“HOW DID BLIND STUDENTS AT UNIVERSITIES EXPERIENCE DISTANCE EDUCATION DURING EMERGENT TIMES IN TÜRKIYE?” - A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY

Date

2025-11-27

Author

Zengin Temırbek Uulu, Zeynep

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This phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of blind university students who navigated emergent distance education in Türkiye during two major national crises: the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2023 Kahramanmaraş–Hatay earthquakes. By combining both transcendental and hermeneutic phenomenology, to be able to capture both the essence, i.e. the invariant core and the interpretation, i.e. the contextual meaning, the study employs a transcendental approach informed by interpretive perspectives to explore how blind learners engaged with digital learning environments, accessed instructional content, interacted with instructors and institutions, and negotiated systemic constraints during sudden shifts to online education. Data were gathered through in-depth phenomenological interviews with blind university students and analyzed through textural and structural descriptions, imaginative variation, and synthesis of meaning and essence. The analysis yielded four interrelated themes—Student as Self, Student–Instructor, Student–Institution, and Student–Policymakers—which together form a multilayered, relational system shaping the distance education experience. Findings reveal persistent barriers, including inaccessible platforms, inconsistent instructional practices, limited institutional preparedness, and gaps between policy intent and implementation. Despite these challenges, participants demonstrated notable resilience, autonomy, and technological adaptability through the use of assistive technologies, peer networks, and self-advocacy. The overarching essence of the phenomenon reflects a continuous negotiation between possibility and constraint; wherein blind students actively co-construct their learning environments amid structural limitations. Their experiences reveal that accessibility not as a fixed technical feature but as a dynamic, relational achievement embedded within pedagogical decisions, institutional structures, and national policy frameworks. The study calls for proactive, dialogic, and anticipatory approaches to accessibility that align technology, pedagogy, institutional readiness, and policymaking to ensure equitable participation for blind students in future distance education contexts.

Subject Keywords

Blind students, Distance education, Accessibility, Phenomenology, Inclusion, Lived experience, Emergent online learning, Türkiye

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/118265

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis