The Inclusion of Students with Visual Impairment at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia: Challenges and Prospects

Abstract

Following the introduction of Special Needs Education Program Strategy that Ethiopian government developed in 2006, all public HEIs have been required to implement inclusive education as a mandatory approach when educating students with impairment, including those who are visually impaired. However, the actual implementation of an inclusive approach is being challenged by the social, political and physical circumstances of higher education institutions. Therefore, this study aimed at examining the existing challenges and prospects towards the inclusion of students with Visual Impairment (VI) in the particular context of Addis Ababa University (AAU). The study adopted an interpretive paradigm for deeper understanding of the inclusion of students with VI at AAU and informing the detailed judgments made by experts of a suggested action plan to progressively provide support for students with VI at AAU. The study also applied the critical disability paradigm as a complementary philosophical base in order to examine critically the challenges that students with VI face and to suggest ways to transform the inclusive policies and practices of AAU in favor of the students. The researcher undertook the qualitative case study and a Delphi design to address the main aim of this research (i.e., to determine how best to implement an action plan that progressively increases support for students with VI at AAU over a period of time). The action plan that comprises various support measures and the necessary resources was developed using the empirical results of this study as well as the existing findings and best practices found in the literature study. It was scrutinized and approved by a number of experts to be implemented over the next five years at AAU in order to improve the support provided to students with VI.

Regulatory framework of e-Learning integration with inclusive higher education in Ethiopia: The case of students with disabilities

“…Moreover, studies also identified various barriers that SWDs encounter during the teaching and learning processes at higher educational institutions. For instance, Tamerat (2019), Tiruneh (2019), Zelelew (2016), and Beyene et al (2023) identified several barriers affecting SWDs' academic success in higher education. These barriers include inaccessible physical environments, a lack of technological assistive devices, the absence of support units, poor awareness and preparation of staff, and a lack of clear and enabling inclusive policies.…”

“…The main goal of those policies is to remove the barriers that prevent SWDs from fully participating in learning and social integration in higher education. The Ethiopian educational policies also emphasize the need to consider the needs of SWDs in educational settings (Zelelew, 2016). Conversely, Tiruneh (2019, p. 130) by referring the general Ethiopian inclusive education strategy, which governs all levels of education, concluded that the country inclusive education strategy appears to imply a less responsive learning environment for the inclusive higher education system.…”

Students with Visual Impairment Suffer for their Academic Career and Professional Development: An Empirical Investigation of Test Anxiety and Coping Strategies

“…Students with visual impairment are the individuals who utilize their non-visual abilities as opposed to their visual abilities to learn. Students with visual Impairment (VI) indicate to those students who are lawfully blind or who use Braille and other non-visual instruments for their education (Zelelew, 2018).…”