Within the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) and its 17 targets is a strong emphasis on the education of learners with disability. Whereas there have been massive improvements at lower levels regarding education of the marginalised, a lot more work remains undone at tertiary education level. In this discourse, we explore literature to reveal enablers and disablers to academic success of students with visual impairments (SwVI) at higher education level in the past 10 years in 16 countries doted across six habitable continents. Emerging from the study is a host of disablers such as (1) negative attitudes, (2) absence of inclusive education policy, (3) inaccessible learning environment and learning materials, (4) exclusive pedagogy, and (5) limited orientation and mobility. Amidst the disabling environment, a positive attitude, self-advocacy, and innovativeness stood out as key enablers to academic success by SwVI. The findings contribute to the realisation of the SDG agenda through advocacy on inclusive education policies and practices.

While the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) benchmark is 15.6 percent, ‘Sim’ (pseudonym) University is way below that benchmark as only 0.001 percent are students classified as ‘disabled’ despite being in existence for more than 50 year. Within the 0.001, students with visually impaired (SwVI) are the majority estimated at 70 percent. In the 21st century, ICTs generally serve as catalysts to academic success of students in Universities. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the role played by Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) as enablers to academic success of SwVI at Sim University. A Hermeneutic Phenomenology approach guided the research process. Seven participants volunteered to voice their lived experiences and a cluster of themes on ICT usage emerged subsequently. Emerging from the lived academic experiences of SwVI is a host of self-initiated ICTs in use namely: ordinary typewriters, voice recorders, scanners, jaws and computers meant to facilitate learning amidst a negatively charged learning environment. In conclusion, if ICTs are to serve as effective assistive learning devises, ICTs developers and ICT policy makers should consider SwVI not just as ICTs consumers but equal innovators who must be consulted to transform the education landscape at tertiary level.

In this study, we interrogate the Learning Cultures of Peace Leadership and Conflict Resolution Postgraduate learners in their quest for higher education within the University of Zambia using the Learning Management System. The thrust of the study is on learning cultures of digital immigrants in technologically mediated postgraduate distance learning mode to inform the development of learner responsive services. The study rides on Hermeneutics Phenomenology approach to elicit lived experiences of seventeen (17) purposively selected year two students. The study approach is well suited as it empowers Digital immigrants to voice out their lived realities while following the digital mediated Masters of Science in Peace Leadership and Conflict Resolution Programme to forge best ways of harnessing their learning opportunities. The findings reveal that whereas learners have migrated to the Learning Management System, their learning culture is profoundly still in the print age as they keep on requesting for print based educational resources. Secondly, there is limited interactivity among learners and between learners and their learning facilitators, negating the very essence upon which the Learning Management System has been created. This state of affairs has had a bearing on their motivation to engage effectively in the actual learning process as informed by Moore’s theory of Interactivity and Siemens’ theory of Connectivism. To this end, the study recommends that learners are effectively oriented in the use of digital resources to empower them as they exploit the available educational opportunities. Additionally, there is need to strengthen capacity building mechanisms in order to bridge the gap between the learners and the learning facilitators.

The World Health Organization's (WHO) benchmark of persons with disability in every population is 15.6 per cent. However, the University of Zambia is way below that benchmark as it is home to less than 0.1 per cent of students classified as 'disabled'. Within the 0.1 per cent, students with visual impairment are the majority, estimated at 70 per cent. The purpose of this study was to explore disablers (also known as barriers) to academic success faced by students with visual impairment at the University of Zambia. A Hermeneutic Phenomenological approach directed the research process. Seven purposively sampled participants volunteered to voice their lived experiences and a cluster of themes emerged thereafter. Emerging from their lived experiences are thirteen disablers that impede the learning experiences at University and key amongst them are: (i) negative attitudes; (ii) policypractice disjuncture; (iii) staff unreadiness and unpreparedness; (iv) inaccessible buildings; and (v) rigid curricula.

This study was conducted to examine the status of inclusive education in Zambia, learning from teachers’ perspectives about how inclusive education is being implemented and the whether teachers receive adequate support to implement inclusive education to learners with disabilities. The study employed a concurrent mixed design approach in which both quantitative and qualitative data were generated and applied. Open and closed ended questionnaires were used to collect data from teachers that were upgrading their qualifications via distance education at Kwame Nkrumah University, University of Zambia and Chalimbana University. Findings indicated that Zambia practices partial inclusion in which only the mild and moderate learners with disabilities are included in classrooms. Inclusive education is understood by teachers in the context of disability and teachers reported that they did not receive adequate support to implement inclusive education effectively. It is recommended that the Government of the Republic of Zambia through the Ministry of General Education should focus on training teachers in inclusive education and its methodologies to meet the learning needs of learners from different circumstances