Measuring levels of self-esteem of students with visual impairments in regular schools in Tanzania

The global statistics show that more than 2.2 billion people are either faced with vision impairment or blindness. Visual impairment has been shown to affect young people's emotional and psychological well-being, and has a profound effect on education attainment. This study assessed the levels of self-esteem of students with visual impairments in regular secondary schools in Tanzania. This was a cross-sectional research study. Self-esteem of students with visual impairment was studied in a group of 55 students included in two regular secondary schools enrolling students with visual impairments in Ruvuma and Iringa regions in Tanzania mainland. A set of self-esteem aspects was used to construct the outcome variable. Levels of self-esteem of students were obtained using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The findings show 7.3% and 92.7% of students with visual impairments constitutes low and high self-esteem respectively. Levels of self-esteem for students with visual impairments were independent of students' class (p = .440), sex (p = .528) and type of disability (p = .169). Intrinsic self-esteem is more advocated among students with visual impairments in regular secondary schools in Tanzania. Further study on the relationship between levels of self-esteem and students' performance needs to be addressed. Self-esteem was self-reported by students without any means of confirmation of the responses. This may have affected the estimated prevalence levels of students' self-esteem.