School readiness and academic achievement of children with hearing impairment: A South African exploratory study

Abstract

Background: Children with hearing impairment may be at risk of not achieving the necessary school readiness because of the link between hearing impairment and academic achievement. However, early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) can improve potential outcomes for these children.Aim: As part of a bigger study titled ‘Communication and school readiness abilities of hearing-impaired preschool graduates: Exploring outcomes of early intervention preschool programs in Gauteng’, the aim of this study was to describe the school readiness and academic achievement of children with hearing impairment through retrospective record reviews of EHDI preschool records and Grade 3 teachers’ survey.Setting: The study was conducted in Gauteng, South Africa, where two EHDI preschool centres participated in the study.Methods: Eight children identified with hearing impairment and enrolled in EHDI preschools were included in the study, along with their Grade 3 teachers. Data collection was conducted through a self-developed teacher questionnaire and record reviews of the children’s preschool files. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics.Results: Three children (n = 8) obtained age-appropriate school readiness results and were subsequently enrolled in mainstream schools. Five children (n = 8) did not exhibit age-appropriate school readiness and were subsequently enrolled in remedial schools and schools for Learners with Special Education Needs (LSEN).Conclusion: These preliminary findings demonstrate that through EHDI, children with hearing impairment are allowed to develop the school readiness required to experience academic success. Factors influencing outcomes within the South African context need to be explored in order for South Africa to benefit maximally from EHDI initiatives.

Reflections on and Exploration of Academic Early Warning Management and Support for Students in Colleges and Universities

“…( ) [0,1] t i Qx  measures the probability that the sample is predicted to be a positive class, i.e., 1 y = . Therefore, in this paper, the statistical information p learned by the deep model is combined with the a priori information to define a new loss function:…”

“…Various majors in colleges and universities have the three major characteristics of a complicated curriculum system, the large correlation between courses, and difficult curriculum setting, coupled with the fact that students' learning progress and degree of absorption are different, which leads to high pressure on students' learning and serious polarization of performance [1][2]. The percentage of students who are subjected to academic sanctions such as grade reduction, withdrawal and deferment due to academic difficulties is as high as about 10% every year [3][4][5].…”

Teachers' Challenges in Preparing Grade R Learners for School-readiness and Strategies Used to Activate Learner-readiness

“…In concurrence, Erasmus et al (2016) suggest that training workshops for teachers to become more knowledgeable and skilled will lead to understanding how to overcome readiness barriers in the school environment. Lastly, but importantly, South African studies emphasise that challenges in developing readiness can be overcome but require learners to experience academic success to mitigate the risk of becoming dropouts (Maluleke et al, 2021).…”

A call for linguistic and culturally congruent family-centred early hearing detection and intervention programmes in South Africa

“…Acceptability of current EHDI programmes has received limited research focus within the South African context. Maluleke et al ( 2023b ) was the first study within the South African context to investigate caregivers’ perceptions of the acceptability of EHDI programmes. Patients are more likely to comply with treatment recommendations when intervention is considered to be acceptable, which can have a significant impact on the effectiveness of the treatment and improved outcomes for patients (Sekhon et al, 2017 , Mtimkulu et al, 2023 ).…”