Access to Higher Education for Visually Impaired Students in Turkey: Disclosure, Inclusion, and Oppression of Two Pre-service Teachers

ABSTRACT

This qualitative case study examined the experiences of two pre-service teachers with visual impairments at a Turkish university. Two pre-service teachers with visual impairments, four teacher educators, six peers, and three administrators participated in this study. The data were collected through individual and focus group interviews, observations, reflective journals, and formal documents. The qualitative analysis of data was completed with the utilisation of MAXQDA software. The findings suggested that even though the institution fulfilled the minimum requirements for the regulations, there were several issues that needed to be addressed in order to provide accessibility to the students with visual impairments. Also, the empowerment and advocacy of students with disabilities were oppressed by dominance social, cultural, and political bodies. In this regard, recommendations and implications for future research are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Disability
• EFL
• pedagogy of oppressed
• pre-service teachers
• visual impairment

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.