Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students' Experiences in Mainstream and Separate Postsecondary Education

• Published in: Journal of deaf studies and deaf education Vol. 15; no. 4; pp. 358 - 382
• Main Authors: Richardson, John T. E., Marschark, Marc, Sarchet, Thomastine, Sapere, Patricia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cary, NC Oxford University Press 01.10.2010; Oxford Publishing Limited (England)
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Access to Information; Adolescent; Auditory perception; Biological and medical sciences; Classroom Communication; College students; Communication; Comparative Analysis; Deaf education; Deafness; Deafness - psychology; Discriminant Analysis; Ear, auditive nerve, cochleovestibular tract, facial nerve: diseases, semeiology; Educational Measurement; Educational psychology; Educational Status; Empirical Articles; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Failure; Feedback (Response); Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Handicap; Hearing Impairments; Hearing Loss - psychology; Higher education; Humans; Learning; Mainstreaming; Mainstreaming (Education); Male; Medical sciences; Memorization; Non tumoral diseases; Otorhinolaryngology. Stomatology; Perceptions; Postsecondary Education; Psychology and medicine; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Pupil and student. Academic achievement and failure; Questionnaires; Saliency; Skill Development; Social interaction; Student Attitudes; Student Motivation; Student Participation; Student Placement; Students; Surveys and Questionnaires; Teacher Competencies; Teacher Effectiveness; Teacher Student Relationship; Teachers; Teaching; Teaching Methods; Technical institutes; Workloads; Young Adult; Human; Academic achievement; Auditory disorder; ENT disease; Student; Sensory handicap; School environment; Social participation; Communication; Hearing loss
• ISSN: 1081-4159; 1465-7325
• DOI: 10.1093/deafed/enq030

In order to better understand academic achievement among deaf and hard-of-hearing students in different educational placements, an exploratory study examined the experiences of postsecondary students enrolled in mainstream programs with hearing students) versus separate programs (without hearing students) at the same institution. The Course Experience Questionnaire, the Revised Approaches to Studying Inventory, and the Classroom Participation Qpestionnaire were utilized to obtain information concerning their perceptions, participation, and access to information in the classroom. Both groups were concerned with good teaching and the acquisition of generic skills. Both were motivated by the demands of their assessments and by a fear of failure while being alert to both positive and negative affect in their classroom interactions. Overall, students in separate classes were more positive about workload expectations, instructor feedback, and the choices they had in coursework. Students in mainstream classes were more positive about their acquisition of analytic skills (rather than rote memorization) and about their instructors' interest in them, including flexibility in methods of assessment.