Visual Impairment: Special Education
Preliminary Education Specialist Instruction Credential
About this program
The Visual Impairment Credential: Special Education prepares you to teach and support blind and low‑vision students from birth to age 22 and their families. You learn to use tactile, visual, and auditory methods and to deliver instruction in general, specialized, and itinerant settings. The program links research with practice and emphasizes culturally responsive, anti‑ableist teaching. You develop skills in literacy methods—including Braille and access technology—and complete 600 hours of supervised practicum and online instruction combined with in‑person lab weekends.
Program Curriculum and Requirements
Program Scope
The Education Specialist Credential in Visual Impairment (VI) prepares highly qualified teachers using research-based curricula and pedagogy to provide quality educational services to students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Students with visual impairments are a heterogeneous population, requiring the availability of a wide range of curricular and placement options in order to foster participation in the home, school, and community in ways that meet the particular needs of individual learners. The program stresses the development of instructional programs utilizing a variety of approaches to meet the range of potential placement options and curricular needs of learners with visual impairments.
Candidates are expected to demonstrate skills in working with an array of professionals as well as families in order to facilitate learner participation and growth within the context of their educational experience. Learners with visual impairments benefit from educational experiences that take into account their unique learning needs requiring the acquisition of knowledge and skills in alternative ways including tactile, visual, and auditory. Candidates are expected to demonstrate competence in assessment and instruction to promote functional literacy in Braille, print, and auditory methodologies and to design educational environments utilizing the most appropriate media to promote learning.