ESTRUCTURA DE LA AUTORIDAD PARA EL DERECHO A LA ALIMENTACIÓN

As researchers we must make it clear to ourselves, and to all those concerned what values our research is to promote and whose values they are: for whether we want it or not, we will hardly ever be able to claim that our research serves all interests equally. (Ulrich, 2001, p. 9)

An important difference between most qualitative and quantitative research is the epistemological assumption about the relationship of the researcher to the researched. (Creswell, 1994; Kvale, 1996; Merriam, 1998) The positivistic view associated with quantitative research asserts that the researcher is independent from what is being researched, and is able to be objective. In contrast, “The qualitative investigator admits the value-laden nature of the study and actively reports his or her biases.” “The researcher interacts with that being researched.”(Creswell, 1994, p. 5) This section is included so that my personal biases may be more explicit. In addition it outlines how my personal situation has informed the inquiry, so that in some respects it comes from an insider viewpoint.

Though the underlying positivist image of a quantitative researcher is of the impartial scientist objectively reporting results, post-postivist thought would contest this. There is opportunity for bias in the performance and reporting of quantitative research, both in what is reported and what is left unsaid. To ignore this is to disregard a potentially important influence on the analysis and the reporting of a quantitative study. For this reason also, it is necessary to state my potential biases, so that readers may draw their own conclusions as to how my biases have affected the research, both qualitative and quantitative.

Because this section deals with personal background and bias it is written in the first person. It contains an explanation of my background in the area and my potential biases, including how they may have changed over the duration of the research, the benefits for the research of my “inside knowledge”, and the benefits I have gained from the research.

Background

My awareness of the allocation problem arose because one of my sons is totally blind. Jonathan was nine years old when I began the research. In general he has had a good level of education, but he has suffered throughout his schooling from a lack of Orientation and Mobility instruction and the effects of overworked RTVs. As I complete the research Jonathan is completing his second year at high school.

Over Jonathan’s lifetime I have been active in the support and lobbying organisation, Parents of Vision Impaired, through which I have gained further insights into life for children with vision impairment and their families. My attitudes towards the rights of people with disabilities have definitely altered as a result of the association.

I have also trained and worked as a secondary school mathematics and computing teacher. From this viewpoint I can understand the reluctance a mainstream teacher might feel about including a child with a severe disability in his or her classroom, especially without sufficient support or training.

Biases

In December 1998, at the commencement of the research I wrote a statement of bias, which is included in its entirety in Appendix 2. The following summarises the beliefs expressed in it:

• Children who have disabilities have a right to the education that will help them function as best they can. Funding should be provided by the government and used effectively. The decision making process concerning resources for learners with vision impairment should be explicit. It is not possible to satisfy all the needs of all the children. Learners with vision impairment have historically been under-funded, especially when compared with their equivalent with a hearing impairment.

• Parents have a right to be involved in the education decisions regarding their child. However the government is not required to fund extreme choices by parents, nor should satisfying the rights of the child with the disability impinge on the rights of other children in a class or school. I do not believe it is realistic to expect to provide the same level of service in all geographic locations ( For example, in a large city like Auckland and in a remote country area such as Reefton).

• Services for children with vision impairment are best provided by people who have training in services for children with vision impairment. Teachers of learners with vision impairment need to be rewarded for their expertise.

• My allegiances lay with the Resource teachers and the parents and I did not feel that the Ministry of Education had the same level of commitment to the learners with vision impairment. I was unsure that the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind was making decisions with the best interests of the students in mind. I believed the RTVs could be disinterested, but that the RNZFB suffered from protectionism and a lack of professionalism in some areas.

• Though coming from a quantitative discipline, I felt quantitative methods are often misused.

Most of the first part of the original statement of bias would hold true for me today, seven years later. However my allegiances would be less well delineated. Some might say I have “gone over to the other side”. Contact with the Ministry of Education has increased my confidence in it. The establishment of the Blind and Low Vision Education Network New Zealand (BLENNZ) has demonstrated that change as a result of parent demand is possible. I am less inclined to consider the RTVs as the paragons of virtue I thought them at the start. Many of them are very dedicated and hardworking, but, as is the case in all human endeavours, “some are more equal than others.” The RNZFB has undergone major changes and improved greatly in its services for children over the time span of the project. It also funded much of the travel for data collection in this research. It is a much more professional organisation than it was a decade ago.

In particular I can understand that immersion in a certain sector, in this case education for vision impaired, can lead to an over-emphasis on that sector. There is a tendency for parents and teachers to be satisfied with nothing less than an ideal education for these students. (And maybe this is as it should be - if they are not ambitious for them, no one else will be.) It is reasonable to suggest that the students need every opportunity to learn. However, I can also understand the possible viewpoint of the Ministry of Education. There are many students with no identified special needs who are not getting the educational opportunities that the children with vision impairment are. This gives rise to the question of whether it is reasonable for a few children to have large amounts of money spent on them, when the same amount of money could help many other children to have better access to the curriculum.

Benefits and disadvantages to the research of insider knowledge

My background experience with vision impairment was an advantage as it gave me a solid understanding of many of the issues before even beginning the research, and gave me credibility with the parents, teachers and the students I interviewed. It also made it easier for me to work in schools when I was collecting data, as teachers were happier to have “another teacher” in their classroom. My background in vision impairment was also potentially a disadvantage as it was clear that there may be conflicts of interest.

As my son was starting secondary school as I was completing this research, I was able to draw on my experience with him to test out ideas that have come through from the interviewed students. Jonathan was not in the target group at the time of the data collection so was neither included nor excluded from

the data. Like the students in the target group, Jonathan really likes school, is motivated and enjoys the more structured setting of secondary school better than primary school.

The value of being the parent of a blind child, in the completion of this thesis can not be over- estimated. Time and again throughout Jonathan’s schooling I have been challenged to examine what is and is not possible and relevant in the education of a learner with vision impairment. I have had insights into the funding mechanisms and their implications, including the choice of fund-holder.

Benefits I have gained

The synergies have not all occurred in favour of the research. I benefited from suggestions from parents and gained motivation to help Jonathan achieve his potential. I have also increased in understanding of the unique needs of blind students, and have been able to use this to help his teachers overcome barriers to learning.

A comment from a parent described putting together “a couple of pages (“CV”) showing our son’s photo, interests, achievements, information on his condition etc. This was so the teachers knew of/about our son before he set foot in the school.” As Jonathan was about to enter high school, I took notice of this advice and did similarly, with very positive feedback from the teachers.

A further positive effect has been my appreciation of the level and quality of support Jonathan has received throughout his schooling, and particularly at secondary school. His level of support is as good as for any other child like him in New Zealand.

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Part B

Developing a Measure of

Effectiveness

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