A Reserach Proposal on Technology as an Alternative Vision for the Blind Learners in Low and Middle-Income Countries

A Reserach Proposal on Technology as an Alternative Vision for the Visually Impaired Learners in Low and Middle Income Countries

Executive Summary

The learning system for the blind people has been a field of interest for the researchers for many decades. Arthur (2000) holds that ancient Egyptians were the first community to show interest to have a talk on these issues relating to the visually impaired learners.  All the inventions till today, in this field, have been possible by the thorough researches by the experts. Researches are being made and new technologies are being added to this phenomenon every day. Ranging from Braille to today’s JAWS (a talking software) are the result of those researches. Berthold Lowenfeld (1973) said, “Education must aim at giving the blind child knowledge of the realities around him, the confidence to cope with these realities, and the feeling that he is recognized and accepted as an individual in his own right.” Today the tendency of keeping the visually impaired students separate from the sighted ones has been changed: researchers are now thinking about integrated learning where all the students may get an equal environment for learning. Now, it has come to the researchers’ realization that the blinds have the potentiality to attend regular schools. With the help of ICT based classroom, it is quite possible to engage the visually impaired learners in a regular classroom with sighted students. In this integration process, some barriers and limitations have been experienced by the visually impaired learners, especially in developing countries, such as inaccessible classroom environment, lack of study material, inappropriate teaching techniques, and shortcoming of resources etc.  As a result, in the low and middle-income countries, the blind learners are not being able to get the maximum benefits from the use of ICT.

However, the main focus of my research is to show the effects of using the educational technologies to promote learning for the blind learners in low and middle-income countries i.e. south Asian and African countries. Besides, I intend to analyze the adaptive ability of the visually impaired students in class rooms and to make necessary suggestions to accelerate the usages of various techniques in this field.

In terms of the type of research, this will be an action research as Denscombe (2010, p. 6) maintains that an action research strategy's purpose is to solve a particular problem and to produce guidelines for best practice. A mixed methodological approach will be taken to study the problems. The research will look for finding out the techniques to provide a better educational environment for the visually impaired learners in the low and middle-income countries. 

The main objectives of my research will be aimed at:

·        Ensuring equal educational environment to provide quality education to all.

·       Removing the barriers between the sighted and the blind students so that the blind learners can study more likely as the sighted counterparts.

·     Pave the way to make the education process for the visually impaired learners more self-dependent.

·      Studying the problems and shortcomings of the usage of ICT in the low and middle-income countries.

·        Finally, making necessary recommendations to make education for the blinds more accessible and less expensive for the people living in the middle and lower income countries. 

Introduction

Education is a basic human right not only for the sighted people but also for the blinds or partially sighted people. A document titled “The Right to Education for Persons with Disabilities” published by UNESCO (2015) holds that no one must be denied access to education because of disability. The phenomenon of educating the blinds has now become one of the major concerns of many international organizations. One of the main objectives of World Blinds Union reads (2001) that ensuring quality and trouble free education is a must for the development of this large peer (the visually impaired people) of the human being. A field visit(made on 21 July 2016)  at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, has shown that the visually impaired students face massive trouble to cope with the regular classroom environment such as insufficiency of braille books, untrained teachers, keeping pace with the class lecture and so on. These shortcomings are causing inevitable discrimination to the visually impaired students which should be solved through some innovative findings e.g. providing audio recorder, arranging some crash courses for the teachers on teaching the blind learners etc. A thorough research is a pressing need to find out some easy solution of these problems.

                                                                    
                                                                           

Technology for Special Education

Though some technologies are making the education for the blinds easier day by day, the visually impaired students are not becoming fully dependent on educating themselves. Self-education techniques should be developed so that the blind learners need to take less help from the people around them. Carol Castellano (1996) proposed some techniques to ensure the active participation of the blind learners in regular classrooms.  Some blind students interviewed in that field visit(at University of Dhaka) expressed that sometimes they feel shy to disturb their fellow sighted friends and they do not ask for help even if they do not understand some topics. Long observation and cross interviews may find some solutions to these challenges which should be made to ensure a level playing field in education for the visually impaired learners.

