Lived experiences with inclusive education from the perspective of a pupil with visual impairment and his mother—a case study
In 2016, there was an important legislative change toward inclusive education (IE) in the Czech Republic, affecting students with different types of Special Educational Needs (SEN) such as visual impairment (VI). As no prior research has investigated the experiences of IE for Czech pupils with VI an...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-07-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Education |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2025.1629428/full |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850061151555026944 |
|---|---|
| author | Lenka Hovorková Zuzana Horňáčková Liliana Belkin Liliana Belkin Veronika Růžičková Tereza Přibylová Jiří Kantor |
| author_facet | Lenka Hovorková Zuzana Horňáčková Liliana Belkin Liliana Belkin Veronika Růžičková Tereza Přibylová Jiří Kantor |
| author_sort | Lenka Hovorková |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In 2016, there was an important legislative change toward inclusive education (IE) in the Czech Republic, affecting students with different types of Special Educational Needs (SEN) such as visual impairment (VI). As no prior research has investigated the experiences of IE for Czech pupils with VI and their parents, we conducted this phenomenological case study to understand the experiences of a boy with VI and his mother in relation to IE at primary school. Methods: The case study was based on Van Manen's methodology, using semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis. The results (eight themes) show the importance of family support and parental engagement, which helped to overcome some of the education system's shortcomings (e.g., the teacher's unwillingness to cooperate with the family). However, the mother expressed fears about her son's education as he gets older. The boy experienced satisfaction with his education and was proud of his achievements thus far. The case study showed that pupils with VI and their parents may face specific barriers associated with the availability of assistive technologies for VI, and limited provision of support for self-care and orientation. Importantly, these barriers may extend to students with other types of SEN, such as limited awareness of appropriate teaching strategies for pupils with SEN or challenging attitudes of teachers. Involving parents in the educational process may serve as a strategy to overcome these barriers and facilitate inclusion in mainstream settings. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e4f3113ef11d4cc58dbdfae7ab856a03 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2504-284X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Education |
| spelling | doaj-art-e4f3113ef11d4cc58dbdfae7ab856a032025-08-20T02:50:20ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Education2504-284X2025-07-011010.3389/feduc.2025.16294281629428Lived experiences with inclusive education from the perspective of a pupil with visual impairment and his mother—a case studyLenka Hovorková0Zuzana Horňáčková1Liliana Belkin2Liliana Belkin3Veronika Růžičková4Tereza Přibylová5Jiří Kantor6Faculty of Education, Institute of Special Education Studies, Palacky University Olomouc, Olomouc, CzechiaFaculty of Education, Institute of Special Education Studies, Palacky University Olomouc, Olomouc, CzechiaFaculty of Education, Institute of Special Education Studies, Palacky University Olomouc, Olomouc, CzechiaSchool of Education, University of Roehampton, London, United KingdomFaculty of Education, Institute of Special Education Studies, Palacky University Olomouc, Olomouc, CzechiaFaculty of Education, Institute of Special Education Studies, Palacky University Olomouc, Olomouc, CzechiaFaculty of Education, Institute of Special Education Studies, Palacky University Olomouc, Olomouc, CzechiaIn 2016, there was an important legislative change toward inclusive education (IE) in the Czech Republic, affecting students with different types of Special Educational Needs (SEN) such as visual impairment (VI). As no prior research has investigated the experiences of IE for Czech pupils with VI and their parents, we conducted this phenomenological case study to understand the experiences of a boy with VI and his mother in relation to IE at primary school. Methods: The case study was based on Van Manen's methodology, using semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis. The results (eight themes) show the importance of family support and parental engagement, which helped to overcome some of the education system's shortcomings (e.g., the teacher's unwillingness to cooperate with the family). However, the mother expressed fears about her son's education as he gets older. The boy experienced satisfaction with his education and was proud of his achievements thus far. The case study showed that pupils with VI and their parents may face specific barriers associated with the availability of assistive technologies for VI, and limited provision of support for self-care and orientation. Importantly, these barriers may extend to students with other types of SEN, such as limited awareness of appropriate teaching strategies for pupils with SEN or challenging attitudes of teachers. Involving parents in the educational process may serve as a strategy to overcome these barriers and facilitate inclusion in mainstream settings.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2025.1629428/fullvisual impairmentinclusive educationspecial educational needssocial inclusionself-conceptpeer relationships |
| spellingShingle | Lenka Hovorková Zuzana Horňáčková Liliana Belkin Liliana Belkin Veronika Růžičková Tereza Přibylová Jiří Kantor Lived experiences with inclusive education from the perspective of a pupil with visual impairment and his mother—a case study Frontiers in Education visual impairment inclusive education special educational needs social inclusion self-concept peer relationships |
| title | Lived experiences with inclusive education from the perspective of a pupil with visual impairment and his mother—a case study |
| title_full | Lived experiences with inclusive education from the perspective of a pupil with visual impairment and his mother—a case study |
| title_fullStr | Lived experiences with inclusive education from the perspective of a pupil with visual impairment and his mother—a case study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Lived experiences with inclusive education from the perspective of a pupil with visual impairment and his mother—a case study |
| title_short | Lived experiences with inclusive education from the perspective of a pupil with visual impairment and his mother—a case study |
| title_sort | lived experiences with inclusive education from the perspective of a pupil with visual impairment and his mother a case study |
| topic | visual impairment inclusive education special educational needs social inclusion self-concept peer relationships |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2025.1629428/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lenkahovorkova livedexperienceswithinclusiveeducationfromtheperspectiveofapupilwithvisualimpairmentandhismotheracasestudy AT zuzanahornackova livedexperienceswithinclusiveeducationfromtheperspectiveofapupilwithvisualimpairmentandhismotheracasestudy AT lilianabelkin livedexperienceswithinclusiveeducationfromtheperspectiveofapupilwithvisualimpairmentandhismotheracasestudy AT lilianabelkin livedexperienceswithinclusiveeducationfromtheperspectiveofapupilwithvisualimpairmentandhismotheracasestudy AT veronikaruzickova livedexperienceswithinclusiveeducationfromtheperspectiveofapupilwithvisualimpairmentandhismotheracasestudy AT terezapribylova livedexperienceswithinclusiveeducationfromtheperspectiveofapupilwithvisualimpairmentandhismotheracasestudy AT jirikantor livedexperienceswithinclusiveeducationfromtheperspectiveofapupilwithvisualimpairmentandhismotheracasestudy |