Identifying and Addressing the Challenges Faced by Students with Visual Impairments in Accessing Education and Learning Contents in Relation to ICT: The case of the Tertiary Education in Bangladesh

Abstract

Though Information and communication technology (ICT) has a great potential in providing a fair and equitable education for students with visual impairments, they face several challenges in accessing and using ICT for education and learning purposes. Empirical studies exclusively focusing on visually impaired students in accessing and using ICTs in higher educational instructions are scarce. The current study aims to fill the research gap by identifying the needs of and challenges faced by visually impaired students in accessing ICT to avail educational and learning contents in higher education institutions in a developing country context like Bangladesh. The findings of the study indicate that the major challenges faced by visually impaired students include inadequate arrangements for visually students in universities, difficulties in hiring underwriters, lack of compatible assistive technology, teaching incompetency to design accessible content, unaffordable ICT and assistive technology devices. The study recommends establishment of disability support centre in every university, reasonable adjustments in learning and assessment tasks, organising institution level learning supports, strengthening knowledge and skills of teaching staff, and designing disability specific apps particularly for visually impaired students in order to promote inclusive learning environment in tertiary education in Bangladesh.