Relationship Between Utilization Of Assistive Hearing Technology And Academic Achievement Of Learners In Schools For The Deaf In Kakamega County, Kenya

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to find out the relationship between utilization of assistive hearing technology and academic achievement of learners with hearing impairment. Studies indicate that learners with hearing impairment lack assistive hearing devices and also achieve lowly academically not only in Kenya but in the whole of Africa continent. In Kenya, academic achievement of learners with hearing impairment tend to trail behind that of their hearing counterparts. When it comes to ranking of the schools academically, the schools for the deaf are always last. Very many factors have been explored by researchers to affect academic achievement of these learners. Despite the fact that prior research reveals that assistive hearing technology are missing in schools for learners with hearing impairment, no single study has been done to explore the relationship that exists between the assistive hearing devices and the academic achievement of learners with hearing impairment. It was thus of great urgency to find out the effect that utilization of assistive hearing technology has on the learners’ academic achievement. The central problem of this study was to unearth the relationship that exists between utilization assistive hearing technology and academic achievement of learners with hearing impairment. The specific objectives were to; find out the assistive technology need among learners with hearing impairment, identify the types of assistive hearing technological devices available in schools for the deaf, establish the academic achievement of learners with hearing impairment and to evaluate the challenges faced by learners with hearing impairment while using the assistive hearing technology. The study was guided by the learning theory and a survey design. The design was used because it helps in describing phenomena as it is naturally. The target population consisted of learners with hearing impairment and the two head teachers in St. Martins School for the deaf and Kakamega School for the deaf. Using purposive sampling, a sample of learners with hearing impairment was selected. The data in this study was collected using questionnaires, conducting interviews and reviewing documentations. Pilot study was done in St. Anthony School for the deaf. Quantitative data was analyzed quantitatively using SPSS while qualitative data was analyzed qualitatively. The possible beneficiaries of this research may range from policy makers, teachers of learners with hearing impairment, experts in the area of hearing impairment, nongovernmental organizations to parents of learners with HI. The research would contribute to the existing knowledge by providing information about the relationship between utilization assistive hearing technology and academic achievement of learners with hearing impairment. The study revealed that a majority of learners in schools for the deaf are hard of hearing and thus need assistive hearing devices individual hearing aids were the only assistive hearing device in schools for the deaf in Kakamega County. Another finding was that cademic achievement of learners with hearing impairment is low, hearing aids being noisy, there are no technicians in the schools to fix the aids as well as fine tune them, they are very expensive and their parents are poor thus can’t afford them, they advertises their deafness and makes all people to know that they have a hearing impairment, they call for unnecessary attention and that they don’t want to be seen with hearing aids and lastly, they break. There is also a positive relationship between utilization of assistive hearing technology and academic achievement of learners with hearing impairment and finally there is a significant positive relationship between assistive hearing technology need and assistive hearing technology available in schools for the deaf in Kakamega County.