1^st EBU International Conference on Education, 19-23 July 2000, Montegrotto Terme (Padua) - Italy

Standards required by specialist teachers of children/youngsters with visual impairment

Paper by Herman A.A. Gresnigt, European Chairman of the International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI) - The Netherlands

Ladies and gentlemen,

First of all I want to express my thanks to the EBU Commission on Education which has given me the opportunity to participate in their activities and has invited me to present a lecture at their conference.

I will first introduce myself briefly. My name is Herman Gresnigt. Till July 1994 I was the Director of Theofaan, a centre for education and rehabilitation of visually impaired people of all ages, in the south of the Netherlands. Since my retirement in 1994 until the end of 1997 I was in charge of Theofaan International, an organisation that builds and maintains international contacts and undertakes international activities.

Since 1992 I have been the European chairman of ICEVI. I was elected for the first time at the world conference in Bangkok in 1992. I was re-elected at the world conference in Sao Paulo in 1997.

Something about ICEVI:

ICEVI is a world-wide organisation of professionals, involved in the education and rehabilitation of visually impaired children and youngsters. ICEVI was founded in 1952 and will celebrate its 50th anniversary during the World Conference in the Netherlands in 2002.

The mission of ICEVI is as follows:

Through the exchange and dissemination of scientific and practical information and expertise ICEVI aims at the qualitative and quantitative enhancement of education and rehabilitation in order to reach and maintain equal educational opportunities for children and youth with visual impairment.

In pursuit of this aim ICEVI will facilitate the exchange of expertise and professional knowledge and skills through

• the promotion of networks on a regional and global level;
• the promotion of training courses, meetings and conferences;
• the promotion of publications.

ICEVI consists of 8 regions, one of which is Europe. ICEVI Europe has had a European Committee since 1987 when Elisabeth Chapman became the chairperson. I succeeded her in 1992. At present, the European Committee consists of 12 members each of whom represents a certain part of Europe. Four members come from Central and Eastern Europe. In addition, there is a network of contact persons.

The main activities since 1992 have been the major European conferences: in 1995 in Budapest, Hungary and last week in Cracow, Poland. At this conference there were more than 450 participants from nearly all European countries.

At the conference in Budapest the initiative was taken to establish twinning contacts between schools and other organisations for education of people with visual impairment from different countries, in particular between Eastern and Western Europe. This has led to a series of ad hoc as well as more structured contacts.

Since the Budapest Conference in 1995 ICEVI Europe has published a European Newsletter three times a year. Last week issue number 16 was published. At present, we distribute about 1200 copies all over Europe. Recently, ICEVI Europe has also launched its own website.

ICEVI promotes professionalization of people involved in the education/rehabilitation of children with visual impairment. Good education/rehabilitation of children and youth with a visual impairment depends on good and professionally trained teachers and other staff. Considering its mission, ICEVI has an important task in this area.

That is why, after the Budapest Conference in 1995, I took the initiative to organise an invitational workshop for teachers/staff members of universities/colleges etc. whose duty it is to train the teachers of the visually impaired. It appeared to be just what people needed. After we sent out the invitations we received positive reactions from nearly 30 countries. Participants from 22 countries took part in this workshop which took place in Budapest in March1997.

After this first introduction and exchange of information, the participants shared the unanimous view that a second workshop had to follow in which the level of information exchange could be raised, and which offered the opportunity to discuss essential topics more in depth. This second workshop took place in Bratislava, Slovak Republic in September 1999.

Both workshops focused on the COMPETENCIES of the teachers of the visually impaired. What is a competence? A "competence" is an ability to carry out a specific task or activity according to pre-determined standards of attainment. A competency-based approach means describing what skills and knowledge people (students/teachers) must have at the end of their training. The curriculum of training/education is based upon the desired competencies.

The training staff should thoroughly investigate the desired competencies, i.e. the competencies which are necessary to become/be a professional teacher of the visually impaired and translate these into concrete educational goals and curricula.

There is a wide range of desired competencies, namely basic competencies and more specific ones. Basic competencies are required for every teacher whereas more specific competencies are required, for instance, for science teachers.

The UK has developed a list of competencies:

1. With regard to knowledge and understanding (for example anatomy, physiology of visual functions, principles of assessment of functional vision)
2. With regard to abilities for example:
• teaching Braille, using both traditional methods and new technology
• using material designed to evaluate and train residual vision

Throughout Europe there is full agreement about the desired competencies (see appendix).

During the second workshop five specific topics, all of eminent importance to being a qualified teacher of the visually impaired, were discussed at greater length. They included:

Theme 1: Residual and functional vision

Motivation: The number of partially sighted children, children with residual vision, is many times higher than the number of blind children, especially in Europe. The knowledge about the use of residual vision has increased considerably in the last decade. Therefore, it is important to equip the future teachers optimally.

• models of visual functioning
• residual and functional functioning
• assessment of visual functioning
• different assessment techniques
• importance of residual and functional vision in all areas of the curriculum, in mobility and daily living skills
• teaching strategies
• use of low-vision aids, technology
• environmental issues

Theme 2: Multi-disabled visually impaired children

Motivation: All over Europe the number of multi-disabled visually impaired children is increasing exponentially. In the special schools for the visually impaired the percentage of children with additional disabilities is increasing enormously, in particular in those schools whose pupils without additional disabilities are leaving for mainstream schools. The education of these children requires additional knowledge, understanding and abilities of the teachers. Is the curriculum sufficiently geared to this?

