Effect of inclusion education on the perceptions of sighted school children about the abilities of students living with severe visual impairment and blindness

Inclusion education was introduced to bridge the gap between access to education and individuals living with disabilities. In developing countries like Ghana, one of the primary reasons for the establishment of inclusion education was to improve the perceptions and attitudes of society from traditionally entrenched derogatory and condescending attitudes towards individuals living with disabilities, perceptions and attitudes which led to the establishment of special schools at the outskirts of towns and cities. Today, inclusion education is widely practiced and although the literature is buoyant with research on the implementation of inclusion education studies, no study has been conducted to identify the influence of inclusion education on the primary recipients, the students. Using structured interview questions exploring perceptions of sighted students in inclusion schools and sighted students in sighted only schools, we describe the differences in perceptions of these students about the abilities of individuals with visual impairment across educational prospects, leadership, participation in social activities, and routine activities. We also compared the perceptions of students living with visual impairment in inclusion schools to those in special schools. The results of the study, analyzed by Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis showed that inclusion education has impacted and influenced positively the perceptions of the sighted students in inclusion schools about the abilities of individuals living with visual impairment compared to the perceptions held by sighted students in sighted only schools. Additionally, this study revealed that the perceptions about the abilities of students living with visual impairment in inclusion schools did not differ from those of the students living with visual impairment in special schools. This study has elucidated the need for public health education programs about the capabilities of individuals with visual impairment to foster and build healthy perceptions about them and enable a more inclusive society.