Thesis (Ph. D.)--Texas State University-San Marcos, 2009. / Vita. Appendices: leaves 105-124. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-132). Also available on microfilm.

Since 1994, the South African Government has formulated various policies in an attempt to redress the previous political, economic and social imbalances within the country. The majority of the policies have focused on empowering previously disadvantaged groups including people with disabilities. Despite the interventions, literature reviewed reflects that there is very little progress made with regard to empowerment of people with disabilities in the employment sector. The study seeks to explore and identify factors that affect people with visual disabilities in the employment sector. The researcher used a qualitative approach to investigate the perceptions of people with visual disabilities through conducting focus groups interviews with participants that were recruited using a purposive sampling approach. A total of four groups from Pretoria have been used to draw findings for the research study. During the focus group discussions, a semi structured interview guide was used to generate more in‐depth interpretations from the participants and data was analysed using Tesch’s (1990) framework that is described in Creswell (2003). The findings of the research revealed that people with visual disabilities still have problems in accessing and retaining employment despite the South African favourable legislation. Dominating among the factors that are viewed by the participants to hinder their employability are societal negatives attitudes which include unequal treatment, discrimination when they seek employment, belittling and disregard by employers, coworkers and the society at large. There are also a number of factors that were perceived as barriers to job seekers with visual disabilities which include inaccessible advertising media for vacancies, inaccessible transports systems, inaccessible education and training and lack of funded positions suited for people with visual disabilities.

This study investigated the relationship among maternal reactions to visual impairment, home environment, and the self-esteem of eight visually impaired children. Educational research has clearly isolated a correlation between self-esteem, academic performance, and behavior. The premise of this study was that visually impaired children who perceived their home environments as supportive and nurturing; and who had parents, particularly mothers who accepted their loss of vision, would feel better about themselves more so than visually impaired children who held predominantly negative perceptions. The study also compared children's, mothers' and teachers' perceptions of the child's self-esteem. The subjects were 8 visually impaired children between the ages of 5 and 8, their mothers, and their integrating teachers. A questionnaire pertaining to children's self-esteem was circulated to teachers and mothers. Children were interviewed separately. Results indicated that the climate of the home was associated with both the use of functional vision and self-esteem in visually impaired children. The findings are congruent with educational and humanistic-phenomenological theory, and support the hypothesis that children's behavior and perceptions of themselves are influenced by the reflections of 'significant others', particularly their parents. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2015 / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Introduction: In the last two decades there has been an increase in the numbers of visually impaired students accessing universities in South Africa. However, very few studies have documented the experiences of these students. Through the lens of a phenomenological understanding of disability, this study thus aimed to capture the lived experiences of visual impairment, as recounted by participants from two universities in the Western Cape, South Africa. Methods: Data were collected and analysed according to the principles of the interpretative phenomenological approach. I conducted semi-structured, in-depth individual interviews with 23 participants, and 13 students participated in focus group sessions. Results: The analysis yielded important findings. First, participants described the challenges related to the transition from school, namely: orientating themselves to the new physical environment; making new friends; and deciding whether they wanted to disclose impairment. This transition was sometimes closely tied to introspection and a new sense of self. Mainstream versus special schooling experiences seemed to shape this transition and their experiences in higher education to a degree. Second, participants discussed complex social interactions with nondisabled peers, in which the latter reportedly offered help, and avoided or stared at participants, leaving them feeling “not seen”. In response, visually impaired students often denied impairment and concealed their emotional pain. Third, within the learning environment, the participants were sometimes confronted with unwilling lecturers, a lack of communication amongst important role-players, late course material and/or headaches and muscle tension from the effort of reading with limited sight. The students recounted that they commonly self-advocated and took the responsibility upon themselves to get special accommodations. There were also many positive accounts of supportive lecturers and disability units who did more than was required of them. Discussion: Overall, these findings showed that the experiences of students did not seem to differ according to the institution they attended. Their visual category and/or secondary schooling seemed to have played a more significant role where their experiences differed. The findings also revealed that, in addition to the typical demands of university studies, the participants also took a lot of responsibility upon themselves to manage their studies and their physical and social environment. Participants seemed resilient and innovative, yet the effort sometimes drained their energy and left them frustrated. Despite valuable steps towards inclusion, these visually impaired students were still not fully included on tertiary campuses. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Inleiding: Die aantal visiueel gestremde studente in Suid-Afrikaanse universiteite het oor die afgelope twee dekades toegeneem. Die ervarings van hierdie studente is egter deur baie min studies gedokumenteer. Die studie het dus gepoog om, deur middel van 'n fenomenologiese begrip van gestremdheid, die deurleefde ervarings van visiuele gestremdheid, soos vertel deur deelnemers van twee universiteite in die Wes-Kaap, Suid-Afrika, vas te lê. Metodes: Die insameling en analise van data is uitgevoer volgens die beginsels van die intertavistiess fenomenologiese benadering. Ek het semi-gestruktureerde, in-diepte, individuele onderhoude met 23 deelnemers gevoer en 13 studente het aan fokusgroep sessies deelgeneem. Resultate: Die analise het tot belangrike bevindinge aanleiding gegee. Die deelnemers het eerstens die oorgang vanaf skool en die verbandhoudende uitdagings beskryf, naamlik, om hulself te orienteer tot die nuwe fisiese omgewing, om nuwe vriendskappe te smee en om te besluit of hulle hul gestremdheid bekend wou maak. Hierdie oorgang het soms nou saamgehang met self-ondersoek en „n nuwe begrip van hulself. Dit blyk ook dat hoofstroom of spesiale onderwys tot „n mate die oorgang en algehele ervarings op universiteit gevorm het. Tweedens, het die deelnemers komplekse sosiale interaksie met nie-gestremde eweknieë bespreek. Volgens die deelnemers, word hul dikwels deur nie-gestremde studente aangestaar, vermy of gehelp, wat eersgenoemdd dikwels “onsigbaar” laat voel het. In reaksie hierop het die visiueel gestremde studente dikwels hul gestremdheid, asook hul emosionele pyn, ontken en verbloem. Derdens, was deelnemers soms gekonfronteer met onwillige dosente, kommunikasiegapings tussen kern rolspelers, laat kursusmateriaal en/of hoofpyne en spierspanning weens die inspanning van lees met beperkte visie. Die studente het vertel dat hulle oor die algemeen self-voorspraak doen en die verantwoordelikheid op hulself neem om spesiale aanpassings te verkry. Daar was ook heelwat positiewe kommentaar aangaande ondersteunende dosente en gestremdseenhede wat dikwels meer gedoen het as wat van hulle vereis was. Bespreking: In die algeheel gesien, blyk dit nie dat die ervarings van studente verskil na gelang van tersiêre instansie nie. Dit wil voorkom dat visuele kategorie en/of sekondêre onderrig „n groter rol in die verskille tussen studente gespeel het. Die bevindings dui ook daarop dat, afgesien van die tipiese vereistes van tersiëre studies, die deelnemers baie van die verantwoordelikheid moes dra om hul studies en die sosiale en fisiese omgewing te bestuur. Alhoewel deelnemers veerkragtig en innoverend blyk te wees, het die inspanning hulle dikwels gedreineer en gefrustreerd gelaat. Ten spyte van waardevolle vordering ten opsigte van insluiting, was hierdie visueel gestremde studente steeds nie ten volle ingesluit op tersiëre kampusse nie.

