Meeting the training needs of teachers of the visually handicapped from developing countries in Africa

Abstract

For over thirty years Birmingham University has offered training courses for teachers wishing to specialise in the education of the visually handicapped. In addition to a large national intake it has consistently attracted students from all parts of the world, with African countries very well represented. In the last three years for example, teachers from Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria and Tanzania have attended the one-year full time course. In 1986 a tutor was appointed with special responsibility for overseas students taking this training, which leads to a qualification at Diploma or BPhil level. This article, based on interviews with past and present students, seeks to examine the background to, and the recent development of, education for visually handicapped children and young people in parts of Africa and to identify the factors which lead to successful and relevant training in courses of this nature.