A Glimpse into the Lived Experiences and Challenges Faced of PWD Students towards Online Learning in the Philippines Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic

Psychology, Sociology

Amidst the global pandemic, everyone is allowed to be vulnerable and heightened by burnout. But the most unheard and most vulnerable voices linger among persons with disabilities. Persons with disabilities (PWDs) are one of the concerns in society. But, social exclusions and biases put PWDs in a disadvantageous position. There has always been an issue in employment, social roles, and accessibility to education. These issues are eventually turning into self-doubt and feelings of inferiority, which are reasonable evidence suggesting that persons with disabilities received negative attitudes from non-PWD individuals. This study’s primary goal is to explore the lived experiences of PWD Students towards online learning during the pandemic, specifically, describe their experiences, challenges faced, and coping mechanisms. Employing the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), the findings of the study were: (1) PWD students experienced social exclusions primarily in the rise of online learning during the pandemic. (2) Most of the PWD students were challenged by the limitations of assistive technologies and internet connectivity. (3) PWD students remained resilient because of having a healthy support system behind them.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.