Inclusion Strategy for Hearing Impaired Students with Community of Knowledge

Abstract

Inclusion of hearing impaired students in general schools is the current tendency in deaf education today. The goal of inclusion is to promote the academic and social inclusion of hearing impaired students, where academic inclusion focuses on higher academic achievement and class participation level. However, some studies have shown that hearing impaired students attending general schools mostly experience feelings of isolation, rejection and loneliness, and encounter identity development problems. This study reviews the research on the inclusion of hearing impaired students in general schools, as well as the perceptions of their parents, teachers on their academic and social inclusion. A further aim of this study is to explore the supporting services, teachers's attitude, career guidance service and effective collaborative partnership among teachers for hearing impaired students. This study concludes with suggesting the community of knowledge as integrative supporting strategy for inclusion.