Evidence of Isolation in the Mainstream

Abstract

Interaction between visually impaired students and their nonhandicapped classmates is an expected outcome of mainstreaming. The study reported on in this article tested this premise using the Interaction Observation Schedule for systematic observation and recording of the interactions of visually impaired students and their nonhandicapped classmates. Teachers’ responses to the Teacher Questionnaire were also used. Both the systematic observations and the teachers’ responses indicated that visually impaired students interact less frequently than their nonhandicapped classmates. These findings suggest that encouragement of interaction between visually impaired students and their classmates will have to be a more explicit undertaking than has been generally realized.