ERIC EJ1162940: Community Mentors: The Perspectives of Working Adults with Visual Impairments

2017·0.06 MB·English

by  ERIC

simulation experiences (Colwell, 2003; God-
Research Report
dard&Jordan,1998).Thestrongesteffectsof
simulation occur when the experience also
includes interaction with people who have
CommunityMentors:The disabilities (Flower, Burns, & Bottsford-
PerspectivesofWorkingAdults Miller, 2007). Positive effects of mentoring
withVisualImpairments by visually impaired people on less experi-
enced visually impaired students have also
SunggyeHongandJaneN.Erin
A been reported, especially when students are
lthough most teachers of students with
making the transition from secondary school
visual impairments spend time in internships
(O’Mally & Antonelli, 2016; Powers, Sow-
prior to teaching, they often begin teaching
ers, Stevens, & McCracken, 1995; Whelley,
without firsthand contact with capable adults
Radtke, Burgstahler, & Christ, 2003).
who have visual impairments (that is, those
No studies could be found in which men-
whoareblindorhavelowvision).Asaresult,
torswithvisualimpairmentswerepairedwith
they may be unfamiliar with the daily plan-
mentees preparing to work with visually im-
ning and adaptation undertaken by those
pairedpeople.Becauseliteraturesupportsthe
adults. To provide future teachers with an
positive effects of personal contact with a
understanding of adult experiences, The
competentindividualwithdisabilities,faculty
University of Arizona’s program to prepare
attheUniversityofArizonahypothesizedthat
teachers of students with visual impair-
assigning graduate students to mentors with
ments requires each graduate student to
visual impairments would ultimately affect
spend time with a community mentor who
their expectations of children and the quality
is visually impaired. This Research Report
of their teaching. This report describes the
describes the first phase of outcome analy-
sisfortheproject,basedoninterviewswith perspectives of 17 mentors who participated
17 community mentors. in the project. The information was gathered
through recorded interviews after three years
BACKGROUNDANDLITERATUREREVIEW of program implementation.
Most university programs preparing profes-
sionals in the field of visual impairment plan METHODS
avarietyofexperiencestoenhancecandidates’ Beginning in fall 2012, all 33 students who
understandingofhowvisualimpairmentaffects entered the master’s or post-baccalaureate
dailylife.Plannedexperiencesmayincludelis- certification program in visual impairment at
tening to speakers, reading autobiographies, TheUniversityofArizonawereassignedtoa
viewing videos, and attending conferences of community mentor, defined as an employed
consumer organizations. However, these expe- individual with blindness or low vision who
riencesprovideonlybriefsnapshotsofthelives lives and works in the student’s community.
of these people. This requirement was included as a profes-
Simulation of visual impairment is incor- sionaldevelopmentactivityinafederalgrant
porated into the curricula of most university funded in 2012. Thirty participating students
programs, but it does not provide ongoing were sighted, and three had visual impair-
contact with visually impaired people. Al- ments. Five students worked with more than
thoughtheeffectivenessofsimulationvaries, one mentor, due mainly to scheduling needs;
some studies of disability simulation have the other 28 students completed assigned
demonstrated improved attitudes following activities with one mentor. Nine of the 23
605
©2017AFB,AllRightsReserved JournalofVisualImpairment&Blindness,November-December2017
mentors worked with more than one student quest interviews. Five mentors did not re-
over the three-year time period. spond, and contact information was unavail-
Mentors were located through written an- able for one other. Seventeen mentors signed
nouncements to consumer organizations and consent forms and participated in interviews,
rehabilitation agencies, as well as to individ- for which each received $50. The study was
ualsknowntothefaculty.Mentorswereorig- approved by the Human Subjects Protection
inally to be employed in jobs not directly Program at The University of Arizona. Table
related to visual impairment. However, three 1 provides information about the 17 mentors
mentors who were rehabilitation profession- who were interviewed.
