Abstract:

Students in higher education who are deaf and hard-of-hearing (d/hh) face several barriers, which impede their academic access, do not enable them to complete their studies and graduate. Many of these barriers are associated with the communication and learning environments and the support services provided in higher education institutions. The aim of the current study is to examine the learning and communication barriers for students who are d/hh during the lectures in higher education institutions. Fifteen d/hh students from five higher education institutions in Greece participated in the study. A semi-structured interview was used to explore the participants’ experiences and the data were analysed in a qualitative way. Based on the findings of the study, the participants faced major communication barriers during the lectures in relation to their teacher and their co-students, which did not enable them to have access to the content of the lecture and participate during the lectures. These communication barriers were attributed to the physical environment of the classrooms but were also linked with the teachers’ and the interpreters’ knowledge, skills and practices. The results of this study indicate an urgent need for the development of accessible and inclusive learning environments in higher education, which will enable students who are d/hh to respond to the demanding academic requirements of higher education, get a degree and enhance their employment potentials.

Keywords:

Access, inclusion, deaf, hard-of-hearing, higher education.