Covid-19 and its Impact on Hearing-Impaired Libyan schoolchildren in the UK

Hearing-impaired children face many challenges in life, and the pandemic has impacted them in addition to the issues normal hearing children may have had. This study explores the experiences of children, parents, and teachers when dealing with hearing impairment and the restrictions put in place to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. It focuses on a specific group attending Libyan weekend schools in the UK to maintain contact with their cultural roots. The study was carried out within the theoretical framework of social connectedness, social identity, social support and social cognitive theory, all demonstrating the need for young people to interact with their peers, to form networks and learn from others to give them a sense of belonging. Methods to collect data included surveys, interviews and online hearing tests. The main challenges faced by these 10- to 14-year-olds and the effect school closures had on them are explored. Systems were not in place to support these disadvantaged young people who told how online classes created problems for them as they could not see their teacher or their peers and they had difficulties in understanding audio lessons. They missed the interaction with other children and with their teachers. Teachers were not trained in dealing with hearing-impaired children and did not have the resources needed and parents were under pressure to join lessons and act as interpreters for their children. This study highlights gaps in support systems and in the provision of inclusive teaching and learning for hearing-impaired children. Although only 10 out of 200 children were identified as hearing-impaired at the beginning of the study, an online hearing test found that a further 50 were at levels where their hearing required attention, indicating that many children may have hidden hearing issues.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

PhD

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

De Montfort University

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Aburwais, Muna Mohamed Mohamed

Licence

• https://dora.dmu.ac.uk/bitstreams/7bfd4f2b-53fa-4f8b-937f-196cee34103d/download