Factors associated with school participation among students with hearing loss

Abstract

The aim of this study is to explore teachers’ views on school participation of students with hearing loss (HL) and to examine the association between students’ school participation and factors related to the framework of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health for Children and Youth (ICF-CY). A total of 167 teachers participated in the study. Structural equation modelling was performed to explore relationships among the factors. The teachers considered the students to be socially included and to participate academically almost at the same level as their typical classmates. A multifaceted interaction between ICF-CY factors and students’ participation in academic activities was found. Personal factors such as ‘academic skills and motivation’ explained most of the variance in academic participation, and were also associated with activity and environmental factors. Efforts to understand their classmates directly and indirectly associated with academic participation. Students with mild and severe HL appeared to have same level of participation rate. The parents’ involvement in their children’s schooling and the use of amplification systems were related to academic participation but not to social participation. A few factors associated with social participation; in those cases, having other disabilities in addition to HL explained most of the variance.

Keywords

• Hearing loss
• inclusive schools
• participation