Strategies to Improve Perceived Competence in Children With Visual Impairments
Deborah R. Shapiro, Lauren J. Lieberman, and Aaron Moffett
RE:view, Strategies to improve perceived competence in children with visual impairments. Shapiro, Deborah R., Lieberman, Lauren J., and Aaron Moffett. 35(2), 69-80. 2003. Reprinted with permission of the Helen Dwight Reid Educational Foundation. Published by Heldref Publications, 1319 18th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036-1802. www.heldref.org. Copyright © 2003.
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Self-concept-one’s knowledge about oneself including personal awareness of one’s competencies (Sherrill, 1998) has been a central construct in academic and sport settings largely because of its persistent relationship to achievement (Weiss, 1987). Researchers have studied self-perceptions of ability within the framework of Harter’s (1978) theory of competence motivation. Perceived competence is a multidimensional, dynamic, and interactional concept that influences both the initiation of mastery attempts in the cognitive, social, or physical domains and the development of such achievement behaviors as effort and persistence (Kosma, Cardinal, & Rintala, 2002; Sherrill, 1998).
Perceptions of competence can vary across domains. Children may perceive themselves as having high ability in the social domain but low ability in the athletic domain. Within a given domain, an individual’s goal is to develop skills, learn new skills, and demonstrate mastery at a task. Each successful mastery experience increases their perceptions of ability. Children with high perceptions of competence exert more effort, persist longer, feel more in control, experience pride, and are intrinsically motivated to continue to participate in areas in which they feel competent. Conversely, experiencing failure to master a task leads to lower perceptions of competence, avoidance of participation, little effort, increased anxiety, and low levels of achievement and results in withdrawal from attempts to achieve (Roberts, Kleiber, & Duda, 1981; Weiss & Horn, 1990). Perceptions of competence also can affect the way people cognitively construct their identities. For example, in childhood, athletic competence is difficult to separate from physical appearance as early feelings about the body and its capacity for movement form the basis for self-concept (Sherrill, 1998). In addition, perceptions of competence become more stable and resistant to change with age, an outcome that supports the need to intervene early in the development of self-perceptions of competence.
Participation in physical education and sport is a primary environment for teaching children physical competencies (Weiss & Duncan, 1992). Many physical educators emphasize that all children, including those with a disability, need positive self-concepts to feel competent enough to participate in the common games and sports of childhood in a variety of physical activity (Shapiro, 1999). Children with visual impairments generally have fewer opportunities and incentives to engage in physical activities that provide the amounts and kinds of stimulation that are typical of other children (Longmuir & Bar-Or, 2000). As a result, the health-related physical fitness and motor and functional skills of young people with visual impairments is typically lower than those of their peers (Kalloniatis & Johnston, 1994; Kef, 1997; Korhonen, 2000; Kroksmark & Nordell, 2001; Lieberman & McHugh, 2001; Longmuir & Bar-Or, 2000; Rosenblum, 1997; Skaggs & Hopper, 1996; Sorensen, 1999). Children who experience difficulty in movement often have lower self-perceptions. Poor physical self-perceptions lead to reduced confidence in movement that often extends beyond the athletic domain and results in adverse psychosocial consequences (Bouchard & Tetrault, 2000).
Engaging in sport and physical activity is a social activity involving groups of children such as teams, friends, and clubs and serves as a primary socializing agent for teaching interpersonal skills. Research has shown that children with visual impairments tend to have less extensive social networks and fewer friendships compared with other children. In public school settings, children who are visually impaired often remain close to their teachers during social and recreational activities and seldom socialize with other children. They tend to have low levels of perceived control over their ability to make and retain friendships (Robinson, 2002) and tend not to be included in groups or to withdraw from group activity; these factors contribute to increased feelings of loneliness and social dissatisfaction (Kalloniatis & Johnston, 1994). The physical and emotional support of friends is essential to one’s willingness to try unfamiliar activities or to meet new challenges (MacCuspie, 1996). Kef (1997) found that children with low vision had fewer friends than others in their peer group; their parents were their most important source of support. Page, Frey, Talbert, and Falk (1992) reported that lonely children were significantly less physically active than children who did not express feelings of loneliness and social dissatisfaction.
Because perceived competence provides one of the best perspectives for helping people understand and change their behaviors, it is a central construct in teaching, in either the academic or in the sport context (Sherrill, 1998). New initiatives are necessary to develop effective intervention strategies to improve the perceptions of competence among children and youth with visual impairments and to increase their motivation to participate in sport and physical activity (Longmuir & Bar-Or, 2000). The challenge is to promote strategies that teachers of the visually impaired, orientation and mobility instructors, parents, and general and adapted physical education teachers can use.
Strategies to Increase Perceptions of Athletic Competence
In this section, we suggest two strategies for increasing perceptions of athletic competence and some suggested teaching techniques.
