The importance of high performance sports in social inclusion of blind people: A study centered on Benjamin Constant Institute - Brazil

Abstract

The population of disabled people is growing each day, producing social problems that interfere straightly in the capacity of life of this segment. The objective of this inquiry was to investigate the high performance sport as a contribution for social inclusion of blind athletes of the Benjamin Constant Institute. It was observed that the previous students of the Institute, up to two decades before, did not proceed in their studies, although they had egalitarian and constitutional opportunity as a Brazilian citizen. Ten blind athletes, previous students of the Institute from 1994 to 1998, were interviewed. They had, at the time of the research, the high performance athletes’ condition and were at the same time citizens, who work, study and are independent. The inquiry used the qualitative method, employing the semi-structured interview as the instrument of investigation (Flick, 2005; Ruquoy, 2005). The “Content Analysis” technique was used to treat the data (Minayo et al., 2002). The results were organized around three categories: the importance of the sport, orientation and mobility, and life before and after being an athlete. The inquiry concluded that high performance sport contributed to the social inclusion of all the interviewed ones. His testimonies hold the sport responsible as a primordial factor for realization of part of his ideals, suggesting this practice in all the institutions of special teaching.