Perceived Self-Competence of Youths with Visual Impairment in the Expanded Core Curriculum Skills

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the perceived self-competence of youths with visual impairment in Turkey in the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) areas. To examine how youths with visual impairment perceive their self-competence within the nine ECC areas, an ECC screening tool developed by the Iowa Department of Education was adapted into a five-point Likert-type scale (ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree). Participants were 118 high school students with visual impairment across Turkey. Statistical analysis procedures included descriptive and nonparametric methods. The descriptive statistics were used to determine how participants perceive their competences in the nine ECC areas. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the differences between the mean ranks of self-competence levels within the independent groups. Gender, grade level, and socio-economic level were the variables that evidenced significant differences (p < .05) among the participants’ self-competence levels in the ECC areas of independent living, career education, orientation and mobility (O&M), recreational and leisure skills. The findings demonstrated that some demographic variables may be considered as possible factors contributing to perceived self-competence of youths with visual impairment. As one of the earliest studies relating to ECC skills of youth with vision impairment in Turkey, practitioners may find value in the construct of Likert-type scale to measure the perceived self-competence of youths with visual impairment in the ECC areas.