Braille Skill Competence of Students with Visual Impairment at Sebeta Boarding School for the Blind
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Date
2014-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The study is aimed to investigate the Braille skill of students in Sebeta School for the Blind. Even
if the skill is taught in the school, students are heard as they are inefficient and have no full
confidence to read and write in Braille. To deal with the study, basic questions such as how the
teaching Braille skill is implemented in the school, whether the teachers have Braille
competence, if the students of the school have achieved needed skill and whether there are
opportunities help the students to enhance the skill of the students were designed and
accompanied by objectives indicated that the students have no needed competence in Braille and
also answer the questions. Relevant related literature could also be investigated in advance and
qualitative method was designed for the implementation of the study. Interview guide questions,
focused group discussion, Braille reading and writing tests and observation guidelines were
organized to investigate data. The sources of data were teachers of Sebeta School for the Blind,
the school directors, the resource center coordinator, grade four and grade eight students, STEO
and OEB and they were totally 23 in number. Except one SNE professional among them, they
were from different field of study. The data were discussed under the categories, i.e. the school
Braille teaching implementation, the school teachers’ Braille competence and the students. The
result eventually showed that the Braille skill taught in the school has shortcomings, most of the
students and the teachers are inefficient in the skill and though the school has opportunities, they
didn’t use them. Above all the Braille skill teaching of the school has no legal curriculum used.
Taking these in to account, OEB, the school management, teachers and the students are
recommended to play their roles to solve the problems. To reduce problems of curriculum and its
standard, OEB primarily shoulders the responsibilities. Thus, the bureau should prepare legal
curriculum, assign professionals of SNE focal at the bureau level and to the school management
as well
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Keywords
Braille Skill Competence of Students