A Study of the Transformation of English Education of the Visually Impaired and Blind at the End of the Last Millennium from Two Perspectives

Abstract

This presentation discusses a study of English education of the blind at the end of the last millennium, during the introduction of the 1999 Education (Special Educational Needs) Regulation using the epistemological model of blindness as its instrument of analysis. The study examined the regulation of education of the blind in England from two perspectives: the first perspective is the role of government in supporting education for the blind; the second perspective is the schools working with and supporting children who were visually impaired and blind in this era. The data presented includes an interview with civil servants in the UK Government’s newly named Department of Education and Skills, an interview with a special educational needs co-ordinator in a mainstream school with a Visual Impairment Unit integrated into the school, and an interview with the principal of a traditional school for the blind.