Theory and Practice in the Curriculum

Theory and Practice in the Curriculum

The Goals of the Curriculum Orientation and Mobility in Iran and America (Especially the Visually Impaired Students)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Ashraf Karimi 1
Gholamreza HajHosseinNejad 1
nematollah mousapour 2
Ahmad Beh Pajhooh 3
1 Kharazmi UN
2 Farhangian Un
3 Professor of Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Tehran
Abstract
This study has compared the goals and objectives of orientation and mobility (O&M) curriculums in Iran and America. The Bereday’s comparative method was used in this research. Initially the goals were defined and interpreted based on two criteria including the level of generality and the level of coverage and then they were compared by juxtaposition. The study found that American O&M curriculum has 41 functional mobility tasks with 38 goals and 270 objectives solidly based on the students' needs in five different environments: home/living, campus, residential, commercial and public transportation. Furthermore, some of these goals were also devoted to low vision students. Iranian O&M curriculum had only developed 10 goals and 75 objectives exclusively for blind students, ingnoring their surrounding environment. American O&M curriculum with specific goals and objectives provides numerous opportunities for blind as well as low vision students to learn O&M skills through a meaningful learning environment extremely helpful in their daily lives.
Keywords
Blind and low vision students
Orientation and Mobility
Curriculum Goals and objectives
Comparative study
Theory and Practice in the Curriculum
Volume 5, Issue 9
April 2017
Pages 193-214