The exclusion of teaching and learning environment for children with hearing impair-ment. A case study of Domboramwari primary school in Epworth

Abstract

This study explored the exclusion of teaching and learning environment for children with hearing impairment. The study was conducted at Domboramwari primary school in Epworth. The broader aim of the study was is to analyse the exclusion teaching and learning environ-ment for children with hearing impairment at Domboramwari Primary School in Epworth l in Epworth. The objectives of the study were to investigate the drivers of exclusion for chil-dren with hearing impairment at Domboram-wari Primary school. Another objective was to investigate the innovative interventions being undertaken by stakeholders to ensure the inclu-sion of children with hearing impairments. The last objective was to recommend strategies to be used for interventions to be effective for inclusion of children with hearing impairments in mainstreams schools. The study employed an explanatory research design. Thus the study was qualitative in nature and it employed in-depth interviews for data collection. The princi-ple of data saturation was employed to sample the 10 participants who participated in this study. The study found out that the drivers of exclusion of teaching and learning environment for children with hearing impairment was stigma the face both from the community and from also the family discrimination, harassment and victimization, lack of training among the teaching staff lack of resources within schools and Covid 19 lockdown. The innovative inter-vention which was undertaken by the stakeholders was drafting and implementing policies to make an inclusionary effort for children with hearing impairments by the ministry of primary and secondary education. Teaching children in schools on how to interact and engage other students with disabilities and making a prerequisite for all students in the teaching field in colleges to learn sign language are some of the interventions which were undertaken. It was concluded that the use of technology and updating the new curriculum in learning facilities is one of the strategies which can be used by stakeholders. The study recommends that the min-istry of education, voluntary organisations and the government should have educational strategies and policies on inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream schools.