• assessment
• implications for the teaching process
• teaching strategies
• parents' expectations, teachers' expectations
• what type of school will be best suited to teaching these pupils
• the relation between teaching and caring
• children with cortical visual impairment
• legislation regarding the education and care of these children (Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health)

Theme 3: Social & emotional development

Motivation: In addition to cognitive development, the social and emotional development of children with a disability or impairment requires extra attention, both when they grow up in the special setting of a special school (usually a boarding school) and when they participate in mainstream education. This applies to visually impaired children as well. What is the role of the special teacher in the social and emotional development of children with visual impairment?

• extra-curricular activities
• parental involvement
• teaching social skills
• mobility and daily living skills
• adolescence
• sexuality
• transition to adulthood
• ethos
• attitudes in society towards visually impaired people

Theme 4: Access to information, information technology

Motivation: All of us are living in an information society. This applies to the visually impaired as well, who need something extra if they want to gain equal access to information. In this respect, the question to be discussed (or answered) is how the special teachers for the visually impaired should be equipped for this task.

• what do teachers need to know about the possibilities
• (critical) attitude towards technology
• teaching methods
• what kind of software is available for children of various ages
• special adaptations, devices
• low-budget possibilities

Theme 5: Practical component of the training of teachers of the visually impaired

Motivation: Apart from knowledge and understanding (the theoretical part of the training of teachers), the acquisition of a wide range of skills requires a great deal of practical training (just take a look at the list of abilities in the standards required for specialist teaching of children with visual impairment).

• what kind of experiences are offered to the trainees
• range of experiences (with respect to the children's ages, the nature of their visual impairment, etc.)
• have the targets been formulated in the curriculum
• what is the relation between the university/college and the school where the practical training takes place
• who conducts assessment, on the basis of which criteria
• do the students have a coach or a mentor at the college, at the school
• should reports be made about actual practice
• assessment of practical teaching skills

Groups consisting of about 10 persons discussed these topics intensively during four half-day sessions on the basis of material sent to them in advance. This led to the concretising of a number of generally formulated competencies.

All these discussions have been summarised and laid down in a report which was published in April of this year and which may still be ordered. It can also be found at the ICEVI website.

Since the target group - children with visual impairment - is relatively small, international exchange of information, knowledge and experiences is quite essential because otherwise the know-how that was built up in the past two centuries will be lost. This especially applies to countries where special schools for the visually impaired no longer exist as a result of integration of these pupils into mainstream education. This is a good cause provided that clear guarantees are given that the know-how once built up will not be lost.

I would like to exchange ideas with you about the fact whether you, as consumers, agree with the competencies described on the list and whether, even more importantly, you think that other competencies should be added to this list.

I thank you for your attention.

APPENDIX - Competencies required by a teacher of the visually impaired

The teacher should be able to demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of:

1. Current national and local developments and legislation in curriculum and assessment and their implications for learners with a visual impairment;
2. The anatomy and physiology of the eye and an understanding of visual functioning;
3. The educational implications of pathology and treatment of eye diseases and conditions;
4. The implications of visual impairment on physical, cognitive, emotional, social and language development and their effect upon the individual's independence;
5. The development of secondary senses (hearing, touch etc.) when primary sense is impaired;
6. The appropriate methods of teaching and communication for children and young people who have visual impairment including those with multiple or dual sensory impairment;
7. The principles of assessment of functional vision;
8. Appropriate strategies to enhance functional vision;
9. An awareness of the principles of mobility and ADL training;
10. The appropriate information and communication technology and its applications for those with visual impairment;
11. The distinction between roles of a teacher in a special school, an itinerant teacher or a resource teacher in a mainstream school or college;
12. The range and functions of support services available to those with a visual impairment;
13. Research methodologies and how to interpret research findings

The teacher should be able to demonstrate an ability to:

1. Carry out an appropriate assessment of the educational needs of children and young persons with a visual impairment and to identify and organise assessment in other areas and to present a report of the assessment;
2. Use information gathered from assessment to design and manage an adapted teaching programme, taking account of the competing demands of the national curriculum and the special curriculum;
3. Use information gathered from ongoing assessment to design an appropriate physical and social learning environment;
4. Monitor and evaluate the implementation of individual student programs and learning environments and plan the next stage in the education of the individual;
5. Implement a teaching program to train residual vision and evaluate its effectiveness;
6. Design, produce, present and evaluate material in the appropriate medium for all students with visual impairment e.g. objects of reference, tactile diagrams, Braille and in large print using both traditional methods and new technology;
7. Co-operate with a qualified mobility specialist in the design and delivering of mobility programs;
8. Employ appropriate strategies for teaching literacy and numeracy skills in the appropriate media to the young Braille user;
9. Use appropriate strategies for teaching the Braille code to late beginners;
10. Assess, plan and evaluate for the application of available micro technology in meeting the needs of children and young people with visual impairment;
11. Facilitate the use of a range of hardware and software and employ criteria for evaluating usefulness and appropriateness;
12. Use established networks to access resources;
13. Lead training sessions for teachers, non-teaching assistants, parents and relevant others in the field of visual impairment;
14. Assist parents and learners to participate in decision making processes;
15. Support the inclusion of a visually impaired child or young person in the school and community;
16. Use a range of interpersonal skills, appropriate for working with children, parents and professionals;
17. Use the above mentioned competencies in all situations and settings involving children and young people with a visual impairment;
18. Carry out simple research using a range of methods e.g. observation

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