My name is Grace Sayers-Mcgowan. I am inviting you to take part in my dissertation research “Experiences of Mental Health and Education in Young People with Vision Impairment”. I am a master’s student at UCL’s Institute of Education, where I am studying Educational Psychology. I come from a teaching background and have worked with children and young people in a variety of settings.
Research suggests that many young people with vision impairment experience anxiety and depression that can affect their academic and social experience at school. However, these factors have rarely been explored together. In particular there is a need to consider and center the perspectives of young people with vision impairment themselves, as well as speaking with stakeholders who work alongside them or who are parents of young people with vision impairment. This study aims to explore and understand the unique experiences of young people with vision impairment in relation to their mental health and education.
The project is being overseen by Dr Jess Hayton, a Habilitation expert at UCL-IOE. I am also working alongside Vassilis Sideropoulos who is a specialist in mental health, also at UCL-IOE. This wider project has the eventual goal of creating best-practice guidelines for educators who work with young people with vision impairment.
I will use the following non-invasive measure to gather your perespectives and experiences in regards to the young people with vision impairment who you work with:
- Face-face interview: (run by myself (Grace) via Zoom/face-to-face; 45-60 mins) a semi-structured interview with you, the stakeholder, to explore your views on the educational and mental health experiences of young people with vision impairment.
If you require more details please refer to the documents below or contact: grace.sayers-mcgowan.23@ucl.ac.uk.
