School type differences in attainment of developmental goals in students with visual impairment and sighted peers

摘要

The present study analyzed whether the perceived attainment of developmental goals differs by school type and between adolescents with visual impairments and sighted peers. We created a matched-pair design with 98 German students from the middle school track and 98 from the highest school track; half of the members of each group were visually impaired. Students from the middle school track reported a higher attainment of identity development, career choice, and gender role awareness than students from the highest school track. Furthermore, students with visual impairment were less progressed with peer-group integration and forming intimate relationships than sighted students, but they reported higher levels of attainment of skills that are important for their future profession. However, we did not find an overall interaction effect between school type and vision status on the perceived attainment of developmental goals. The observed school type differences can be explained by the fact that students from the middle school track face the transition from school to work earlier. Implications for practice are discussed.