Physical Activity for the Blind from the Principal's Perception

Akhmad Olih Solihin

and Berliana Berliana

Program Studi Pendidikan Jasmani Kesehatan dan Rekreasi, Jurusan Pendidikan Olahraga, Sekolah Tinggi Keguruan

dan Ilmu Pendidikan Pasundan, Jln Permana No 32B, Cimahi Utara Kota Cimahi, Indonesia

Faculty of Sport and Health Education, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Jl. Dr. Setiabudhi No. 229, Bandung,

Indonesia

jhossolih@yahoo.com

Keywords: Physical Activity, Principal Perception, Blind.

Abstract: This research departs from the idea that the opportunities given to children with visual impairment to

perform physical activities in schools are not yet complete. This condition affects their fitness and health.

But it does not escape the degree to which a school principal responds to the importance of physical activity

for the blind. This study aims to provide an overview of how the headmaster's perception of physical

activity for blind children and how the process of physical activity of blind children in school. The method

used in this research is qualitative method by using observation technique, interview. Participants used by

the principal at the A Citeureup Special School in Kota Cimahi. The results of the principal’s research is

very enthusiastic to maximize the physical activity of children with visual impairment. However, there are

many obstacles encountered, such as the limited competence of teachers in the field of orientation and

mobility, the assignment of motion is still generalized, and still the standard means for physical activitu of

the visual impairment students are still limited.

1 INTRODUCTION

Some persons with disabilities can perform physical

activities with experiences they experience either

obtained from their friends or from television, but

there are still people with disabilities who have

difficulty in physical activity due to the impairment

in sight (blind). The ability of vision is very

influential on human life activities daily. People

who have visual ability can clearly gain more

information than those who experience visual

impediments. Loss or lack of vision limits a child's

ability to know where he is, how to move from place

to place, imitate, interact socially, and understand

what causes things to happen. According to data

from the Central Bureau of Statistics 2012, 39.97%

of Indonesia‘s population is in the position of one

type of disability, which then increases into several

other types of disability. The disturbance in vision

as the highest type of disability, which is 29, 63%,

followed by disturbance or difficulty in walking or

up stairs as much as 10, 26%, interruption in hearing

7.87%, disturbance in recall and concentrate as

much as 6.70% the lowest is in communicating as

much as 2.74% and disturbance in self-care as much

as 2.83%. The results of Haegele & Porretta's

research 2015 Show that Major findings suggest that

low-priority learning barriers include the availability

of appropriate opportunities rather than visual acuity

or educational settings. (pp. 68)

Other studies that suggest that school age with

visual impairment tend to be less physically active

than their peers, Kozub & Oh (in Haegele &

Porretta, 2015, p. 68) suggests that “... Research

indicates that school-age individuals with visual

impairments tend to be less physically active than

those nondisabled peers“. Because of the limitations

resulting in motor development of children with

visual impairment tend to be slow compared with

normal children in general. This delay occurs

because in the development of motor behavior

requires the existence of functional coordination

between the neuromuscular system (psychological

and muscular systems) and psychic functions

(cognitive, affective, and conative), cognitive

behavior in which the individual reaches the level of

‘know‘on the object being introduced, in which the

individual has a tendency to like or dislike the object

and the Konatif behavior that has been up to the

stage until the individual does some action against

158

Solihin, A. and Berliana, B.

Physical Activity for the Blind from the Principal’s Perception.

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Sports Science, Health and Physical Education (ICSSHPE 2017) - Volume 1, pages 158-162

ISBN: 978-989-758-317-9

the objects and opportunities provided by the

environment.

The function neuro-muscular system on children

with visual impairment is not problematic but its

psychic function is less supportive and become its

own obstacle in motor development. Physically, a

child may be able to achieve the same maturity as a

normal child, but because his or her psychic function

(such as an understanding of the reality of the

environment, the possibility of knowing the dangers

and ways of dealing, limited movement skills, and

lack of courage in doing something) resulted in his

physical maturity less can be used maximally in

doing motor activity. Langelaan M., de Boer MR,

van Nispen RMA, Wouters B., Moll AC, van Rens

GHMB, (2007, pp.119-126) in Łabudzki &

Tasiemski, (2013, p. 2210) states from the results of

studies in dutch showing that people with tuna netra

has a low quality of life. As Kamelska & Mazurek

says, (2015, p. 31) Quality of life is associated with

factors such as health, physical function, Life

satisfaction, happiness, and others. It also tends to

have impaired health impaired, and more susceptible

to obesity “... People with visual impairments face

several barriers when participating in physical

activities. These barriers can result in a greater risk

of developing serious health problems such as

obesity...“ (Folmer, Foley, & Lieberman, 2011, p.

