Browsing by Author "Kallela, Outi"

Hearing impaired children are more and more commonly participating in early childhood education in regular day care groups, often being the only ones in their groups. Hearing impairment may cause challenges for the child's learning and peer relationships, so it is important to prevent possible future problems in early childhood education. The purpose of this study is to find out what kind of experiences kindergarten teachers have about teaching hearing impaired children. The aim is to obtain information on how kindergarten teachers evaluate their knowledge and skills in order to take hearing impairment into account in their teaching. In addition, the study aims at finding out whether kindergarten teachers feel that they receive support and information on hearing impairment at their workplaces and via various forms of cooperation. The data of the study was collected with a questionnaire posted on a Facebook group for kindergarten teachers. The questionnaire was formulated on the basis of the theoretical background of the study. Eleven kindergarten teachers who have experience in teaching hearing impaired children within the past five years answered the questionnaire. The method used in this study is a qualitative content analysis, conducted using a theory-guided approach. Hearing impaired children take part in early childhood education in various kinds of groups. There is little help available to support the teaching of hearing impaired children in addition to the child's own hearing aids in day-care centers. There is some training for the workers about taking hearing impairment into account but very little orientation is given to the children's peer group. In adjusting the learning environment, kindergarten teachers pay special attention to where the child is seated, to the acoustics and to minimizing noisiness. They adjust their own teaching especially by paying attention to the clarity of their speech and by ensuring that the child understands. Kindergarten teachers feel that their education has not prepared them well for teaching hearing impaired children. Receiving material or the provision of additional training at the workplace was largely based on one's own activity. Kindergarten teachers feel that they get support from many people, such as special needs kindergarten teacher, rehabilitation instructor or speech therapist. In particular, support is given by the hearing impaired children’s parents. Most of the kindergarten teachers wish for more support or information on hearing impairment.