Perspectives of Teachers of Students With Visual Impairments and Orientation and Mobility Specialists During COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic was unprecedented in scope and nature, altering everyday life for people across the United States. One major change involved how schools provided educational services. Prior to the pandemic, schools used in-person instruction as their service delivery model for educational and education-related services, such as services for the blind and visually impaired. To document the effects of this historic event, an exploratory survey through Qualtrics was conducted on the perceptions of (a) teachers of students with visual impairments and (b) orientation and mobility specialists in four categories: service delivery models, student demographics, instruction and engagement, and preparation and training. Percentages were calculated with closed questions, and open-ended responses were used to clarify the data. There were some significant post-hoc correlations between ability to provide educational services and instructional delivery models. The results have implications for practitioners and professionals working in higher education.