Social Competence Reflected in the Lives of Employed Blind Adults: Implications for Research and Education

• In Event: Roundtable Session 26
  In Roundtable Session: Family and Parent Involvement in the Education of Students With Disabilities

Abstract

The experiences of fourteen focus-group participants with blindness offer insights for both educational research and practice. Study results emphasize the role of parents and families as primary instructors of social competence. Reflecting feminist disability theory, participant stories convey the personal and societal impact of viewing naturally occurring human differences as “disabling.” Emergent themes include the critical impact of parents’ expectations on the development of social competence. Additionally, data reflect a previously unreported theme: Perception of membership in an identity group (blind adult), and how that awareness influenced participants’ social interactions in the community.

Author

• Kathryn D Botsford, University of Northern Colorado