Mohit (2007) cited that every 1 person in 20 has a disability, and more than 75% of them live in developing countries. Problems in educating the blinds are not the same in the developed and underdeveloped countries. In the developed countries, having plenty of resources and technologies, it is a bit easier to solve the problems and get the maximum benefits of using ICT in the field of education for the blind learners. On the other hand, in the middle and lower income countries, the blind learners cannot have all the advantageous of technologies as people put their focuses on earning their bread and butter rather than education. Thus, in the middle and lower income countries, to be more specific in South Asian and African countries, some suggestions should be sorted out which can be materialized so easily and which are not expensive i.e. providing audio recorders in classrooms, making a lot of audio books and tutorial for free through voluntary works and so forth. One of the main problems in the underdeveloped countries which make the blind learners a burden for the society is that there is an insufficiency of blinds friendly jobs. By of using their spare time in making money, the blind students may manage the money and resources needed for helping themselves. Thus, the focus should be given on managing some blind-friendly jobs like freelancing jobs to solve the ongoing problems on blind education in the middle and lower income countries.

The effectiveness of some current technologies for the blinds in the low and middle-income countries must be judged: whether the technologies are helping the blinds at an expected level, what are the problems of using them in developing countries, what might be the quick solutions for these problems and so forth. Some platforms for the blinds should be made where the blinds can get many assistive contents for free, as many of the useful technologies e.g. JAWS are not free of cost. As a result, the visually impaired people cannot have access to those technologies at all.

However, to make the things described above done and find out more easy and fruitful solutions, my research will pay attention.

Research question(s) and expected findings (Hypothesis)

This research will investigate the answer to a central question and some sub-questions will be answered as well. A hypothesis is illustrated below with necessary explanations. The study will venture into some untouched or little-touched areas of visually impaired learning pedagogy and environments.

Central Questions

What are the troubles the visually impaired learners are facing while using ICT as a learning tool in the low and middle-income countries and what might be the possible solutions for them?

Sub-questions

1.      In which aspects the blind learners are not having equal educational environment?

2.      What are the things need to be done for the self-dependent education of the blinds?

3.    What problems are the blinds facing with the assistive technologies in the low and middle-income  countries?

4.      Which problems are possible to be solved in a short term and which is in a long term?

5.    How can the problems in using ICT be solved to provide the visually impaired learners with     accessible technologies in the low and middle-income countries?

Hypothesis

The visually impaired learners in the low and middle-income countries can hardly use ICT as a learning tool, as the facilities are mostly inaccessible for them for many reasons. These shortcomings are keeping the blind learners incompetent and creating sheer discrimination between the blind learners between the developed and underdeveloped or developing countries. Through using some very easy techniques, these barriers can be removed. Some long-term steps may be taken to ensure effective learning facilities in the low and middle-income countries. Hopefully, the answers to the central and sub questions will help to bring about a positive change in the whole pedagogical environment in the low and middle-income countries.       

  

Methodological Approach  

The research will follow a mixed methodology. As it is an action research which will investigate the accuracy of the existing use of ICT in education, both the numeric and textual data will be used.

According to Stake (1995), a popular method of qualitative research is the case study. Some cases of the current and graduate blind learners in the selected countries will be analyzed. The cases will be studied so that the pros and cons of their study procedure may be known.

As part of the qualitative methodology, interviews will be conducted in some South Asian and African countries which keep the representative value of being the low and middle-income countries. Interviews hold a distinct position in qualitative methodology (Marshall et. al, 2008). Following a list of questionnaires, the attendees will have to answer some explainable questions. The attendees of the interviews will include teachers, students, experts, and people involved in the education process for the blinds. They will attend in face to face interviews.

Observations will be another way for the research. A document (October 2010) on Qualitative research reads that in participant observation researchers typically become members of a culture, group, or setting, and adopt roles to conform to that setting. As part of that, I have a self-experience of the learning or acquisition process of the visually impaired learners as auto ethnography or the study of self is an important part of the qualitative method.  Blind learning and acquisition process through Information and Communication Technology will be observed very deeply.

On the other hand, Given (2008) writes that quantitative data is any data that is in numerical form such as statistics, percentages, etc. As part of the quantitative methodology, experiments and survey will be conducted e.g. how many blind learners get multi media classroom facilities, how many schools provide an audio recorded file of the class lectures etc. These numeric data will be collected from various statistical sources: both government and private sources. To do so, specific authorities must be contacted with.

In statistics and quantitative research methodology, a data sample is a set of data collected and/or selected from a statistical population by a defined procedure(Peck et al, 2008). Following this fashion, 4 countries in south Asia i.e. Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka; and one country in Africa i.e. Sudan have been selected as sample for the research. These countries are regarded as low and middle-income countries. According to World Bank list of economies (July 2016), all the selected countries for the research are categorized as lower middle-income countries.

