Self acceptance and socio-emotional adjustment in relation to level of aspiration among hearing impaired secondary school students in inclusive and special schools

Abstract

One of the major aims of Education in the changing world is to benefit all learners including those with special educational needs. For a few decades, many developments have been taking place in the field of education of children with Special needs at the national and International level. In India, there are various types of educational practices imparted for Special needs children through Special education and Inclusive education. Studies reveal that the number of children with special needs who receive their education from Inclusive schools is rapidly increasing (Eriks, Brophy & Whittingham, 2013), at the same time the present Inclusive system could not address the problems of Special needs children effectively, especially Hearing impaired children (Das, Kuyini and Desai (2018). There are few studies conducted in Kerala on whether Inclusive education or Special education is more beneficial for hearing impaired children. In this, no single study investigated the effect of Self acceptance and Socio-emotional adjustment on the Level of Aspiration of Hearing Impaired children. The objectives of the study were to find out the effect of gender and School settings (Inclusive vs. Special) on the Self acceptance, Socio-emotional adjustment, and Level of Aspiration of Hearing Impaired secondary school students. This study intended to understand the relationship between Self acceptance, Socio-emotional adjustment, and Level of Aspiration and to predict the Level of Aspiration of Hearing Impaired secondary school students based on their Self acceptance and Socio-emotional adjustment. Descriptive survey method was used in the study. The sample consisted of 278 Hearing Impaired secondary school students from Inclusive and Special schools in Kerala. The independent variables were Self acceptance and Socio-emotional adjustment while the dependent variable was Level of Aspiration. Test of Significance of Difference between Means for Large Independent Samples, Correlation Analysis, and Stepwise Multiple Regression Analysis were used as Statistical techniques in the study. Tools used in the study were Self acceptance Scale (Bincy & Meera, 2017), Socio-emotional Adjustment Scale (Bincy & Meera, 2017) and Level of Aspiration Scale (Bincy & Meera, 2017). Self-acceptance and Social-emotional adjustment of Hearing Impaired children differed significantly by school setting and gender status. Aspiration levels of Hearing Impaired children differed by school setting but did not differ significantly by gender status. There was a significant substantially positive relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable. The dimensions of predictor variables i.e., Emotional Adjustment, Tolerance, and Social Adjustment can jointly contribute to 28.7% of the observed variance of the Level of Aspiration for the total sample and it was significant. To raise the Educational and Vocational Aspirations of Hearing Impaired children, adequate special education teachers should be appointed in all inclusive schools. Besides, the general education teachers need to be specially trained and sensitized to manage Special needs children. As the educational and career aspirations of Hearing impaired children are low, a more suitable curriculum has to be introduced to Hearing impaired children. Vocational training is made compulsory as part of the education of Special needs children, especially the Hearing Impaired, It is recommended that the Government should ensure the quality of hearing aids provided free of cost to children with hearing impairment. Conducting school-based screening programs like newborn hearing screening programs, may avoid unaddressed hearing problems and help to implement effective interventions at the school level itself. Establish a system that regularly evaluates the implementation and effectiveness of various government programs and projects to support the needs of Hearing Impaired children.