Educational interventions for deaf and hard-of-hearing children in preschool: a systematic review

Abstract

ABSTRACT Educational intervention is known to enhance learners in general, including deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) learners in particular. This study is a systematic review to identify educational interventions in Arab experimental studies published from 2008 to 2019 concerning deaf and hard-of-hearing children in preschool. The study used Google Scholar and Academic Research Library to identify 30 studies that were examined in terms of their objectives, characteristics of the participants, types of interventions, findings and the country in which they were conducted. A positive effect of the educational interventions was observed in all targeted studies. However, there was an absence of interventions in the first 4 years of the period (2008–2011). Subsequently, in the last 4 years of the study period, there was a considerable increase in interventions. Fifty-seven percent of these studies were conducted in Egypt, followed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (23%), Kuwait (10%) and finally Sudan (3%). This review indicates that the use of educational interventions for deaf and hard-of-hearing children in the preschool period is promising. Educators and professionals should carefully consider these children’s preferences, characteristics and actual abilities when making decisions about the design of appropriate educational interventions.