Theories on the impact of visual loss tend to generalise and can simplify complex issues. Two extreme views are challenged that portray the impact of visual loss as catastrophic or as a minor inconvenience. The argument is put forward that the impact of visual loss can lessen with improved interaction, and this theory is tested by the author questioning and modifying her own interaction. The following themes are explored: limbo status and self-acceptance; the common stresses experienced when asking for help; and discriminatory attitudes. The research is action based, and the emphasis is on how individuals adjust and adapt to loss, rather than the stresses experienced. / Master of Science (Hons)

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio University, June, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Carleton University, 2003. / Accompanying material c.1: Cartes tactiles thematiques du Canada: livret d'une étude de cas; c.2: Thematic tactile maps of Canada: case study booklet. In English, accompanying material also in French. Includes bibliographical references (p. 146-159). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

"The history of the movement to provide a special program of education for low-visioned children is of short duration. The New England Asylum for the Blind, the first school of its kind in America, was established in Boston, in 1832. This school is now the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts. At the start, this school tried unsuccessfully to educate a youngster whose vision was poor, by the Braille method. Experience soon taught futility of this, for the youngster that had any vision at used his eyes to read the raised dots instead of his fingers. This spelled doom to the tactile method of teaching youngsters with defective eyesight. In 1912, Mr. Edward E. Allen, the director of Perkins Institution at that time, went abroad and found in Germany and England classes for myopes had been established. He visited a number of the classes in London and found satisfactory results in this method of education. He immediately set about to organize a class upon his return to the United States. The task was greater than he anticipated, but finally in Boston in 1913, in the Abbe May School Annex in Roxbury, the first sight-saving class was opened. The room in which the class was housed was poor, the lighting bad, and the equipment meager. However, the Perkins Institution came to the rescue with some equipment and the class began under the guidance of two capable teachers who has previously taught blind children. They had made a study of the methods used in teaching myopes in Germany and England"--Introduction. / "February, 1950." / Typescript. / "Submitted to the Graduate School of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts under Plan II." / Advisor: R. L. Goulding, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 44-47).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1987. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 183-209). Also available in print.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes a special report study. Includes bibliographical references.