise instrumental skills such as curriculum adaptation and assistive technology, at times ignoring anxieties and attitudes within teachers surrounding disability. South Africa's education system faces a huge backlog in VI teacher training, which is being addressed by intensive short…

This conceptual article is anchored on critical phenomenology to challenge the monopolisation of visual arts by the sense of vision, thus depriving visually impaired people of aesthetic value beyond ordinary cognitive faculties. In this study, we discuss the forms of painting, drawing and sculpting defined as Visual Arts referring to appreciation…

Children in low-income communities are at risk for developmental delays and sensory losses. mHealth screening tools enable community health workers to detect developmental delays and sensory losses. This study aims to describe a combined (developmental and sensory -- hearing and vision) mHealth-supported screening programme conducted by community…

Despite public outcry, South Africa has decided to roll out comprehensive sexuality education in schools. Currently, however, there are no scripted lesson plans for teachers of learners with visual impairment. Local literature suggests that the current sexuality education curriculum fails to engage with sexuality diversity and is imbued with…

Introduction: Globally, more than 50 million children have hearing or vision loss. Most of these sensory losses are identified late due to a lack of systematic screening, making treatment and rehabilitation less effective. Mobile health (mHealth), which is the use of smartphones or wireless devices in health care, can improve access to screening…

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools provide an ideal mechanism by which students can interact closely with their lecturers in an open distance learning (ODL) context. This is especially true for students with disabilities who require access through alternative formats. This paper demonstrates teaching and learning practices in an…

In higher education systems, equal importance must be given to differently abled students. However, not all educational institutions have infrastructure and facilities to admit these students even though accessibility and support for these students is growing. There are many schemes, facilities, services, and financial assistance available to…