als in visual impairment were included be- Telephone interviews were conducted by
cause of the difficulty in finding local men- the two authors. The calls were recorded us-
tors. Thirteen others were employed in roles ing the TapeACall smartphone application to
unrelatedtodisability,andeighthaddisability- audiotapetheconversations,whichwerethen
related roles not in visual impairment. The transcribedintoprint.Themesweregenerally
number totals 24 because one individual had identifiedwithineachquestion,sincethepur-
two jobs during the mentoring period. Men- poseoftheinterviewwastoevaluatespecific
tors were employed as attorneys (2), skilled effects of the program. No measures of reli-
workers at government agencies (3), workers abilityorvaliditywereconducted.Ifamentor
inuniversitydisabilityservicesnotspecificto mentioned a topic unrelated to the prompt
visual impairment (3), rehabilitation profes- question, the information was included with
sionals in visual impairment (3), university responses to a more relevant question. Given
instructors in disability areas not specific to the specific focus of each question and the
visual impairment (2), business technology needforconciseness,numbersofresponsesin
specialists (2), resident assistant in a dormi- main categories are presented here, with rep-
tory(1),counselor(1),vendingstandoperator resentative examples. The following section
(1), university teaching assistant (1), special summarizes the mentors’ perceptions.
educationteacher(1),staffmemberonahealth
educationproject(1),foodservicesworkerand RESULTS
teachingassistant(1),andanadministratoratan The interview included eight questions in-
artsorganizationforpeoplewithdisabilities(1). tended to gather information about program
Mentors received a $100 honorarium on com- effectiveness. Predominant themes are sum-
pletion of mentoring. marized below.
During the first two semesters of their pro-
grams, students arranged meeting times with Expectationsforstudentlearning
their mentors and completed five related pa- Mentors described what they hoped their
pers. Activities included an interview and mentee would learn and whether the students
fourdifferentactivitiesselectedbythementor actually learned what the mentor expected.
and mentee from a list of options. Students Eightmentorswantedtheirstudentstorecog-
submitted five papers of two-to-four pages in nizethatpeoplewithvisualimpairmentshave
length describing a transportation diary, job thepotentialforindependence,oftenwithad-
shadowing,familyinterview,recreationalac- aptations. “I just hoped that she would learn
tivity, advocacy experience, low vision eval- how I live life independently and what kinds
uation, social activity, or a student-proposed of things I have to do just to help me.”
activity. Five mentors wanted their students to un-
During the third and fourth years of the derstand that people with visual impairments
project, we contacted the 23 mentors to re- vary in personal characteristics and are not
606
JournalofVisualImpairment&Blindness,November-December2017 ©2017AFB,AllRightsReserved
Table1
Workrolesandpersonalinformationaboutmentors.
Blind(B)
Identifying Low Congenital(C)/
number Employment Gender vision(L) Adventitious(A)
1 Universitydisabilityresourcesstaffmember M B C
2 StaffforStateForestService F L A
3 Residentialdormitorystaff F L A
4 Attorney M B C
5 RehabilitationteacherinVI F L A
6 RehabilitationteacherinVI F B Unknown
7 Psychologicalcounselorandpart-timeyogainstructor F B A
8 Universitydisabilityresourcesadministrator F B C
9 Governmentservicesintransportationplanning M L C
10 StaffatrehabilitationagencyforVI M L A
11 Universityinstructor/disabilityservices M L A
12 Attorney F L A
13 Foodservicesworkeratairforcebase;changedto M B C
classroomassistantatschoolforstudentswith
visualimpairments
14 Universityinstructor/disabilityservices F B A
15 Governmentemployeeinvoterservices M B C
16 Specialeducationclassroomteacher F B C
17 Administratorofexceptionalartsorganization M B C
Note:VI(cid:2)visualimpairment.
defined by their visual impairment. One re- later....” Others noted that the mentees
spondent commented, “The...range of per- needed to know how adults live and work.
sonalityhasnothingtodowithbeingvisually “Althoughthementeeswillworkmainlywith
impaired or blind but...with the different children, they need a conception of their stu-
kinds of people in a society.” Three others dents’ futures.”
especially wanted the mentee to learn about
their work roles and day-to-day experiences. Memorableexperiences
Whenaskedwhethertheyfelttheirstudents Mentors described a variety of experiences
learned what the mentor had hoped, 15 said with their mentee. An employee of a govern-
they did and 2 were not sure. Those who ment agency, a special education teacher, a
perceived benefits cited examples of student university instructor, and an attorney said
learning,asdescribedbyamentorwhowasa theirmostmemorableexperiencewashaving
residentassistantinauniversitydormitory:“I the student accompany them on their jobs.
