Interaction between learners who are hard of hearing and hearing peers in regular classrooms : a case study of learners who are hard of hearing in two regular schools in Oshana education region in Namibia

Abstract

Recent trends in special needs education advocate the inclusion of children with special needs, including learners who are hard of hearing, in regular schools whenever possible. It is therefore necessary that the environment in the regular classrooms should be conducive to facilitate the interaction, learning, development, participation and working together of learners who are hard of hearing with their peers. For this to be realized, learners who are hard of hearing should freely interact with their hearing peers in various activities.

As a natural phenomenon which occurs amongst human beings, interaction plays an integral part in everyday life. The interaction process involves what people actually do when they influence each other s behaviour. Many factors may hinder or sustain the interaction process. This study is an attempt to investigate the interaction between the learners who are hard of hearing and their hearing peers in regular classrooms in the Oshana Educational Region in Namibia and to describe the initiatives and their participation in classroom activities.

A qualitative research and case study design were used. Data was collected by means of observation, with the help of video camera recording for capturing the data. Five learners who are hard of hearing in regular classrooms and were identified by the Hearing Assessment and Research Centre project were purposefully sampled. Three learners were from one school and two from another school.

The results obtained indicate that learners who are hard of hearing interact favourably with their hearing peers despite the verbal communication barriers that exist. The results of this study call for the recognition of learners who are hard of hearing in regular classrooms. Proper planning as regards the inclusion and awareness of learners who are hard of hearing is needed. Sensitization of the public and education need to be vigorous so that the regional administrators, school counsellors, school community, parents and all other stakeholders know their roles and the needs of individuals with disabilities, and in particular those who are hard of hearing. A policy guideline will improve service at all levels of government.