Browsing by Author "Sonninen, Aino"

Objects The aim of the thesis is to find out and chart the existing support measures for a hearing-impaired class in the classroom. The thesis charts support measures in general as well as their practicality and how the student with hearing impairment is generally considered in the general education class. Earlier research was relatively small in Finland, but there were more guidebooks and scientific articles. The research question is: What supportive measures for a hearing-impaired student are there in the classroom of general education in the light of guidebooks and studies? The thesis focusses specifically on classroom attendance and teacher and assistant support for hearing impairments per pupil. The thesis also generalizes about hearing impairment and inclusion of hearing impaired pupils in general education. Methods The thesis is a descriptive literature review. The material used was Finnish and English studies and guidebooks, as the topic was very practical and contained concrete actions. Out of the material there was a literature dealing exclusively with deaf or sign language students. The material was read carefully on several occasions so the material was familiar. After that, I studied what are the core issues of the material for my research question. The main material I use are Kärkkäinen's (2016) article and the articles of Kärkkäinen, Luoto ja Ääri-Vähäkylä (2005). As a secondary material I use the article of Kuulonhuoltoyhteiskunta (2000) and Sume (2010), Takala’s and Sume’s (2015) final report to the Ministry of Education and Culture and Mäki’s (1989) research on Hearing impaired children in primary schools in Finland. I attempted to find material in various databases. As databases, I used mainly Google Scholar as well as Arto and Helka Finna. I searched in Finnish and English with different word combinations. Results and Conclusions From the point of view of a hearing-impaired student, inclusion is that he/she is able to participate in general education in accordance with common goals as an equal student and as a member of the community. This however requires multiprofessional cooperation between the teacher, the assistant, the rehabilitation instructor and the whole school staff. The results of the research show that collaboration is needed to create support measures, such as educational arrangements, listening to the class, listening to teachers' practices and teaching methods, involvement and awareness of hearing impairment.