Social inclusion and high school students with visual impairments

Abstract

Parents and educators seek to guide students with visual impairments (VI) so they develop a robust sense of identity as they work alongside, and compete with, their typically-developing peers at school. In this study I explored the social inclusion of 12 Australian high school students with VI. I wanted to know how they described school social inclusion, whether they felt included, and what influenced these feelings. Seven times a day for one week, these participants responded to the same in-the-moment survey about the activity in which they were engaged. A questionnaire, the Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM), and an interview complemented these data. Despite as a group scoring highly on the PSSM, in-the-moment survey data revealed participants felt less accepted and fitted less at school than out of school. The presence of an additional disability significantly increased loneliness and negatively influenced PSSM scores, fitting in and enjoyment at school. In interview, participants described school social inclusion as being noticed by others. Four participants, including all with additional disabilities, had experienced peer exclusion. Five themes encompassed the influences on school social inclusion. These were: (a) putting myself forward; (b) knowing me; (c) having control; (d) having a place to shine; and (e) peer exclusion and rejection. These themes align with the needs for competence, autonomy and relatedness articulated in self-determination theory, a theory of motivation. This linking of school social inclusion and motivation suggests students with VI will put effort into engaging with, and feel included in, high school if activities and interactions fulfil their needs for competence, autonomy and relatedness. This link also requires closer scrutiny of the influence of school environment on social inclusion and motivation. Future research is needed to determine if this link applies more widely, to adolescents with impairments other than vision.