Out-of-Field Teachers: Issues and Strategies for Teaching Students with Visual Impairment

An “out-of-field teacher” is defined as a teacher who is assigned to teach a subject that she has inadequate training or education in. This study explores the issues, challenges and strategies faced by “out-of-field teachers” in teaching students with visual impairment. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews with ten respondents who were out-of-field teachers working in special education schools in Sabah. Their feedbacks were transcribed and analyzed using descriptive narrative. The findings indicate that these teachers faced various issues, including limited knowledge, skills, readiness, and teaching experiences on the subject that they were assigned to teach. They also reported challenges in the form of students with diverse categories and level of abilities, their lack of commitment and practice. Among the strategies that these teachers applied were getting assistance from other teachers or students who are more knowledgeable, self -training, attending courses and getting additional references materials through books and the internet. This study highlighted the issues of out-of-field teachers in Malaysian special education which must be solved by the Ministry of Education urgently. Several suggestions were put forward, including ensuring only well-trained teachers assigned to teach students with visual impairment and providing in-service training to these out-of-field teachers.