Student Perceptions of Journalism Instruction by a Visually Impaired Educator: Attitudes,Challenges,and Pedagogical Insights

Abstract

In visually intensive disciplines, instructors are typically sighted. This study challenges that norm by examining how sighted journalism students evaluate their experience with a blind instructor. Seventy participants completed an electronic questionnaire, reflecting on academic, interpersonal, and professional dimensions of the learning experience. Findings indicate high levels of student satisfaction, minimal perceived challenges, and increased awareness of disability. Students largely viewed the instructor through a professional lens, not a deficit-based one. The results support the value of inclusive teaching and challenge assumptions about the limitations of visually impaired educators in vision-centric fields.