This paper examined the extent to which socio-economic and demographic characteristics are related to the levels of vision of persons with visual impairment and blindness. A mixed method approach was employed in this study. Data collection was conducted in Siyanethugama Village in Hambanthota district and Polpithigama Divisional Secretariat in Kurunegala district in Sri Lanka. The study deployed convenient and purposive sampling techniques. Information was gathered through questionnaires and personal interviews. Overall, results revealed that level of vision vary with several socio-economic characteristics. Age and education were not related to the levels of vision in the Polpithigama region whereas in the Hambanthota region a significant relationship between age and education with levels of vision was observed. Income was not related to the level of vision. Participants' views and opinions of resources, opportunities, income, employment, and government activities were found to be the driving forces of quality of life related to vision. The study concluded that age and education need to be considered in improving quality of life related to vision and further investigations are needed to determine the relationships between levels of vision and socio-demographic characteristics and to explore perceptions related to vision impairments.

Ensuring universal access to education is an effective and sustainable means of empowering people with visual impairment and blindness. Literature confirms that blindness of a person is not a barrier for learning, yet past research brings about a range of diverse obstacles for productive engagement in education due to universities being designed for the sighted persons. Given that the persons with impairment are looked after comparatively better in the western world than in the developing nations for realising their challenging academic goals. Purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a comprehensive study on the academic work of persons with visual impairment and blindness in the tertiary sector. This population included recent undergraduates and those who have completed a university degree. The two distinct outcomes presented are; (first phase) the critical factors influencing the academic performance of persons with visually impairment and blindness and, (second phase) an explanatory model that characterizes the construct ‘the academic performance’. Using a semi-structured questionnaire, purposely selected eleven key informant interviews were utilized for the first phase for the qualitative investigation. Thematic analysis was used as the main method of data analysis. The Second phase employed a sample survey. Fifty respondents who had studied in universities during the 5-year period from 2015-2020 were selected through snow-ball sampling. Exploratory factor analysis was used as the main data analysis technique. The key findings of phase one revealed that external support, physical environment, motivation to learn, instructional strategies, ICT and English literacy are major contributory factors to academic performance. The second phase of the quantitative analysis derived five composite factors. Of these, the factor labeled “Motivating influences” appears to be mostly contributing to the academic performance of persons with visual impairment and blindness. While education is a lifelong endeavor of a person, these findings can contribute to make a substantial change in the quality of life of this community in the long run.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0969/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>