Academic Success of Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing in Mainstream Higher Education
| Autor: | van den Heuij, Kirsten Maria Louise |
|---|---|
| Přispěvatelé: | Coene, Martine, Govaerts, Paul, Goverts, Sietze Theodoor, Neijenhuis, Karin, Language, Network Institute |
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2023 |
| Předmět: |
Studiesucces
Classroom Acoustics Language Proficiency Academic Success spraak-in-ruis klassen akoestiek dove- en slechthorende studenten Higher Education Academic Language [Language Proficiency] Speech-in-Noise Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing hoger onderwijs academische taal taalvaardigheid Studiesucces dove- en slechthorende studenten hoger onderwijs academische taal taalvaardigheid klassen akoestiek spraak-in-ruis |
| Zdroj: | van den Heuij, K M L 2023, ' Academic Success of Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing in Mainstream Higher Education ', PhD, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam . https://doi.org/10.48273/LOT0645 |
| DOI: | 10.48273/LOT0645 |
| Popis: | Early diagnosis of hearing loss and subsequent appropriate and timely rehabilitation by means of hearing aids (HA) or cochlear implants (CI) is of great importance for the language development of people who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH). Research into auditory rehabilitation with HA or CI has shown promising results achieved in the language proficiency of children who are DHH. Having access to the auditory signal at a young age positively affects children’s auditory receptive abilities, their consecutively developing language abilities and their possibility to integrate into mainstream schools. Children who are DHH usually accommodate themselves easily in mainstream primary or secondary schools and often achieve educational levels similar to those of their peers with typical hearing (TH). However, at the social and emotional level children who are DHH can be at risk, as they reported more depressive symptoms were less popular than their peers with TH. Whereas special primary education and special secondary education is available for children who need specialist support, for students who are DHH who wish to enroll in a university or college, mainstream education programs are the only option in The Netherlands. Once they are enrolled in mainstream higher education, it is non self-evident for students who are deaf or hard of hearing to achieve academic success. In addition to the general individual differences observed among students, the academic success of students who are DHH will also be affected by factors directly and indirectly related to their hearing loss. Over the past years, many barriers to academic success in higher education programs have been identified, and new ones are manifesting themselves, as students who are DHH continue to experience reduced access to social opportunities and inclusion, in spite of clear efforts towards tailored and inclusive education programs. The overarching goal of the work described in this dissertation is to get insight into academic performances and experiences of students who are deaf or hard of hearing in mainstream higher education and to what extent proper access to academic language may affect their educational career. In this respect, first the higher educational listening contexts in which students are taught were evaluated by means of a questionnaire to assess the quality of the listening experiences of higher educational students and by means of the measurement of classroom acoustics in a representative set of university classrooms. Furthermore, performance scores of students on language proficiency tests and non-verbal intelligence subtests were evaluated and finally, to get a more in-depth understanding on the students with DHH’s functioning in mainstream higher education based on their own perspectives and experiences, a qualitative study was conducted. The outcomes revealed that even for students with typical hearing, the current acoustic environment of Dutch higher education institutions is not optimal for learning. However, once enrolled in a mainstream higher educational program, students who are DHH perform equally well as their peers with TH on cognitive and linguistic tests. Furthermore, no statistically significant correlations between the level of hearing loss or the level of hearing performance and the academic language performance of the students were found. This indicates that academic success in students who are DHH only partially depends on receptive linguistic capacities. Strong cognitive skills might compensate for the missed information in the auditive signal and/or students who are DHH have developed coping mechanisms. To facilitate learning for all students, based on the acquired insights from this thesis it is recommended to: i) improve the acoustic environment in higher education, ii) encourage the use of a microphone by lecturers and iii) suppress/avoid environmental noise in classrooms, lecture halls and skills labs in higher education. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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