think she learned that people with visual im- One man, who worked for a government
pairments range on a large spectrum....She agency, stated that the student was able to
saw there are colleagues with different abili- “see what a good education is eventually go-
ties, different vision levels than I had.” ing to lead to.” An attorney noted that the
Only one mentor was ambivalent about studentwasespeciallyinterestedinhercourt-
whether his mentee had learned things that room interactions.
mightbeusefulinthefuture.“Itriedtoimpart Anothermentorfeltthatthestudent’soppor-
as much as I could, but it’s so challenging to tunity to interview the mentor’s mother was
know if that’s going to come in handy memorable.Fromlisteningtothatinterview,the
607
©2017AFB,AllRightsReserved JournalofVisualImpairment&Blindness,November-December2017
mentoralsolearnedmoreaboutherownmoth- cases, mentors understood that the students’
er’s experiences. Another mentor attended a responseswereduetolackofexperiencewith
meetingoftheNationalFederationoftheBlind people with visual impairments as well as
withhermentee.Althoughthismentorwasnot not enough knowledge of that individual’s
a member of the organization, she wanted to abilities.
encouragehermenteetoheardifferentpointsof
view of people with visual impairments. Studentpotentialforteaching
Other activities included watching a base- Most mentors said they did not have the op-
ball game, attending a low vision evaluation, portunitytoobserveskillsrelatedtoteaching.
goingtothegymwhilethementorexercised, Severalhadofferedtohelptheirmenteesim-
watching the mentor perform in community prove braille skills. Others mentioned skills
theater, hiking with the mentor and her dog andattitudesthatwouldbehelpfulinteaching
guide, participating in a yoga class taught by children with visual impairments. Although
the mentor, observing the mentor manage a mentors did not cite general teaching skills,
displaytableatajobfair,andhavinglunchat they recognized the attitudes essential for
a restaurant. teaching:“Thereisthatlevelofdedication,of
Threementorsshoppedwiththeirmentees. commitment, of caring....”
One said, “...she had a difficult time not
helping me. She was so ready to get to the Studentskillsrelatedtovisualimpairment
door and to tell me where the cashier was. It When asked about their mentees’ skills for
wassurprisingtome,andshewasabletotalk interacting with people with visual impair-
about that.” Memorable experiences were ments,allmentorsexceptoneansweredaffir-
mainlyrelatedtojobsanddailyroutinessuch matively.Theonewhowasnotpositiveabout
as shopping, exercising, and recreational hermentee’sskillscommentedbrieflythatthe
activities. studentwas“inthebeginningstages”butdid
not mention examples of any difficulty with
Perceptionsofvisualimpairment skills. Some commented on specific commu-
Whenaskedhowthestudents’perceptionsof nication skills, especially students asking if
visual impairment differed from their own, assistance was needed rather than assuming
mentorscitedseveralmainthemes.Somefelt that the mentor wanted guidance: “‘Would
that mentees initially regarded their abilities you like me to be a sighted guide?’...She
as“amazing.”Severalfeltthatthisimpression askedwhatIneededinsteadofjustassuming,
wasbecausetheirmenteesmainlyhadcontact which was great.”
with children, often those with multiple dis- Thementorsreportedthatmenteesthought-
abilities. One mentor noted that her mentees fully considered ways to make interactions
thought she would have more difficulty with natural: “She seemed very conscious of not
access than she did. Others mentioned that oversteppinganyboundaries...notshouting
the students had not had enough experience inmyearoranyofthosekindsofthingsthat
to regard visual impairment as a “normal” happen with people sometimes.”
experience.
Onementorthoughthermenteewasunduly Projecteffectiveness
worriedaboutthementor’ssafety.Inanother Mentors were asked how the experience
situation, a mentor with low vision described could be more effective for the mentors and
how the mentee waited quietly by her office the students. Varied responses addressed the
door for several minutes, assuming that the duration of the experiences, assignments,
mentor knew she was there. Even in those groupmeetings,andadditionalwaysofcom-
608
JournalofVisualImpairment&Blindness,November-December2017 ©2017AFB,AllRightsReserved
municating. Most mentors commented that come was that at least three of the mentors
assignments were appropriate, and they ap- and mentees have continued to be in contact
preciated the opportunity to choose options: after the experience ended.
