Management of Assistive Technology for Enhancing the Academic Performance of Students with Hearing Impairments: A Case of Secondary Schools in Arusha.

Pascal, Isaack (2023) Management of Assistive Technology for Enhancing the Academic Performance of Students with Hearing Impairments: A Case of Secondary Schools in Arusha. Masters thesis, The Open University of Tanzania.

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Abstract

This study sought to investigate management of assistive technology for enhancing academic performance of students with hearing impairment in secondary schools in Arusha,Tanzania.The study adopted the capacity theory and a mixed research approach to obtain data from 100 participants teachers (25) and students (75). Data were collected using interviews and a questionnaire. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics for quantitative data content analysis for qualitative data. The findings unveil managerial issues as important aspect in decision making toward support and making children with hearing loss fully participate in learning. Resources including computers,projectors, hearing aids, and signaling devices have to be well managed to ensure learners with hearing loss access information. Moreover, in seeking for the roleplayed in the effective management of assistive technological devices, the study demonstrates that students feel motivated, facilitates interaction, communication and access to information. Despite the benefits it also indicated that poor school management results to inadequate ATD’s in schools, lack of experts, illiteracy among users affects the application of AT ins chool and thus poor performance for the deaf. Finally, the study recommended for education stakeholders to work in collaboration to reduce the challenges by providing adequate devices,professional training to the teachers and training students on the use of ATD’s to improve academic performance of the hearing impaired.

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