COGNIZANCE OF LEARNERS WITH VISION IMPAIRMENT REGARDING THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION IN SPECIAL EDUCATION INSTITUTES OF THE DISTRICT FAISALABAD

Abstract

The study explored the perceptions of learners with vision impairment about the quality of education in special education schools of the district Faisalabad. The type of study design that was employed was descriptive. The study population included all students with visual impairments in government special education institutions in the Faisalabad district. Only 60 learners with vision impairment enrolled in the government special education institutions in the Faisalabad district was taken as the sample of the study.  Convenient sampling technique was used to select the sample of the study. The instrument of the study involves the selection and development of suitable research tools for data collection. In the present study, a questionnaire containing 25 questions with the five Likert scale. The validity of the instrument was performed by the 3 experts in the field of special education. The instrument's reliability was examined. The research instrument's test-retest reliability on Cronbach alpha was 0.82, indicating statistical significance. A self-developed questionnaire was used to gather data for this investigation. The researchers visited the special educational institutes to collect data from the students. Descriptive statistics was run to reach the conclusions of the study. The results of the study expressed that most of the respondents (M=3.87, S.D=1.033) were satisfied with the teaching method used to teach the learners with vision loss. The respondents (M=3.73, S.D=1.326) showed positive inclination towards the provision of Braille books and accessible reading material, proper use of audio visual aids were favored by most of the respondents (M=3.55, S.D=1.111). It was inferred that majority of the respondents (M=4.00, S.D=1.221) viewed that classroom environment was good and properly cleaned, furniture was appropriate and electricity was also available. Most of the respondents (M=3.55, S.D=1.320) viewed that curriculum was very supportive in achieving the learning outcomes. It was concluded that the learners with visual impairment were moderately satisfied with the instructional methods, classroom environment and quality of curriculum. The study was very effective in highlighting the pitfalls hindering the quality of education in terms of teaching methods, learning environment and quality of curriculum for the learners with vision loss. Key Words: Perceptions, students, visual impairment, quality of education, special education.