Abstract:
The general objective of the study was to investigate barriers to learning faced by learners with visual impairments in Kayonza District. The specific objectives were to find out challenges faced by leaners with visual impairment in a regular classroom, to find out the methods teachers use when teaching learners with visual impairment and to find out the modes of communication that teachers in regular school use to communicate with visually impaired learners. The target population was 66 respondents. 28 learners and 38 teachers were targeted. The data collected was analyzed through thematic or content analysis on interview items that were open ended and observations made while tables and graphs were used on interview items relating to social and demographic characteristics of the respondents. From the findings, the study revealed that learners with visual impairment in regular school experienced some challenges which among others included; lack of specially trained teachers in special needs education to cater for their learning needs and interests, inadequacy of appropriate equipment and learning materials, inappropriate teaching materials and methods, negative attitudes of teachers towards the education of the handicapped children and high teacher—pupil ratio in class among others. From the study, the following recommendations were made. There is need for the government and other stakeholders to come up with strategies to train the teachers teaching the students in an inclusive setting in order to empower them with appropriate knowledge to be able to handle learners in an inclusive setting effectively but also The government and other stakeholders should ensure that they provide assessment personnel and facilities in inclusive schools in order to ensure timely and proper assessment of learners who are having visual impairment.
