Absent, Incapable, and “Normal”: Understanding the Inclusiveness of Visually Impaired Students’ Experiences in Integrated Physical Education

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the inclusiveness of visually impaired youths’ experiences in integrated physical education. An experiential qualitative research approach was utilized, and 22 visually impaired youth (age 12–17 years) acted as participants. Data sources included one-on-one Zoom interviews, written responses to long-answer prompts, and reflexive interview notes. Data were analyzed using a reflexive thematic analysis approach, and three themes were constructed: (a) I’m not there, so how could I: The absent person; (b) I can’t see, so I can’t do it: The incapable person; and (c) It’d be nice to feel like everyone else: The “normal” person. Participants described that feelings of inclusion were unavailable to them and that feeling, and being viewed as, absent, incapable, and (not) “normal” highlighted this unavailability.

Why modify? Visually impaired students’ views on activity modifications in physical education

“…Aligned with inclusion as a subjective experience, it appears that activity modifications may have implications for feelings of belonging, of which feeling cared for and connected to others are central features (Maher et al, 2013). In prior work, Haegele et al (2022) have identified that a sense of belonging, as well as other features of the subjective experience of inclusion, tend to be unavailable for visually impaired youth within integrated PE. With this in mind, the current finding is encouraging, as it provides some empirical support that activity modifications like these may provide some help to enhance a sense of belonging within integrated PE contexts, as well as help to overcome challenges associated with being “put to the side” during activities that were either inaccessible or constructed without visually impaired students in mind (Haegele and Zhu, 2021).…”

“…For visually impaired students specifically, Schedlin et al (2012) suggest that properly implemented PE classes can offer an opportunity to engage in sports and exercise while developing skills and interests needed to engage in an active lifestyle into adulthood. However, while some positive experiences may be available within integrated PE classes, it is more commonly reported for visually impaired students internationally to describe having negative experiences typified by poorly implemented or inaccessible activities (Alves et al, 2018; Haegele et al, 2022; Opie and Southcott, 2018; Ruin et al, 2021). When activities are inaccessible, visually impaired students are relegated to unimportant roles or removed and isolated from activities by adult stakeholders who perceive them to be unable to safely participate (de Schipper et al, 2017; Giese et al, 2021; Haegele and Zhu, 2021).…”

“…Furthermore, visually impaired people feel ostracized during integrated PE by their peers who view them as incapable, different, or a burden (Alves et al, 2018; Opie and Southcott, 2018; Southcott and Opie, 2016). These types of experiences can contribute to visually impaired students understanding themselves as being unable to engage successfully in physical activity and movement during childhood (Haegele et al, 2022), and reduce the likelihood of visually impaired students enjoying the suggested benefits of well-designed and implemented PE classes (Grenier et al, 2014; Schedlin et al, 2012).…”

“…In this study, inclusion, understood as a subjective experience, acted as the conceptual lens that guided and informed methodological and analytic decisions and interpretations. For us, and presented elsewhere (Haegele et al, 2022), inclusion as a subjective experience is characterized by feelings of acceptance (i.e. an individual's perceptions of how others involve them within a community), belonging (i.e.…”

Content Acquisition Podcasts vs Open-Access Podcast: Improving Preservice Physical Educators’ Ability to Teach Students With Visual Impairments

“…More specifically, these findings demonstrate that both CAPs and a non-theoretical grounded podcast can be a beneficial tool to increase college students' knowledge and self-efficacy around working with students with VI. Identifying effective tools to inform future physical educators on this subject is imperative, as general physical educators are often reported as being illequipped to work with children with VI (Haegele et al, 2022;Perkins et al, 2013), as well as students with VI often have negative PE experiences and have lower motor skills compared to their peers without disabilities (Brian et al, 2021;Haegele et al, 2019). For self-efficacy, both the CAPs and open-access groups showed increases from pre to post scores.…”