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Looking for Lost Notes: Participatory Case Study of a Family of Three Brothers with Albinism

Received: 22 November 2022    Accepted: 12 December 2022    Published: 23 December 2022
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Abstract

Introduction: Albinism is an inherited genetic disorder that reduces the amount of melanin that forms in the skin, hair, and/or eyes. Albinism is one of the most common causes of visual impairment in children in the United States. The aim of this study was to (1) gain overall insight into the music learning of three brothers with albinism and (2) investigate how the teacher’s proficiency and parents’ perceptions of children’s visual impairment contribute to their learning outcomes. Methods: A qualitative case study was conducted with a family of three albino brothers as the unit of analysis. The mother’s and instrumental teachers’ qualitative data were also used for triangulation purposes. The interview questions enabled an analysis of comparable numerical data and subjectively perceived experiences and opinions. A complete observation was also conducted for methodological triangulation. Results: The three brothers rated the visual approach as the most effective. The albino students preferred to use enlarged scores, positioning the music score close to the student, and additional lighting. Hong Kong has prolonged discrimination against albino families. Teacher’s ignorance of albinism and visual impairment means that they fail to provide appropriate special education opportunities for students. Discussion: The data from this study revealed that the three albino children had no sensory compensation, as they had never received special training in how to promote their non-visual senses. Parents with albino children are afraid of stigmatization due to prolonged discrimination and labeling from outsiders. This study also shows that teacher development generally lacks the elements of teaching visually impaired students. Implications for practitioners: This study improves our understanding of music teaching pedagogies for visually impaired children and summarizes the challenges in terms of the physical and social settings that albino learners of music and their parents face.

Published in International Journal of Education, Culture and Society (Volume 7, Issue 6)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijecs.20220706.14
Page(s) 274-281
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Albinism, Visual Impairment, Instrumental Learning, Stigmatization, Qualitative Case Study, Hong Kong

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  • APA Style

    Wai Ting Chan, King Cheung Calvin Lee. (2022). Looking for Lost Notes: Participatory Case Study of a Family of Three Brothers with Albinism. International Journal of Education, Culture and Society, 7(6), 274-281. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20220706.14

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    Wai Ting Chan; King Cheung Calvin Lee. Looking for Lost Notes: Participatory Case Study of a Family of Three Brothers with Albinism. Int. J. Educ. Cult. Soc. 2022, 7(6), 274-281. doi: 10.11648/j.ijecs.20220706.14

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    AMA Style

    Wai Ting Chan, King Cheung Calvin Lee. Looking for Lost Notes: Participatory Case Study of a Family of Three Brothers with Albinism. Int J Educ Cult Soc. 2022;7(6):274-281. doi: 10.11648/j.ijecs.20220706.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijecs.20220706.14,
      author = {Wai Ting Chan and King Cheung Calvin Lee},
      title = {Looking for Lost Notes: Participatory Case Study of a Family of Three Brothers with Albinism},
      journal = {International Journal of Education, Culture and Society},
      volume = {7},
      number = {6},
      pages = {274-281},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijecs.20220706.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20220706.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijecs.20220706.14},
      abstract = {Introduction: Albinism is an inherited genetic disorder that reduces the amount of melanin that forms in the skin, hair, and/or eyes. Albinism is one of the most common causes of visual impairment in children in the United States. The aim of this study was to (1) gain overall insight into the music learning of three brothers with albinism and (2) investigate how the teacher’s proficiency and parents’ perceptions of children’s visual impairment contribute to their learning outcomes. Methods: A qualitative case study was conducted with a family of three albino brothers as the unit of analysis. The mother’s and instrumental teachers’ qualitative data were also used for triangulation purposes. The interview questions enabled an analysis of comparable numerical data and subjectively perceived experiences and opinions. A complete observation was also conducted for methodological triangulation. Results: The three brothers rated the visual approach as the most effective. The albino students preferred to use enlarged scores, positioning the music score close to the student, and additional lighting. Hong Kong has prolonged discrimination against albino families. Teacher’s ignorance of albinism and visual impairment means that they fail to provide appropriate special education opportunities for students. Discussion: The data from this study revealed that the three albino children had no sensory compensation, as they had never received special training in how to promote their non-visual senses. Parents with albino children are afraid of stigmatization due to prolonged discrimination and labeling from outsiders. This study also shows that teacher development generally lacks the elements of teaching visually impaired students. Implications for practitioners: This study improves our understanding of music teaching pedagogies for visually impaired children and summarizes the challenges in terms of the physical and social settings that albino learners of music and their parents face.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Looking for Lost Notes: Participatory Case Study of a Family of Three Brothers with Albinism
    AU  - Wai Ting Chan
    AU  - King Cheung Calvin Lee
    Y1  - 2022/12/23
    PY  - 2022
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20220706.14
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijecs.20220706.14
    T2  - International Journal of Education, Culture and Society
    JF  - International Journal of Education, Culture and Society
    JO  - International Journal of Education, Culture and Society
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
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    AB  - Introduction: Albinism is an inherited genetic disorder that reduces the amount of melanin that forms in the skin, hair, and/or eyes. Albinism is one of the most common causes of visual impairment in children in the United States. The aim of this study was to (1) gain overall insight into the music learning of three brothers with albinism and (2) investigate how the teacher’s proficiency and parents’ perceptions of children’s visual impairment contribute to their learning outcomes. Methods: A qualitative case study was conducted with a family of three albino brothers as the unit of analysis. The mother’s and instrumental teachers’ qualitative data were also used for triangulation purposes. The interview questions enabled an analysis of comparable numerical data and subjectively perceived experiences and opinions. A complete observation was also conducted for methodological triangulation. Results: The three brothers rated the visual approach as the most effective. The albino students preferred to use enlarged scores, positioning the music score close to the student, and additional lighting. Hong Kong has prolonged discrimination against albino families. Teacher’s ignorance of albinism and visual impairment means that they fail to provide appropriate special education opportunities for students. Discussion: The data from this study revealed that the three albino children had no sensory compensation, as they had never received special training in how to promote their non-visual senses. Parents with albino children are afraid of stigmatization due to prolonged discrimination and labeling from outsiders. This study also shows that teacher development generally lacks the elements of teaching visually impaired students. Implications for practitioners: This study improves our understanding of music teaching pedagogies for visually impaired children and summarizes the challenges in terms of the physical and social settings that albino learners of music and their parents face.
    VL  - 7
    IS  - 6
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Philosophy, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

  • Department of Cultural and Creative Arts, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

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