Exploring challenges of mathematics teachers who teach high school mathematics for visually impaired students in Turkey

Abstract

In inclusive education, every child is supported in such way that no child falls behind. For this purpose, inclusive education practices unite students with individual differences that are in the same educational environment. However, many teachers, regardless of their specialty, hold negative attitudes towards inclusive education. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the experiences and actions of mathematics teachers while teaching high school mathematics to visually impaired (VI) students by considering what kind of challenges they encounter and to what extent these challenges affect teachers’ willingness to accept the inclusion of these students. This qualitative study aimed to explore this subject using a grounded theory as a specific method. Semi-structured interviews conducted with eight mathematics teachers who had experience teaching VI students were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Major findings were categorized into five themes: teaching mathematics practices, the mathematics curriculum, preparation of material, assessment practices, and beliefs regarding inclusive education and VI students. The findings showed that teachers were divided into two groups in terms of their commitment to inclusive practices. The first group was described as reluctant to teach VI students, and the second was willing to run effective inclusive practices. Findings were discussed in terms of existing research on teachers’ preparedness for, and belief in, inclusive education.