For a country such as Japan where higher education is historically and widely esteemed, the visually-impaired community’s incongruous departure from the university route to a vocational one is considered in relation to post-school choices. The predominance of the riryoka vocation for the visually-impaired (VI) largely influences perception of employment pragmatics, even to the extent of those VI students aspiring for university. Higher education then appeals more to the need to ‘follow one’s dream’ and to ‘experience a new environment’ – a less direct link to enhancing employability.
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