This was a study was conducted to see if hearing impaired children have lower levels of self-esteem, because among other things they frequently experience lower language and communication skills. This study compares hearing impaired children's self esteem across different domains with those of normal hearing children to investigate the influence of communication type of education and audiological characteristics.
In this study they studied two gate and gender matched groups 123 Hearing impaired children and 129 Normal hearing children with a mean age of 11.8 years old. They measured self-esteem across four areas, perceived social acceptance by peers, perceived parental attention ,perceived physical appearance and global self esteem.
After observing these children over a 3 month period of time each group of children were given a questionnaire. The questions were provided to the children in the method that best suited each child, either pen and paper, computer or spoken language translated into sign language. Parents or caregivers were also asked to complete forms to help provide demographic background on the children. The results were that the sores didn't significantly differ when comparing global self esteem. This group also looked at the type of education these children received and their self esteem. Children in mainstream classrooms did not score differently to children in self contained classrooms.
I really was surprised by the findings of this test. I thought that the children would have slightly lower self esteem. Then I thought about how the children I work with and live with see themselves. They do not see themselves as different. My children almost have more self esteem. They don't feel that they are different. They do notice children who have the same issues as they do but they don't necessarily see it as a bad thing. I would have liked to seen information on children who were hearing impaired at birth vs. those who experienced hearing loss later in life.
We have read in our book regarding the disability of being hearing impaired it was more a discussion of the impairment not the effect it has on children socially or their self esteem. It would be nice to have a chapter on the social implications that all disabilities have on children.
Theunissen, S. M., Rieffe, C., Netten, A. P., Briaire, J. J., Soede, W., Kouwenberg, M., & Frijns, J. M. (2014). Self-Esteem in Hearing-Impaired Children: The Influence of Communication, Education, and Audiological Characteristics. Plos ONE, 9(4), 1-8. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0094521
It was reassuring to find that there are no significant differences in the self esteem of those with hearing impairment compared to their peers without disabilities. My hope is that children have become more accepting of their differences, and that has contributed to the results. I feel that the authors chose a good age range to study, because it seems like a lot of social isolation and bullying occurs in middle school. I agree with your opinion that it would have been interesting to see the students' self esteem in those who have been hearing impaired since birth and those who had hearing loss after birth.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised as well after reading your blog but also reassured to find no significant differences in self esteem. If a student can come to the acceptance of their own struggles, that is one of the key parts of what could strengthen one's motivation for succeeding instead of hiding behind the wall that is built up due to stress and the feeling guilty for what they struggle with. A student should never feel guilty, and it is important that the teacher in the classroom does everything he or she can do to make them know that they are just as equal as anyone else in the room. The more welcoming a teacher is, the better the chance is for the student to be receptive to the teacher. Everyone has a favorite teacher in their life, and all of those qualities these teachers possess.
ReplyDeleteIt is nice to know that after a 3 month study, self esteem does not affect those who have hearing impairments. It seems to me people are more accepting of differences now a days. There is a student in my class right now on an IEP, he writes very slow. I will usually make notes for him and give them to him to put in his spiral, but I have noticed a few students in his group assisting him. I did not ask them to do this, they were doing it out of the kindness of their heart. So whether a child is blind, deaf, or has ADHD, EBD, ect... students are willing to go above and beyond to help them achieve success. Thank you for the article!
ReplyDeleteI was also surprised by the findings of this study; I guess we become so used to acknowledging that students with disabilities may have lowered self-esteem. It's a great reminder not to make generalizations or assumptions about individuals with disabilities. I'm curious if the article mentioned the importance of deaf culture. I know in deaf culture a hearing impairment is not seen as a 'disability'; I wonder if that had anything to do with the results of the study. It would be interesting to do this type of research across other disability groups. We will be talking about social skills a bit more in module 14.
ReplyDelete