Ifigeneia Manitsa BEd, MSc, AFHEA (pictured) is a Psychology Researcher at Kingston University London. Her research is about the social and academic inclusion of adolescents with and without visual impairments.
Ifigeneia has a Degree in Primary Education and a Masters in Special Education. Visual impairment has been her field of expertise for the past 7 years.
Her latest study is on the social relationships that sighted and visually impaired adolescents, aged 12-14 years, who attend mainstream schools or mainstream schools with special resourced provision, develop with their teachers and peers and the impact of these relationships on their school grades and classroom participation. An outline of the project is below.
Sighted and visually impaired adolescents aged 12-14 years will be asked to complete 3 questionnaires:
- a demographic questionnaire
- a questionnaire on the social relationship they have developed with their favourite teacher
- a questionnaire on the social relationship they have developed with their closest friend in school
These questionnaires will take approximately 30-45 minutes. The main researcher is going to ask the questions and adolescents will answer them. The teachers the adolescents nominate as their favourite ones will be asked to complete a questionnaire on these students’ academic inclusion (test grades and classroom participation). This will take approximately 15 minutes to complete and they can do it in their own time. Additionally, we would like to have access to the academic grades that students have received in English, Maths and Science in their last report. Their teachers can share these with us and we will, of course, ask for parents’ and students’ permission.
The adolescents who participate in this study may have a visual impairment, but no learning or cognitive disabilities.
The questionnaires can be completed by phone, email, Skype or post.
If you would like to know more about the study or Ifigeneia’s work, please contact us.
If you would be interested in taking part in the study, please complete the form below. Thank you.