Introduce Role Models
Teachers, parents, or therapists often tell children with visual impairments not to participate in certain activities because of their disability. Although their advice is well intentioned, judging a person on the single attribute of disability reinforces the centrality of disability over the potentiality of athletic competence with the result that the children set lower expectations for their sport performance.
Sherrill (1998) emphasizes the importance of two components of self-concept: I can do, which reflects perceived competence; and I am (e.g., I am female, I am an athlete), reflecting perceived identity. Sherrill found those two components equally important in affecting the attitudes, intentions, and behaviors that in tam influence domain-specific perceptions of the self. Participating and competing in sport provides the ideal type of mastery challenge to help individuals develop positive perceptions of athletic competence and view themselves as an athlete beyond the limitations that their disability may offer.
Table 1 contains information about some individuals who are blind and who view themselves as accomplished athletes. Teachers and parents of children with visual impairments should profile these individuals when discussing what people who are blind can do in sport and physical activity. Such a discussion and the use of role models can improve I can and I am attitudes and perceptions of both present and future athletic competence.
Use Motor Behavior Assessments
When students with visual impairments understand that they are good at a sport and physical fitness skills and can participate partially or fully in sport or recreation activities, perceptions of athletic competence and consequently motivation to participate are likely to increase. One way to accomplish this goal is to assess and compare the motor performance and fitness scores of children with visual impairments with those of-other children. There are only a handful of motor assessments designed specifically for use with children and youth with visual impairments. The Brockport Physical Fitness Test (BPFT; Winnick & Short, 1999) is an example of a criterion-referenced, health-related fitness test that was validated for youth with visual impairments. The BPFT also provides criterion-referenced standards for students without disabilities so teachers can compare a student who is visually impaired either with similar students or with students without disabilities of the same age and gender.
Other instruments, although not developed for children with visual impairments, can be used successfully to enable students with visual impairments to acquire competencies in skills common to everyday sports and games played in physical education class. To assess fundamental gross motor skills, teachers or therapists can use the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 (Ulrich, 2000), a norm- and criterion-referenced assessment instrument examining performance of children on six locomotor skills (run, gallop, hop, leap, horizontal jump, and slide) and six object control skills (strike, stationary dribble, catch, kick, overhand throw, underhand roll). These skills reflect those commonly performed in elementary physical education classes and motor development clinics. The test provides 3 to 5 criteria for each of the 12 skills, making possible the identification of strengths and weaknesses for specific gross motor skills. Measuring mastery or nonmastery of specific behavioral criteria within each skill can help teachers or therapists to design programs that facilitate maximum learning (Ulrich).
When standardized assessment instruments are not available, the instructor can use rubrics, checklists, or rating scales to document progress. Sharing the improvement in skill with the children can make a tremendous difference in their perceived athletic competence. An example of rubrics for sport-related skills of students with visual impairments is the Camp Abilities Activity Analysis Checklist (Lieberman, n.d.). The checklist contains sport-specific assessments for gymnastics, track and field, goalball, beep baseball, tandem biking, swimming, and judo. The checklist for each sport contains a list of tasks with performance criteria ranging from simple to more complex and documents the level of independence for each item. Table 2 contains a checklist for goal ball that we have developed.
Implementing Selected Teaching Techniques
In a recent study, Robinson (2002) found that students with visual impairments had lower levels of self-determination particularly in the area of physical education. That means that someone other than the student makes many of the decisions in physical education about curriculum, equipment, class structure, and rules. Such lack of control over variables in the learning environment may lead to a lack of opportunity for children with visual impairments to participate in physical education and to their experiencing lower levels of perceived athletic competence (Auxter, Pyfer, & Heuttig, 2001; Lieberman & Cowart, 1996). One way to increase a student’s involvement in the learning process is to use a teaching technique called guided discovery, in which students are encouraged to discover movement solutions to meet a predetermined criteria posed by the teacher (Rich, 2000). For example, the teacher asks all students who are working on a throwing unit "to throw as far as you can." "Throw as far as you can" used in guided discovery often elicits the proper throwing motion as opposed to command style instruction. Guided discovery allows children to make their own decisions about pace, form, equipment, and space and often with whom they want to work. It allows them to explore different movement options within a safe environment with occasional feedback and provides many opportunities to try different things. When teachers permit students with visual impairments to learn at their own pace and do not hold them to the same standard as the other students, their perception of their athletic competence is likely to improve.
In a class that may contain 20 or more students without disabilities a teacher may not feel comfortable allowing students with visual impairments to learn on their own and at their own pace. The use of a peer tutor can ensure that the student who is visually impaired has opportunities for skill development, adequate individual instruction, and feedback (Lieberman & Houston-Wilson, 2002). A peer tutor is a student either the same age or older who works one-on-one with the student with the disability on individual skills and activities. The instruction can be one-way from the peer tutor to the student, or it can be reciprocal with the student with the disability equally instructing the peer tutor. Experience has shown that trained peer tutors can increase the amount of academic learning time in physical education, thus improving skill level and the perceptions of ability to participate in sport and games (Lieberman, Newcomer, McCubbin, & Dalrymple, 1997; Wiskochil, 2002).
