The problem with which this investigation is concerned is that of the competencies which are needed by teachers of the hearing impaired in 1980. A survey instrument containing 92 competency statements that were originally developed by Romaine Mackie in a study she conducted in 1956, was utilized in this inquiry. Subjective judgments as to the importance of the competency statements were made by current teachers of the hearing impaired and administrators of programs for hearing impaired students. In addition, the teachers rated their self-proficiency in each of the competencies.

Thesis (MTech(Education))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2009 / When a child enters formal education a certain level of development and experience is expected. If there is a language deficit or shortfall upon entering formal schooling, a negative perception of schooling can develop, resulting in a low level of success in the classroom. Research has clearly shown that learners with a hearing deficit, and who received very little stimulation at an early age, tended to develop a language deficit which hampered their entrance into, as well as their performance in mainstream education. The ideal is thus that a child should experience success in the learning process at the earliest possible stage. Hereupon he can develop and realise his full potential as a human being. Children who experience early success should be more capable of coping with the challenges that schooling and learning present. If these learners receive early intervention to support their language development it could lead to being more successful in mainstream education. Learners with a cochlear implant must receive intensive hearing and communicative training. They are taught how to effectively interpret the sound relayed by the implant, and thereafter, if possible, be able to use this "hearing ability" to enter into interactive spoken language. Motivation and support from parents, family and friends is a determining factor in the successful use of the implant. This should lead to a learner being able to reach his full potential. From the research conducted it has become evident that the language deficit retrogression of the child leads to under-achievement when formal schooling begins.This is because of different hearing difficulties. However, if such a pre-school child is assisted and supported at an early stage through effective intervention strategies, language deficit can be decreased or even completely cured. In this study a learner who had received a cochlear implant, was closely observed. A significant improvement in his language ability was evinced. The action research study was an individualised teaching and learning situation with a learner who had a cochlear implant and with a language deficit. Over a period of 19 months different intervention strategies were used to improve the learner's language ability. The intervention strategies which were successful can be used as a possible point of departure for further research and study to give educators and parents a better insight into this problem. Through intensive research these findings can be developed as a possible support system or methodolgy for educators in the inclusive classroom.

M. Ed. / By virtue of the nature of the affliction, the auditory world of Chronic Otitis Media (COM) children is likely to be one of frequent insecurity and confusion. Fluctuations of volume, tone and clarity of sound must be very unsettling for young language learners. If the significant others in their lives are not fully informed about the nature, effects and potential impact of the illness on the developmental processes of the sufferer, then psychological, social and scholastic manifestations of the inevitable inner confusion will probably result:In South Africa today, fewer professional resources are available to meet the needs of a greater number of people. One creative solution to this problem could be the growing trend away from a predominantly one-to-one approach towards a consultative function for Educational Psychologists, with relevant psychometric and therapeutic intervention. With this in mind, the purpose of this study is to explore and illuminate the experiential world of the school beginner who suffers from COM to parents and teachers alike. With the growing emphasis on the integrated, whole language approach to teaching and learning in many South African schools, the focus of this study is on how the school beginner with chronic Otitis Media experiences his new learner status. The initial aim of the exercise is to expose this experience and examine it within the context of sound theory. Further, the study is intended to be the first, small step in a process intended ultimately to benefit the wider population of COM afflicted learners by raising new awareness and understanding of their special needs in their teachers. The theoretical foundation that undergirds this study incorporates a multidisciplinary review of the literature encompassing the anatomical structure of the ear, the mechanical, physiological and neuro-sensori process of sound reception and processing (which constitutes hearing), and the normal, integrated developmental stages of the infant. This foundation is established with the aim of providing support and structure for the research questions posed. The nature of the research problem under investigation dictates the type of research design used. The Case Study was sek licted as possessing the most appropriate characteristics and methods of data collection for the planned research process. The samples selected for the study complied with specified criteria relating to the onset, intensity and chronicity of Otitis Media experienced during infa ncy. Cases were to be six to seven years of age and in the beginning stages of their formal learning process. The study falls within the qualitative research paradigm and is presented as a description and discussion of the experiential world of the school beginner with chronic Otitis Media. Where `appropriate, a tentative explanation of outcomes is given and a behavioural profile compiled for discussion with teachers, and with further exploration in mind at some future time

