An Investigation of College-Major Decisions for Students with Visual Impairments and Related Factors

Autor: Chiu-Yi Wang, 王秋怡
Rok vydání: 2014
Druh dokumentu: 學位論文 ; thesis
Popis: 102
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors in college-major decisions for students with visual impairments in Taiwan. Methods: After signing agreement documents, participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire with good validity and reliability which were developed by researchers ourselves. 177 students with visual impairments from different colleges and universities in Taiwan participated in this study. Participants completed a questionnaire about their backgrounds and their level of agreement toward college-major decisions. And then data were collected and analyzed with descriptive statistics, Chi-square Pearson Correlation and post-hoc analysis by using the SPSS 18 package. (Data Statistical Analysis Corporation, Taipei, Taiwan) Results: 1.Findings of current status of students with visual impairments in colleges and universities: Students with visual impairments tended to apply schools in the central and northern parts of Taiwan probably because there were more resources and openings for enrollment. Most students took the pathways into universities and colleges through the College Entrance Examination for Disabled Students, especially studied in colleges of Arts, Law, Business, and Education. In addition, students lived in school dormitories and commuted back and forth between home and schools by themselves. Besides, there were a low percentage of using braille media by students with severe visual impairments. 2.Students’ attitudes toward college-major decisions among four dimensions: (1)Personal dimension: personal aptitudes and interests, vocational aptitudes, subject achievements, skills of independent living, using public transportation, arriving new places and asking for help were all important factors. (2)School resources dimension: Scholarships, admissions and student recruitment before enrollment, curriculum offered by school and department, quality of the services offered by school resource rooms, the attitudes of the school and departments, assistive devices and services, availabilities of dormitories were all important factors. (3)School Environment and family effects dimension: traffic convenience around campus, safety of neighboring surroundings, living functions, affordability of college costs for the family, suggestions from key persons, the openings of the College Entrance Examination for Disabled Students were all important factors. (4)Policy of social or education dimension: future career advantages were the most important factors comparing with college entrance policy. 3.Differences among variables of background and four dimensions for students with visual impairments choosing college-major: (1)Students with severe visual impairments agreed that gender had a significant impact on college-major decisions. (2)Students resided outside Taiwan agreed that parents’ expectations had a significant impact on college-major decisions than students resided in Taiwan. (3)Students studying in public colleges or universities agreed parents’ expectations, the openings of the College Entrance Examination for Disabled Students had a significant impact on college-major decisions than students in private schools. (4)Students with visual impairments combined other disabilities agreed that environment factors had a significant impact on college-major decisions than students with visual impairments. (5)Students of fourth academic group agreed that individual’s special talents had a significant impact on college-major decisions than other students. Discussions: Finally, suggestions were made as references to government authorities, educational administrators, parents and teachers of the students with visual impairments according to the results. Moreover, related studies for the future were also suggested
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