Both qualitative and quantitative data will be analyzed in order to reach a final statistical conclusion. 

Budget and Resource Needs

The estimated budget for the research is $68,300. The budget given here is based on approximation. The costs include researcher’s allowance, research assistant’s allowance, accommodation, travel costs, electronic devices and tools, subsidiaries etc.

The amount of money is given in US dollar.

No.	Resource Description	Number of items	Cost per item	Total cost
1.	Research Assistant(for 3 years)	36	300$	10,800$
2.	Laptop	1	1500$	1500$
3.	High Definition Camera	1	1000$	1000$
4.	Audio Recorder	1	500$	500$
5.	5 interviews in Bangladesh	5	200$	1000$
6.	Travel to India	1	1000$	1000$
7.	5 interviews in India	5	300$	1500$
8.	Travel to Pakistan	1	1000$	1000$
9.	5 interviews in Pakistan	5	300$	1500$
10.	Travel to Sri Lanka	1	1000$	1000$
11.	5 interviews in Sri Lanka	5	300$	1500$
12.	Travel to Sudan	1	2500$	2500$
13.	5 interviews in Sudan	5	500$	2500$
14.	Monthly Allowance (for 3years)	36	1000$	36,000$
15.	Data Analyze	1	1000$	1000$
16.	Paper composing and  printing	1	1500$	1500$
17.	Subsidiaries			2000$
	TOTAL			68,300$

Timetable and Progress plan

The research will be done within the estimated time period given by the University of Oslo, Norway. The total time duration is 4 years which include a one-year course work. The duration of the research work is around 3 years.

A time planning for the research is depicted below:

- Literature review - 6 months

The main focus of the literature review will be finding out the gap in the literature and searching the answers for the research questions accordingly. The activities on literature review will be done according to the direction of the supervisor. Papers published in the reputed journals and conferences will be accessed. Summaries of the accessed papers will be written every day. Related literature will be reviewed thoroughly and a survey paper will be written every 30 days based on the written summaries. An appointment will be taken from the supervisor every 15 days later. The supervisor will assess the progress and make necessary comments on the task. 

- Field Work and Data Collection - 24 months

The field work will be conducted in 5 countries: Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Sudan. The first 20 months will be allotted to collect data in these countries. The probable distribution of the time is 4months for data collection and interviews in each country. A meeting will be held with the supervisor every 6 months later. The rest 4 months will be used for analyzing the collected data. Regular communications will be kept with the supervisor and he will be informed about the visits. A report on the collected data will be written and showed to the supervisor to accelerate the process toward the final step. 

- Writing and Publication of thesis - 6 months

All the analyzed and collected data will be amalgamated and the first draft will be made within 3 months. The first draft will be revised and edited with the supervisor’s suggestions. After making necessary corrections and proofreading for several times, the thesis will be forwarded to the review panel to get permitted for publication. Several seminars and defense will be conducted before the final publications.  

Related works and Literature Review

Researches have been being made on education for the blinds for a long time. Louis Braille was the man who brought a radical change in the history of the learning process for the blinds in 1829. He developed a reading and writing system for the blinds named after by him as “Braille System”. That innovation opened the door for the visually impaired learners to travel the world of knowledge. Though Braille was first developed in French, now it has been developed in a dozen of languages. Every day new versions and forms of Braille contents are being added through various projects such as DAISY, Bangla Braille etc.

The use of multimedia in the learning process for the blinds accelerated the pedagogy for the visually impaired people.  Recording soft wares are helping the blinds to record class lectures and have audio books. Talking soft wares like JAWS are helping the blind learners to act more likely as the sighted peers in the classroom. According to Sánchez (2001), it is very much needed to provide the blinds a computer operated classroom environment. Ziya (2007) remarks  “this project(Audio Book Project) enables the blind learners to study on their own, exempting them from the requirement of studying with someone else and provides them with the opportunity to study any subjects in the book at their suitable convenience”.

There are some organizations all over the world who are working to develop and ensure a friendly educational environment for the blinds. CBM (Christoffel-Blindenmission), DAISY, The Nippon Foundation, The Norwegian Association of the Blind and Partially Sighted, WBU (World Blind Union) are some of those few organizations who are restlessly working for the betterment of the blind community.

