In my diploma thesis, I focused on blindness and visual impairment, centring on the development and evolvement of the acceptance of the differences of blind and partially sighted children in kindergarten. The diploma thesis consists of two parts, namely theoretical and empirical part. In the theoretical part, I first introduced the blind and visually impaired children and then described the development of a blind and visually impaired child in different areas. This was followed by a description of the kindergarten teacher's tasks in working with blind and partially sighted children and adaptations for them, a description of the aids that blind and partially sighted people use in movement and other life activities, and finally the importance of the teacher's attitude to diversity and activities that foster the relationship between the teacher and the child.
In the empirical part, I presented the results of my research, in which I conducted semi-structured interviews with thirteen kindergarten children, their two teachers and teacher assistants. I was interested in whether and how the child's view of diversity (blindness and partial sight) changed from the time before the blindness-related activities to the time after these activities were implemented. I was focused on what new knowledge about diversity – the blindness - did the children gain through these activities. What new knowledge do the kindergarten teacher and their assistants think the children acquired through the activities and what significance these activities have for the children in their opinion.
I discovered that the children did recognize the difference in blind and partially sighted people to a greater extent after the activities performed. Some children reported experiencing unpleasant emotions and feelings when meeting blind people: both before and after the activities. The result shows this area should be improved. There has been a significant change through activities in question of children’s approach to another person. Through blindness related activities, the children learned about the stronger and weaker areas of blind and partially sighted people and became familiar with the aids that help these people in their daily tasks. According to the kindergarten teacher and the assistant teacher, the children gained knowledge about how blind and partially sighted people feel about the world, learned about their aids and developed empathy. In their opinion, the activities that were carried out help to form an attitude towards diversity and its acceptance by children.
|
