Abstract:
This study investigates teachers’ experiences of teaching learners with visual impairment in three
secondary schools in the district of Maseru. It is a qualitative case study using interpretivist
paradigm. The study used Lev Vygotsky's social constructivist theory as a lens to direct the
investigation. There were twelve teachers who participated in this study; 6 teachers from secondary
school A which has long history in accommodating learners with visual impairment; three of them
were support teachers and the other three were regular teachers. There were also 3 participants
from secondary schools B and C respectively. All of participants were selected purposively. Semistructured interviews were used to collect the data, while thematic analysis was used to analyze
the data, and the themes derived from direct extracts were used to present the findings. The findings
reveal that teachers try to support learners with visual impairment in mainstream classrooms but
all three secondary schools have no school policy that states how these learners should be
supported. Although, teachers support them academically and provide concessions for them, the
findings also indicate that learners with visual impairment (VI) face challenges in inclusive
secondary schools. Among the challenges are, not having access to 100 percent of lessons due to
inappropriate teaching methods; inadequate resources especially that enable them to learn practical
subjects; inaccessible physical environment and negative attitudes from both teachers and sighted
peers. The study also found that their psychosocial needs are ignored part of which results from
inadequate teacher training for inclusive education. The study concludes that teachers in all the
three schools lack both pre- and continuous professional development; they are inadequately
trained to support learners with VI. It recommends that MoET should evaluate how Lesotho
Inclusive Education Policy (LIEP) launched in 2019 is implemented to accommodate learners with
VI in Lesotho and should also provide appropriate teaching and learning materials to schools
which accommodate learners with VI. Additionally, regular teachers should work hand in hand
with special education teachers, and both pre-service and in-service training should be provided
for all teachers. Lastly, MoET should employ special education teachers in all schools supporting
learners with VI if inclusion of learners with VI in the secondary schools is to improve.