Nowadays, the topic “education for the blinds in the middle and lower income countries” has drawn the attention of the researchers. Researchers are trying to sort out the statistics of the blind learners in these countries. According to Asferaw et al (2017), Population-based data on the causes of blindness in children are difficult to obtain, particularly in developing countries. Researchers have come to a final decision that the number of blind learners is high in the low and middle-income countries.  Braillewithoutborders.org cites WHO’s statistics that about 90% of the blinds live in developing countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific Regions. They also add that 9 out of 10 blind children in developing countries have no access to education. Ellen E. Freeman et al (2013) finds a result on his research that the rate of blind learners is higher in the low and middle countries than the developed or high-income countries. These learners in the low and middle countries consist the major portion of the world blind community. The visually impaired learners in these countries are staying away from the modern technologies used for blind learner’s pedagogy comparing to the blind learners in the developing countries. Lion Club International says “Eighty percent of blind children live in developing countries where less than one out of every 10 currently has access to education”. Though technology is playing the leading role in educating the blinds learners, not all of the visually impaired students are having equal access in the low and middle-income countries. www.thegardian.com comments, “The low quality of education in much of the developing world is no secret”.The main reason for the blind learners’ backward educational state in the low and middle-income countries is a lack of resources. According to WBF (World Braille Foundation), in most developing countries blind children receive little or no education. Gogate, Kaluaand, and Courtright (2009) maintain that one of the main reasons why the blind learners cannot get the full access to the assistive technologies is lack poverty and lack of resources.  Clare Gilbert & Allen Foster (2001) also convict poverty as the main cause of blindness problem and the main impediment towards the rehabilitation of the blind learners.

In a booklet titled “The Investment Case for Education and Equity” published by UNICEF(2015) reads that children with disabilities in the low and middle-income countries – including learning, speech, physical, cognitive, sensory or emotional difficulties – who are enrolled in school are likely to drop out or fail to learn at much higher rates than their peers without disabilities. To remove this impediment between the visually impaired students and their sighted peer, use of technology is a must. With a view to developing the learning environment for the visually impaired students, researchers suggest numerous steps to be taken. Inclusive education is one of the most talked issues in this area. USAID (2010) defines ‘Inclusive education’ in one of their booklet as a strategy of addressing and responding to the diverse needs of all learners by increasing participation in learning and reducing exclusion within and from education. Lorraine Wapling (2016) holds that inclusive education for children with disabilities brings benefits because they are exposed to life outside the sheltered confines of segregated schools and get the opportunity to socialize with non-disabled peers. Andrew (2015) recommends a number of things such as qualified instructors, infrastructure, library resources, optical aids, brailers, typewriters, guide-dogs, path Sounders, laser etc. to actualize quality education for the blinds in developing countries. Lilian Mariga et al (2014) al sorted out a number of things for inclusive education for the blind learners in the low and middle-income countries.

Most of the literatures on using assistive technology for the blinds in low and middle-income countries have suggested many fruitful techniques, devices or ways for their applications. The use of assistive technology for the blind learners is nothing new in the literature. The place where my research is different or intends to add something new is that assessing the proper implications of the assistive technologies, finding out their shortcomings, and solutions for the problems in the long run etc. Real life observations, interviews, and assessment would be made in some of the low and middle-income countries so that the very field level information can be collected and analyzed. As the research spot has been selected in 5 lower middle-income countries of South Asia and Africa, the research results will be so specific and will be implacable not only in this 5 countries but also in all the lower middle-income countries of the globe. The research output can be used with the help of different authorities who are working on boosting up the educational practice for the blinds throughout the world.   

Works Cited

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Berthold Lowenfeld, Visually Handicapped Child in School, World Bank, 1973                          

BEST PRACTICES IN INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES: APPLICATIONS FOR PROGRAM DESIGN IN THE EUROPE & EURASIA REGION, USAID:  2010

Braille, Louis (1829). Method of Writing Words, Music, and Plain Songs by Means of Dots, for Use by the Blind and Arranged for Them

Carol Castellano, The Blind Child In The Regular Elementary Classroom, Future Reflections Summer 1996, Vol. 15 No. 3 

Clare Gilbert & Allen Foster, Childhood blindness in the context of VISION 2020: The Right to Sight, Bull World Health Organ vol.79 n.3 Genebra Jan. 2001

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MD.DIDARUL ISLAM  

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