Abstract
The aim of this study was to identify and describe the psychosocial experiences adolescents with sensorineural deafness, attending a special school in Lenasia. Congenital sensorineural hearing loss occurs because of damage to the inner ear or to the nerve pathways from the inner ear to the brain, and is present from birth. Congenital sensorineural deafness could have severe effects on all domains of functioning. Researchers, governments and health care professionals are unsure about the psychosocial experiences of adolescent learners with congenital sensorineural deafness, as there is limited recent research available. An objective of this study was to propose recommendations for special schools on psychosocial support for adolescent learners with congenital sensorineural deafness. The researcher utilised a generic qualitative multiple case study design to identify and describe the psychosocial experiences of these deaf adolescents as experienced in a real-world setting. This research inquiry utilised a social constructivist paradigm in order to reach a qualitative understanding of, and explore the ways in which, adolescents with congenital sensorineural deafness construct their experiences and give meaning to situations. Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological systems model provided the main theoretical perspective in attempting to understand, explore and describe the psychosocial experiences of these deaf adolescent learners at the previously mentioned special school in Lenasia. Data was collected by means of document analysis, semi-structured individual interviews and collages. This study utilised purposive sampling to choose adolescent learners with congenital sensorineural deafness who were likely to be knowledgeable and informative about their psychosocial experiences. The participants comprised of four adolescents ‒ two girls and two boys ‒ between 12 and 18 years of age, attending a special school for deaf learners. This inquiry utilised an inductive qualitative content analysis process to analyse the data manually. In this regard, the researcher applied open coding, axial coding, and developed themes after classifying the emerging codes. The findings of this study are threefold, namely, psychological experiences, social experiences, and educational experiences. With regard to the psychological experiences, the findings indicate that adolescent learners with congenital sensorineural deafness experience sadness about their deafness, but feel good about themselves because they have a shared identity. The results also indicated that undetected deafness affects the deaf adolescent’s holistic development in all domains of functioning. v As far as the social themes are concerned, there is an indication that the deaf adolescents experience stigma from the hearing community, but this discrimination does not, to a large extent, affect their self-concept or self-esteem. The results further indicate significant challenges for deaf adolescent learners in communicating with the hearing community. Furthermore, the participant’s lack awareness of the support available to them within the community. They are optimistic about their vocational ambitions. The educational themes indicate that the participants experience challenges with English and indicate a need for support. Based on the findings of the study, the author makes recommendations for the provision of psychosocial and educational support for adolescent learners with congenital sensorineural deafness.
M.Ed. (Educational Psychology)