Auditory Focus Sound environment and participation for pupils with visual impairment Sara Backström Lindeberg Department of Special Education Degree Project (30 credits) Special Education Master’s Programme in Special Education with Specialization in Visual Impairment Pedagogy (120 credits) Spring semester 2014 Supervisor: Kerstin Fellenius English title: Auditory Focus Sound environment and participation for pupils with visual impairment Auditory Focus Sound environment and participation for pupils with visual impairment Sara Backström Lindeberg Abstract This study investigates auditory accessibility and participation for pupils with blindness in everyday school situations. What opportunities do the pupils have to use their hearing to distinguish and gain access to social and educational processes in different sound environments? Auditory observations by researchers and pupils have been made in various school environments at five Swedish schools. At the same time, qualitative interviews have been conducted with five pupils aged 8–18 years. A theoretical model has been generated on the basis of grounded theory. This model describes auditory identification processes and cognitive processes for access to social and educational contexts in activities, which is the study’s main concern. The results of the study indicate that the pupils constantly use sound to gain access to both social and educational processes, and that sound is often their most important and only source of information. The study also shows that the sound environment is decisive in terms of the pupils’ opportunities to participate. In environments meant for social interaction (dining halls, after-school recreation centres, corridors) it is often impossible to distinguish friends’ voices and the context of activities because of the high sound levels, large number of people and large number of concurrent activities. This makes the sound information relatively anonymous, which in turn makes social interaction more difficult. An environment that is too quiet, without verbal communication, also becomes anonymous. However, the pupils’ chances of identifying voices, processes and contexts are very good in functional sound environments. Small, subtle details are often an important aspect of the auditory information. Cognitive processes, such as experience and inference, are important for piecing together the auditory information in a constantly changing sound environment. The results also point to situations requiring double auditory focus in the classroom that become difficult for pupils to manage. Results also shows that verbal information cannot be equated with written information in teaching situations when it comes to exposure time, overview, repetition and working memory requirements. The implications for organisational structure, educational working practices and the design of premises that can increase the pupils’ opportunities to participate are discussed in the study. Keywords Visual impairment, blindness, auditory accessibility, sound environment, participation, social interaction, school. Preface and Acknowledgements Outside the window spring is in full bloom. Now, as I come to the end and turn off my computer, the lush scent of cherry blossom, the birds’ ethereal twittering and the warm spring breezes await me. Completing this paper has been a long, laborious process, but also an extremely exciting and educational journey along unfamiliar, winding roads. It is with certain sadness that I bring this effort to a close. I am grateful to the many people who have provided me with assistance along the way. First and foremost, I want to express my deepest and warmest gratitude to the pupils Molly, Jacob, Hilda, Kim and Daniel, who so generously shared their wise and important thoughts, for allowing me to join you in school. You are the very foundation of this paper and without you it would not have amounted to anything. I am also grateful to their teachers for welcoming me so warmly to participate. A huge thank you also goes to Kerstin for your wise and humble supervision, and for putting up with my obstinacy. Your knowledge and experience has taught me so much. Thanks also my employer, the Swedish National Agency for Special Needs Education and Schools, which has made it possible for me to undertake this study partly within the scope of my work. Another person who has been incredibly important throughout this work is my reader Sara. You have done a huge amount of work and been a great support. Thank you! Huge thanks also go to my colleagues Tina, Annica and Tove, who have been involved in the study as keen-eyed observers. Special thanks to Tove for your read- throughs and your commitment. You don’t realise how valuable you are. I hope we go on to have many more interesting conversations. I am also grateful to my colleague Kia; thank you for your unfailingly exquisite language suggestions. Finally, I would like to thank my dear family – my children Linus and Matilda-Lo – for patiently putting up with an occasionally somewhat absent mother, and last, but not least, my husband and soulmate Greger. I am thankful for your eternal commitment, your loving support and your knowledge! Sköndal, May 2014 Sara Backström Lindeberg Table of Contents Table of Contents .................................................................................... 4 1. Introduction ........................................................................................ 6 2. Aim ...................................................................................................... 7 3. Background ......................................................................................... 7 3.1 What is sound? ............................................................................................. 7 3.2 Perception and the auditory system................................................................. 8 3.3 Echolocation and auditory assessment of distance for people with blindness ......... 9 3.4 Sound environment ......................................................................................10 3.5 Soundscape ................................................................................................11 3.6 Participation ................................................................................................12 3.7 Different cultures in schools ..........................................................................14 3.8 Social interaction and shared focus ................................................................15 3.9 Participation for pupils with visual impairment .................................................15 4. Method .............................................................................................. 16 4.1 Choice of methodology and method................................................................16 4.2 Target group and selection ............................................................................18 4.3 Selection of environments and situations ........................................................18 4.4 Implementation ...........................................................................................19 4.4.1 Researcher observations during the school day ..........................................20 4.4.2 Auditory observations by pupils ...............................................................20 4.4.3 Separate interviews ................................................................................20 4.5 Ethical aspects .............................................................................................21 4.6 Data processing and analysis .........................................................................21 5. Results, Theory and Analysis ............................................................. 23 5.1 General description of the model ....................................................................23 5.1.1 Factors that create a sound environment ..................................................24 5.1.2 Processes for gaining access to the social and educational context ...............26 5.2 School sound environments and opportunities for interaction ............................28 5.2.1 Classrooms ...........................................................................................30 5.2.2 Corridors ...............................................................................................31 5.2.3 Dining halls ...........................................................................................32 5.2.4 After-school recreations centres ...............................................................33 5.3 Spatial perception and social and educational context .......................................34 5.3.1 Auditory spatial perception ......................................................................35 5.3.2 Awareness, learning and strategies ..........................................................35 5.3.3 Sound environment and auditory orientation .............................................37 5.4 Verbalisation ...............................................................................................38 5.4.1 Verbalisation and access to the content of information in lessons .................38 5.4.2 Form, framework and structure of lessons and activities .............................41 5.4.3 Knowing something about others .............................................................42 5.4.4 Auditory acknowledgement .....................................................................43