Being noticed for the way you are: Social inclusion and high school students with vision impairment

Abstract

This study explored the social inclusion in high school of Australian students with vision impairment (VI). We sought to understand how students described school social inclusion, whether they felt included and what influenced these perceptions. As part of a larger mixed methods study, 12 students with VI, who had previously answered the Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) questionnaire, were interviewed about the social aspects of school. These interviews were analysed thematically. Participants described social inclusion as about being noticed and not overlooked by others. While two-thirds of participants reported satisfactory social relationships in high school, one-third, including all those with additional disabilities, reported being teased or rejected by their school peers. Five themes encompassed the varying influences on school social inclusion. These were: (a) putting myself forward; (b) knowing me; (c) having control; (d) having a place to shine; and finally a negative influence (e) peer exclusion and rejection. These themes largely parallel those of competence, autonomy, and relatedness found in self-determination theory. This suggests that staff can enhance the social inclusion of students with VI by facilitating these students’ self-determination. In practice, this would require school staff to focus on enabling students with VI to explore and build on strengths, fully access the curriculum alongside their peers, and have time and opportunity to develop friendships with these peers.