“It was cool how they could choose or we The mentoring program was an innovative
could talk together and see what best fit with feature of a federal grant. Based on the men-
my schedule.” tor interviews and faculty discussion with
Three mentors wished for more unstruc- students, the project appears to have been
tured time beyond the formal assignments. effective in helping students understand the
Onestated,“IwishedthatsheandIhadmore day-to-day experiences of working adults
time...talk time, not just ‘she needs to ob- withvisualimpairments.Theprogramwillcon-
servemeinthisenvironmentandsheneedsto tinueasanelementofthetrainingprogramafter
observe me doing this,’ or ‘she needs to go the current grant cycle, with minor changes
with me to a social activity.’” based on mentor and student feedback.
Several mentors suggested a final session One project limitation was the distance re-
in which mentors and mentees could share quired for meetings for students who lived in
thoughts and ideas about the assignments. ruralareas.Becauseruralstudentshadtoplan
Onesuggested“...alittlereceptionorsome- less frequent visits that often lasted longer, it
thing where you bring all the mentees to- was difficult for them to observe presched-
gether,andtheygettotalkwithothermentors uled activities (for example, a specific meet-
and . . . hear [about] their experience[s].” ing, performance, or class lecture). Another
Mentor responses reflected general satisfac- limitation was the difficulty in completing
tion with the intent of the program, with var- fiveassignmentsinonesemesterduetosched-
ied suggestions for improvement. ules.Instructorsassignedincompletegradesand
converted them to a regular grade when the
DISCUSSION assignments were complete.
Seventeen individuals with visual impair- In spite of these limitations, mentors per-
ments were interviewed about their experi- ceivedthattheprogramenhancedstudentun-
ences as mentors with students who were derstanding of the experience of working
preparing to teach children with visual im- adults with visual impairments. The positive
pairments.Theyhopedtoconveytherangeof and constructive feedback from mentors sug-
competenciesandcareersthatarepossiblefor gests that the project was not only valuable
adults who have visual impairments, as well for students, but also rewarding for mentors,
as an understanding of adaptations. Most who enjoyed the opportunity to share their
were certain their mentees benefited from experiences and shape the thinking of future
the experience. They described a variety of teachers.
experiences with students, often with hu-
mor and evidence of enjoyment. Many REFERENCES
Colwell,C.(2003).Integratingdisabilitysim-
noted that the students seemed surprised by
ulations into a course for student music
the mentors’ capabilities but were open to
therapists. Music Therapy Perspectives, 21(1),
new learning.
14–20.
Some mentors recommended an initial or
Flower,A.,Burns,M.,&Bottsford-Miller,N.
final orientation meeting among mentors,
(2007).Meta-analysisofdisabilitysimula-
mentees, and university faculty. Most were
tion. Remedial and Special Education,
pleasedwiththevarietyofactivities,butthree 28(2), 72–79.
suggested that there be a longer period of Goddard, L., & Jordan, L. (1998). Changing
informal interaction time. An important out- attitudes about persons with disabilities:
609
©2017AFB,AllRightsReserved JournalofVisualImpairment&Blindness,November-December2017
Effects of a simulation. The Journal of Whelley,T.A.,Radtke,R.,Burgstahler,S.,&
NeuroscienceNursing:JournaloftheAmer- Christ, T. W. (2003). Mentors, advisers,
ican Association of Neuroscience Nurses, rolemodels,peersupporters:Careerdevel-
30(5), 307–313. opment relationships and individuals with
O’Mally, J., & Antonelli, K. (2016). The ef- disabilities. American Rehabilitation, 27(1),
fect of career mentoring on employment 42–49.
outcomes for college students who are le-
gally blind. Journal of Visual Impairment
& Blindness, 110(5), 295–307. Sunggye Hong, Ph.D., associate professor, De-
Powers, L., Sowers, J., Stevens, J., & Mc- partmentofDisabilityandPsychoeducationalStud-
Cracken, K. (1995). Qualitative investiga- ies,UniversityofArizona,1430EastSecondStreet,
Tucson, AZ 85721-0069; e-mail: sghong@email.
tion of the influence of STEM mentors on
arizona.edu.JaneN.Erin,Ph.D.,professoremeri-
youth with disabilities. Career Develop-
tus,DepartmentofDisabilityandPsychoeducational
ment and Transition for Exceptional Indi- Studies, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ; e-mail:
viduals, 38(1), 25–38. [email protected].
610
JournalofVisualImpairment&Blindness,November-December2017 ©2017AFB,AllRightsReserved