Strategies to Improve Social Competence
Social competence is another domain in which students with visual impairments have lower levels of perceived competence than do their peers without disabilities. In this section, we discuss some strategies for enhancing perceptions of social competence and suggest a teaching technique.
Increase Opportunities for Independent Mobility
In a study of the percentage of children with and without visual impairments who could accomplish independent living skills, the number of children with a visual impairment who could walk independently to a friend’s house was alarmingly low (Lewis & Iselin, 2002). Being able to walk independently to a friend’s house can open doors to socialization, recreational activities, and inclusion. Not being able to walk independently to a friend’s house or around the school building can lead to dependence, lack of social inclusion, and isolation.
Several strategies can help increase opportunities for independent mobility. First, allow the student to choose the preferred destinations for their mobility class. Incorporate into the student’s mobility class destinations such as a favorite park, an after-school job, a friend’s house within walking distance or on a bus line, or a place in school to which the student wants to travel independently. For example, knowing how to walk to the place where the student council meets after school enables the student to be a part of that organization. If the student does so independently, other students view him or her as being more competent.
The situation in which another student acts as a sighted guide provides an opportunity for trying another strategy. Without some instruction, the student sighted guide often tends to walk in front rather than alongside the student who is visually impaired. The tendency of the sighted guide to assist the student being guided creates a dynamic of unequal relationship and increased dependence on others for assistance with independent walking. It is important to teach sighted guides how to walk next to a student who is visually impaired and how to maintain a balance between good navigational skills and social conversation.
The use of a cane offers another strategy. The cane may act as a physical barrier between the student with a visual impairment and his or her peers, one that limits opportunities for social interaction in the hallway, playground, or classroom. Other students need to learn how to walk beside a student using a cane. An increased understanding that students with visual impairments need to move around the school independently should lead to increased opportunities for children with visual impairments to socialize and increase friendships with other peers, thereby decreasing isolations and loneliness. The more competent students are in travel skills the more able they will be to make friends in the schoolyard, at home, or in the lunchroom. This competence will carry over to other areas in life such as employment, recreation, and family life.
Facilitating Social Interaction During Lunch
Lunchtime can be a wonderful opportunity to increase socialization and friendships, but many children with visual impairments do not always look forward to this period. Students with visual impairments may have a hard time locating their friends in the noisy, crowded lunchroom. Caring teachers can ensure that the student is in a well-lit, less crowded environment close to his or her friends. The logistics of this may be difficult as students do not often want teachers interfering with friends, and they may see help as unnecessary and juvenile. If students accept the help of a teacher to set up a conducive social environment at lunch, the depth of friendships and social competence of children with visual impairments is likely to increase. Children should learn independent mobility skills to arrive on their own at the determined place and with their lunch tray. An accessible location coupled with the ability to get there will empower students with social opportunities during lunchtime that may extend beyond the school day.
Teaching That Initiative Is Part of Empowerment
Students with visual impairments may not take full advantage of opportunities to make their own choices. They may be too shy, scared of rejection, unsure of themselves, or they may simply not take the initiative. Here is an example of what can happen: Jeffery’s third grade teacher had a science club after school. Jeffery, a student with a visual impairment, was excited about this group but did not say anything to his parents because he was not sure how the teacher would accommodate him, how he would get home, or if his friends would take the time to be partners with him. Jeffery said nothing to his parents until the 6th week when he heard his friends talking about how much fun science club was and how much they learned. By the time Jeffery communicated his interest only 2 weeks remained in the program. Children with visual impairments must be taught how to take initiative. This includes learning skills in problem solving and how to overcome barriers and fears.
Conclusion
Children with visual impairments and low athletic and social competencies typically have little faith in their ability and tend to be self-conscious, poorly motivated, and strongly influenced by past failures and disappointments. Many may perceive physical activity as having few benefits and are unlikely to develop active lifestyles unless helped to feel good about themselves (Sherrill,1998). The strategies for improving athletic and social competence that we have discussed were designed for professionals to facilitate an active, healthy life-style by helping children with visual impairments to (a) feel good about themselves and have confidence in their movement abilities, (b) demonstrate positive attitudes toward physical activity, (c) possess knowledge, skill, and fitness to achieve goals, (d) have friends with whom to share exercise and physical activity, (e) find or create time for exercise and physical activity, and (f) have the creativity to solve problems and reach goals (Sherrill).
Those outcomes can affect lifelong participation in sports to the extent that children with visual impairments realize that they can fulfill their athletic and social potential and feel empowered by their skills (Sherrill, 1998). Such self-actualized behavior increases as perceived competence and self-esteem improve and can lead to increased feelings of self-confidence, self-control, worth, strength, capability, and adequacy. As their needs are met, individuals become and remain internally motivated and empowered to continue pursuits of mastery that build perceptions of athletic and social competence (Sherrill) and improve their life situation (Blind & Taub, 1999).
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