13 Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC)

Introduction

The ECC refers to nine essential skill areas where blind and low vision students will require direct, systematic instruction instead of relying on skills to be acquired incidentally through observation of others, as may be the case for typically sighted peers. The ECC includes compensatory access, assistive technology, orientation and mobility, independent living, social interaction, recreation and leisure, career education, sensory efficiency, and self-determination (Allman & Lewis, 2014). Students require specialized tools and strategies delivered through direct instruction from a qualified Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI). In addition to providing direct instruction in ECC knowledge and skills, the TVI also coordinates learning opportunities in collaboration with members of the student’s educational team to ensure sufficient breadth and depth of learning in these essential areas. Rich learning opportunities in the ECC may present across a range of home, school, and community contexts, and so knowledge and skill development in the ECC can best be characterized as a shared project involving the student, their educational team, and related service agencies and organizations. 

The ECC is generally consistent across North America. Please review the Provincial Resource Centre for the Visually Impaired’s nine modules (PRCVI, n.d.) that link the ECC to the British Columbia K-12 Curriculum and resources to support instruction or this 55-minute recorded webinar to learn about how the ECC is an educational and legal requirement when considering the U.S.’s Individual with Disabilities Education Act (Brown et al., 2021).

Compensatory access or compensatory skills

Compensatory access includes the critical skills students need to access information and succeed in school. Examples include communication (e.g., speaking, listening, and writing), literacy skills (e.g., reading and writing using braille and Nemeth, large print, digital formats, or auditory means), concept development, and organizational and study skills. Compensatory skills help students to access functional academics or the general education curriculum.

Orientation and mobility (O&M)

O&M includes instruction on spatial awareness, positional concepts, and navigation within familiar and unfamiliar environments to be safe and efficient. Instruction may include body concepts, long white cane travel, guide techniques (previously known as “human guide” or “sighted guide”), street crossings, public transportation, community travel, recognition of cues and landmarks, and use of navigation technology, such as GPS apps.

Independent living skills

Independent living skills cover adaptive behaviors needed to function independently in school, home, and the community. Examples include personal hygiene, time and money management, food preparation and consumption, clothing care, organization of belongings, and household tasks.

Assistive technology or access technology skills

Assistive or access technology includes tools and skills that improve functioning for learning, communication, and more. High-tech and low-tech devices and strategies enhance access, participation, and independence in the educational, home, work, and community environments. Specific examples include braillers, refreshable braille displays, braille note-takers, magnification software and devices, optical character recognition software, screenreading software, speech-to-text software, keyboarding, and accessible ebook apps.

Social interaction skills

Social skills instruction helps students to understand and participate actively in social situations. Direct instruction may include understanding and engaging in social communication, social behaviors, and perspective-taking. Specific examples include turning toward others when speaking or being spoken to, using language to make a request, declining assistance, expressing a need, expressing emotion and affection appropriately, and participating in conversations in various situations.

Sensory efficiency skills

Sensory efficiency instruction involves using the senses to access and use information from the environment, including any functional vision, hearing, touch, smell, proprioception, vestibular, and other senses. Lessons can include practicing using optical devices, augmentative and alternative communication devices, tactile discrimination, and listening skills.

Self-determination skills

Self-determination skills include self-awareness, goal-setting, decision-making, self-advocacy, and problem-solving skills. Instruction may include researching the students’ visual conditions, learning to request accommodations, developing goals based on interests and values, and recognizing personal strengths and challenges.

Career and vocational education skills

The 2017 American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau found that “44 percent of people who are blind or visually impaired are employed, compared with 79 percent of those without disabilities” (American Foundation for the Blind, n.d., A Quick Overview of Employment Statistics section). This disparity highlights the need to carefully prepare blind and low vision students for independence and transition into their postsecondary and/or vocational life. Instruction in career and vocational education provides skills that enable students to move toward working as adults. Examples include learning about jobs and work roles at a developmentally appropriate level, exploring and expressing preferences about work roles, assuming responsibilities for chores or work at home and school, understanding concepts of reward for work, participating in job and volunteer experiences, and developing resume writing and interviewing skills.

Recreation and leisure skills

Recreation and leisure instruction allows students to explore and experience activities for leisure and enjoyment. Lessons in this ECC area can include making choices about how to spend leisure time, learning adapted games or sports, actively participating in physical and social recreational activities, following rules in games and activities, and discovering options for group or individual activities.

References

Allman, C. B., & Lewis, S. (2014). A strong foundation: The importance of the expanded core curriculum. In C.B. Allman & S. Lewis (Eds.), ECC essentials: Teaching the expanded core curriculum to students with visual impairments (pp. 15–30). AFB Press. https://www.aph.org/product/ecc-essentials-teaching-the-expanded-core-curriculum-to-students-with-visual-impairments/

American Foundation for the Blind. (n.d.). Reviewing the disability employment research on people who are blind or visually impaired: Key takeaways. https://www.afb.org/research-and-initiatives/employment/reviewing-disability-employment-research-people-blind-visually#:~:text=Only%2044%20percent%20of%20people,percent%20of%20those%20without%20disabilities

Brown, L., Campbell, A., Conrad, T., Panikkar, R. K., & Lewis, S. [APH-American Printing House for the Blind]. (2021, July 28). Expanded core curriculum (ECC): An educational and legal requirement [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/EYT5ZOYYVao

Provincial Resource Centre for the Visually Impaired. (n.d.). The expanded core curriculum. https://www.prcvi.org/resources/the-expanded-core-curriculum/