Beyond Sight: Tactile Teaching Strategies for Enhancing Awareness on Body Boundary and Autonomy in Students with Visual Impairments

This study explores the effectiveness of a tactile-based instructional strategy and tools designed for students with visual impairments. The approach aims to enhance their understanding of body boundaries and body autonomy. It fosters empathy, mutual respect, and an intuitive comprehension of differences between their bodies and those of others. An exploratory mixed-methods approach was employed, combining qualitative data collection and analysis with quantitative methods. The research involved expert semi-structured interviews, body boundary recognition activity tests, and the Instructional Materials Motivation Survey (IMMS) to evaluate the strategies and tools. Sixteen students participated, including eight with blindness and eight with low vision. Key findings demonstrated that body awareness tactile learning and real-world applications helped evaluate the teaching strategies’ impact. Participants’ feedback revealed that these activities deepened their understanding of sexual education and body boundaries while enhancing their respect for body autonomy. These findings underscore the effectiveness of the proposed teaching strategies, addressing challenges in traditional methods by providing an intuitive way for students to understand others’ body boundaries through interactive tactile activities.