A phenomenological study was undertaken giving students with vision impairment the opportunity to voice their experiences of secondary schooling in mainstream schools. Policies of inclusion were considered, with analysis of how training and curriculum came together, as experienced by these students, to develop their inclusion in schools in Victoria. Interviews of each participant using interpretative phenomenological analysis revealed a number of themes, with lack of teacher understanding of vision impairment a common theme across all cases. The limited access to visiting teachers, specialists in vision impairment, points to the need for alternatives in the delivery of necessary expanded core curriculum components. It is proposed that teachers of these students would benefit from an online unit to educate them in vision impairment to eliminate unintentional exclusion practices currently experienced and to encourage them to incorporate components of the expanded core curriculum into their everyday practices. The need for further research is indicated. Keywords Expanded core curriculum, inclusion, interpretative phenomenological analysis, mainstream secondary school, vision impairment "The ECC is the heart of the responsibility of educators serving visually impaired students. .. and it epitomizes their 'right to be different'." (American Foundation for the Blind, 2017).

No abstract

We explore the experiences of Nick, a secondary school student with vision impairment in an Australian mainstream school in this study, and we particularly focus on whether he perceived his education as inclusive. We have used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis in this single individual case as this approach explores our participant’s understandings which may be revealed by close examination of mindful experiences. The “gem” spoken by Nick (pseudonym), our 16-year old participant, was “They accept me, like as in I am there, but they just won’t talk to me.” This statement summarises his sense of not belonging, of being other, and of being bullied. The inability of his school to provide an inclusive education was apparent to him, and his often-unfulfilled need for access to specialist teachers of vision impairment is explored. Our study includes vivid quotes from Nick to bring his voice to our phenomenological interpretation.

The experiences of seven Australian senior secondary school students with vision impairment attending mainstream schools in Victoria were explored to gain an understanding of the support mechanisms operating to allow them access to an inclusive education. This qualitative study primarily used the indepth interviews of students, augmented by brief interviews with Heads of Education Support, parents, aides and teachers. Students attributed difficulties to time available, accessing e-print and large format materials, assistive technology and access, and exclusion from classes of science, mathematics, and physical education in particular. In Australia, there is an expectation that legally mandated adjustments for students with disabilities will enable equitable, quality, and inclusive education. This was not evident in the experiences of the students in this study. Having aide support did not prevent exclusionary practices. Educators and support staff need to understand the perspectives of students with vision impairments to better facilitate successful teaching and learning experiences.