The purpose of this study was to examine the processes and patterns of communicative interaction which preschool and elementary school-aged deaf and hearing siblings utilized to initiate, maintain and terminate dialogs during play. Specifically, the focus was to determine if the processes and patterns of communication differed when a deaf sibling interacted with an older hearing sibling who has been exposed primarily to a simultaneous visual-auditory (SimVA) pattern of communication, as compared to when a deaf sibling interacted with a younger hearing sibling who has been exposed to both a SimVA and a sequential visual (Seq V) pattern of communication. Video-taped playbouts were observed between each of two sibling dyads at play within a single family: (a) an older dyad composed of a seven-year-old hearing child and her five-year-old deaf sister, and (b) a younger dyad with the second-born deaf sister and her three-year-old hearing brother. The video-tapes were coded to determine: the kinds of play siblings engaged in; the use and expression of behavioral and communicative elements of attention-getting, exchange of information, and termination processes of dialogs; who initiated and terminated dialogs; the occurrence of turn-taking during message delivery; and the expression of patterns of communication used by siblings during dialogs. Only three of five possible kinds of play were actually noted, of which social play was the most frequently observed kind of play taking place between siblings within both dyads. In the older hearing and deaf sibling dyad, it was found that the older hearing sister predominately used visual processes and patterns of communicative interaction when conversing with her deaf sister, whereas the deaf sibling relied extensively on visual-auditory processes and patterns of communication when conversing with her hearing sister. In the younger dyad, visual-auditory patterns of communication predominated both hearing and deaf siblings' expression of processes and patterns of communication with each other. New terminology reflecting siblings' behavioral and communicative patterns of communication are introduced. This study represents the first known research examining the processes and patterns of deaf and hearing siblings' behavioral and communicative interactions of dialog. The findings are discussed in relation to potential applications to early intervention programs for hearing families with deaf and hearing siblings and to future research directions. Overall, the findings from this study appear to indicate that deaf and hearing siblings communicate in ways largely influenced by developmental maturation and the communicative environments to which each child has been exposed during language acquisition processes. The findings are also consistent with Vygotsky's theory of a sociocultural origin of language development. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

The problem of this study is to determine the relationship of hearing to school achievement. More specifically, the problem is to compare the hard-of-hearing child with the normal hearing child of approximately the same intelligence quotient and similar home background in their academic progress in the elementary school to determine the educational loss due to this specific defect.

No description available.

Prepositions are not only important in functional syntax; they also relate meanings associated with the concepts of place and time (Washington & Naremore, 1978). Furthermore, prepositions are critical in such everyday activities as producing and comprehending directions, using maps and diagrams, and in the fields of mathematics and music (Cox & Richardson, 1985). Inefficient use or misuse of prepositional spatial terms may hinder a child's progress in many areas. Expressive acquisition of function words, which include prepositions, has been described as significantly delayed in the hearing impaired populations (Cooper & Rosenstein, 1966). The purpose of this study was to conduct a comparative preposition analysis between hearing impaired children using two different modes of communication. The question this researcher sought to answer was: Do 54 severely-to-profoundly hearing impaired children in this study using total communication differ in the expressive acquisition of 17 locative and directional prepositions from 35 hearing impaired children in a previous study (Warlick, 1983) using oral/aural communication?

M. S.

No description available.

A computer program which pairs auditory stimuli with visual stimuli was developed for the purpose of providing auditory training for the hearing impaired. It utilizes a Texas Instruments 99 /4A computer and Extended BASIC programming language which allows considerable graphics and sound capability. The lessons make full use of the sixteen colors available and the sound is provided three ways: Texas Instruments speech synthesizer, the computer itself (musical tones and noise), and by tape recorder which is controlled by the computer. Focus of the lessons, which are designed for children ages three to five, is awareness of sound, environmental sounds, discrimination of changes in pitch and duration of sound, recognition of rhythm, and early language learning. At this beginning level, the program is primarily teaching by pairing the stimuli repeatedly, but there are some higher level tasks requiring input from the child to identify a stimulus.