This study used the Delphi research method to gain a consensus among 40 professionals on the appropriate levels of instructional service to address the needs of students with visual impairments in 12 areas of braille literacy skills. These resulting recommendations are general guidelines for educational teams to follow in designing braille literacy programs, but must be tailored to address the individual needs of each student.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BorgW. R., & GallM. D. (1983). Educational research: An introduction.New York: Longman.
2.
CornA. L., HatlenP., HuebnerK. M., RyanF., & SillerM. A. (1995). The national agenda for the education of children and youths with visual impairments, including those with multiple disabilities.New York: AFB Press.
HatlenP. (1996). The core curriculum for blind and visually impaired students, including those with additional disabilities. RE:view, 28, 25–32.
5.
HatlenP. (1998). Goal 8: Educational and developmental goals, including instruction, will reflect the assessed needs of each student in all areas of academic and disability-specific core curricula. In CornA. L. & HuebnerK. M. (Eds.), A report to the nation: The national agenda for the education of children and youths with visual impairments, including those with multiple disabilities (pp. 50–52. New York: AFB Press.
6.
KoenigA. J., & RexE. J. (1996, April). Assuring quality literacy programs for students with visual impairments. Paper presented at the 74th convention of the Council for Exceptional Children, Orlando, FL.
7.
MangoldS. S. (1997). The braille literacy movement: A dichotomy of action. In KoenigA. J. & HolbrookM. C. (Eds.), Proceedings of the Second Biennial Conference of Getting in Touch with Literacy (pp. 9–12. Alexandria, VA: Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired.
8.
MullenE. A. (1990). Decreased braille literacy: A symptom of a system in need of reassessment. RE:view, 22, 164–169.
9.
RexE. J. (1989). Issues related to literacy of legally blind learners. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 83, 306–313.
10.
RexE. J., KoenigA. J., WormsleyD., & BakerR. (1994). Foundations of braille literacy.New York: American Foundation for the Blind.
11.
RylesR. (1996). The impact of braille reading skills on employment, income, education, and reading habits. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 90, 219–226.
12.
RylesR. N. (1997). The relationship of reading medium to the literacy skills of high school students who are visually impaired. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Washington, 1997). Dissertation Abstracts International, 58, 4616.
13.
SchroederF. (1989). Literacy: The key to opportunity. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 83, 290–293.
14.
SchroederF. K. (1996). Perceptions of braille usage by legally blind adults. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 90, 210–218.
15.
SchroederF. K. (1997). Who should read braille? In KoenigA. J. & HolbrookM. C. (Eds.), Proceedings of the Second Biennial Conference of Getting in Touch with Literacy (pp. 13–18. Alexandria, VA: Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired.
16.
SpunginS. J. (1990). Braille literacy: Issues for blind persons, families, professionals, and producers of braille.New York: American Foundation for the Blind.
17.
StephensO. (1989). Braille—Implications for living. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 83, 288–289.