160).

Blind children have the right to education as

normal children do. But in the process, it takes the

parents‘ trust in the school that will be used as a

school for their children. The process of building

and maintaining confidence certainly faces many

obstacles, for which trust-based relationships have

the potential to minimize conflict. This is where the

ability of the principal is tested both in running the

programs and how to tell the right way to solve the

problems that arise when the process of achieving

educational goals. As manager and instructional

leader of the school, the principal is in a suitable

position to address the problem and leads the school

towards the attainment of good academic

performance. (Masitsa, 2008, pp. 205)

Consequently, the principal has the primary

responsibility to contribute positively to the

establishment of trust with all parents of children

with disabilities. This is stated in the Journal of

Educational Research The authors address

implications for school leadership and the

establishment of trustworthy family-professional

relationships, especially as they impact the lives of

the students and families in need of special

education support. (Shelden, Angell, Stoner,

Roseland, 2010, pp. 159). The findings from the

above journals show that aspects, transparency and

competence have a role when considering how the

headmaster relates to the families of children with

disabilities. In the same way, the journal suggests

that modeling, coaching, and mediating leadership

may require special competencies or considerations

related to students with disabilities.

These findings suggest that the facets of

benevolence, openness, and competence may have

high significance when considering how principals

relate to families of children with

disabilities. Likewise, these findings suggest that

leadership functions of modeling, coaching, and

mediating may require specialized competencies or

considerations related to students with

disabilities. (Shelden, Angell, Stoner, Roseland,

2010, p.168) This finding also points to the need to

examine the extent of the principal‘s program in

building trust and effective partnerships with parents

of children with disabilities. These findings are also

available for the purpose of examining the extent to

which school principals are prepared. (Shelden,

Angell, Stoner, Roseland, 2010, p.168) Given the

importance of the role played by the principal in

designing and implementing the program for the

building up of the beliefs of parents of children with

disabilities, especially for their child's physical

activity " as a way to mitigate the stigmatization of

children with a physical disability “… (Barg,

Armstrong, Hetz, Latimer, 2010, p 371). Once

critical, the role of physical activity programs that

exist in schools for people with disabilities in

maintaining health and improving self-esteem,

quality of life and improving their interpersonal

relationships with colleagues, families and

community members in various settings, Gąciarz,

Ostrowska, & Pańków (2008, quoted from

Kamelska and Mazurek 2015, p. 32) explains that

physical activity can increase self-esteem and make

it easier for them to socialize and perform their day-

to-day work.

Perceptions possess subjective qualities, because

they depend on the abilities and circumstances of

each individual, so that they will be interpreted

differently by individuals with each other. Thus

Physical Activity for the Blind from the Principal’s Perception

159

perception is the process of individual treatment is

the giving of responses, meaning, picture, or an

interpretation ofo what is seen, heard, or felt by the

senses in the form of attitude, opinion, and behavior

or referred to as individual behavior. As David

Krech Richard S. Sructchifield and Egerton L.

Ballachey 1962 exemplifies three cognitive systems

in a person that affect his perceptions and his

judgment of others, the halo effect, the theory of

implicit personality and stereotypes. The halo effect

in which the tendency in forming an impression or

judgment on a particular characteristic of an

individual to be influenced by a person's general

impression. If an impression is generally favored, it

will judge too well on the desired traits; if the

impression is generally bad, the opposite effect will

emerge. Halo produces a very high correlation

between character judgments. Implicit personality

theory. An individual‘s beliefs about the way in

which traits are generally interrelated in people, that

is, the belief that when you identify the nature of x

in a person, he will also have the nature of y. The

relationship of the nature that forms the theory of

individual implicit personality forms a cognitive

system that influences the accuracy of perceptions

and judgments on people. The implicit personality

theory of members of the same culture tends to have

something in common. Stereotype. Cognition is

relatively simple, especially from a social group for

example, all oriental people have the same

look. Stereotypes tend to be widely accepted in

members of a particular society. Stereotypes can be

viewed as an example of a partial whole-principle in

cognition in which our assessment of the particular

individual members of a group is influenced by our

stereotype of the group in which the individual is

incorporated therein.

