Goal fulfilment in school for the deaf and hearing impaired - batod

Table 26. Proportion (%) in respect of importance for choice of school, per type of school.SpecialschoolHearing classschoolIndividuallyplacedCompulsoryschool forlearningdisabledHearing technology/hearing resources 12 28 5 4Recommendation from audiologicalhealth care service 18 24 5 5Recommendation from parentassociations2 3 1 1Recommendation from SPM/SIT 10 4 1 17Sign language/bilingual environment 31 14 1 8Proximity to own home 4 5 46 14Friends 11 6 27 7Level of knowledge 3 5 5 20School’s orientation 8 10 9 25was 27%. For pupils at compulsory school,outside the schools for the hearing impaired, thefigure is only 2%. When we asked the teachershow the pupils communicate during the schoolday, teachers at special schools respondedthat 63% of the pupils communicate by signlanguage.In many surveys, the pupils are asked whetherthey get headaches during their school day, asheadaches can be an indication of shortcomingsin the environment. According to the parentsof pupils at special schools, 8% say that theirchildren often or always have headaches. Asregards hearing impaired and deaf pupils inother types of schools, the corresponding figuresare 10 and 12% respectively. Most of them areafflicted during or after the school day. Thiscan be an indication that the school’s workingenvironment is not optimal for many hearingimpaired pupils, and many studies have alsoattempted to illustrate this problem (Bergkvist2001; Coniavitis Gellerstedt 2007a; Lindahl& Nilsson 2007; Nordén, Tvingstedt & Äng1990;Tvingstedt 1993).ParticipationParticipation in one’s environment usuallyinvolves being able to take part in the activitiesoffered without being confronted by anyobstacles or difficulties. Participation as a processfor attaining knowledge has become increasinglyimportant in school. When using the concept inthis assessment, we referred to the ICF in whichit is defined as ‘involvement in a life situation’(Socialstyrelsen 2003).The pupils interact with their surroundingstogether with friends and take on challengesin order to promote their ideas and interests.Schools must guide pupils forward in thisprocess using curriculum goals so that they canprogress independently and democratically intothe adult world. Unfortunately, they are facedwith a number of obstacles in the course ofthat progression. We have described above, forinstance, how the pupils’ working environmentas regards the acoustic adaptation of premisesand access to technical auditory equipment wasnot completely satisfactory.50 Goal fulfilment in school for the deaf and hearing impaired