The absence of a blind physical activity depends

on the extent to which the principal's response is to

the principal. because the success of the school is

determined by a strong leader and has a high

motivation in implementing the program “... (Gous,

Eloff, Moen, 2013, p 538) because leaders of people

who are able to set goals, vision, mission, able to

motivate subordinates and parents.“ “... research has

found that the principal plays a critical role in

making policymakers' visions for data use a reality

at the school and classroom levels...“ (Levin &

Datnow, 2008, p 179). The above explanation makes

the writer interested to examine more deeply how

the physical activity for the blind is viewed from the

principal's perception.

2 METHODS

2.1 Participants

Participants in the study included policy makers,

teachers, students, and parents and groups who

participated in social interaction on selected

samples.

2.2 Procedures

The method used in this research is qualitative

method by using observation technique, interview.

The use of observational techniques in this study

was conducted directly and non-participation

(incidental). The purpose of the use of this technique

is to understand the model of parenting pattern that

is done by the family especially the parents, since

the child is born. To help data recording in the field,

researchers were assisted by the camera and voice

recording tool. From daily data retrieval the

researcher directly develops into a description, then

analysed, developed, categorized, formulated. The

results of these activities are then used as a basis in

finding the habit of each participant's behavior in

every physical activity in his life. While Interviews

are prepared based on programs that have been and

are being done by the principal that supports the

physical activity of the students. Formulation of

interview questions after the field in accordance with

the conditions that occur based on the acquisition of

perceptions related to participants in the delivery of

principal confidence that is affected by the program.

2.3 Instruments

Instruments used in qualitative research are in the

form of observation sheets, interview sheets and

documentation with respect to the principle of

credibility, transferability, dependability, and

confirmability

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Interview with school principal of Citeureup Special

School. In principle, the curriculum runs well

because basically the results of the assessment of

ICSSHPE 2017 - 2nd International Conference on Sports Science, Health and Physical Education

160

learners, especially for the blind curriculum tailored

to the degree of their blindness. There is a low vision

and total blind. For the low vision, physical

activities such as running does not experience too

manu obstacles but for the total blind, they needs to

be adapted, to overcome it. In the Extraordinary

School is in the subject of mobility orientation and

Physical Education Sport and Health. But teachers

who hold competency orientation lessons of

competence are limited, so it needs renewal. So also

for the lessons of Physical Education Sport and

Health is still held by teachers who field. It is

necessary to have a well-designed curriculum that

can be adapted to the child's condition and the needs

of the child in terms of physical activity. During this

time teachers especially teachers’ mobility

orientation and Physical Education Sport and Health

still generalize in the process of the field, so that

children with visual impairment, especially the total

vision have difficulty to follow. So that the physical

abilities of blind children are limited, for example

the activities of each course of their mobility

orientation are only doing walking activities only,

while activities such as gymnastic Physical

Freshness or their games have difficulties, plus

facilities and infrastructure for the activities of

physically visually impaired children who are still

standard. The results of Haegele & Porretta's

research 2015 Show that: Major findings suggest

that low levels of visual acuity or educational setting

are rather than visual acuity or educational settings.

(p. 68) Low levels of physical activity of the blind

for school-age that may be associated with perceived

participation barriers including availability of

appropriate opportunities for sight or educational

setting

The importance of trust that the principal creates

not only determines success in the educational

process, especially physical education, but with a

particular belief in inclusive education that is

expected to overcome the vulnerability and

uncertainty experienced by children with disabilities

in doing the learning process in school, as in the

Journal of Mental Health, Research suggests that

trust is vital for quality healthcare and effective

outcomes. Trust becomes necessary in conditions of

vulnerability and uncertainty. The headmaster who

sets the direction of the school, is responsible for

building and maintaining good relationships with

teachers, staff and parents, by giving an opportunity

to include in any upgrading or training is one of the

principal's steps in maintaining the trust of a teacher,

it must already be included in the program that the

principal has designed. the principal should be a role

model both in the behavior and language in school

and in the community, because basically a leader is

trusted and not trusted because of several factors

such as intentions, actions and consequences: In

belief there are several aspects such as virtue,

reliability, competence, integrity, openness and

respect.

4 CONCLUSIONS

Headmaster's perception on the physical activity of

the blind child when viewed from the curriculum has

fulfilled the needs of blind children but for the

application of the field has not been maximized, this

is due to the limited teacher competence and the

infrastructure facilities that are still standard,

especially for children with visual impairment. The

process of physical activity of the visually impaired

child in Special School A is still at a low level, ie

only walking activity, goal ball, but other activities

such as running, SKJ gymnastics, swimming and

other gaming activities that have not been done.

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