Sign Language Interpreters and Self Efficacy as Predictors of Academic Achievement of Students with Hearing Impairment in Biology in Oyo State, Nigeria.

International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI) | Volume IX, Issue III, March 2022 | ISSN 2321–2705

Sign Language Interpreters and Self Efficacy as Predictors of Academic Achievement of Students with Hearing Impairment in Biology in Oyo State, Nigeria.

Dr. Dorcas Omolara Oyawole¹, Dr. Olugbenga O. Isaiah²
1Biology Department, Federal College of Education special Oyo.
2 Department of Special Education, University of Ibadan

Abstract: The study examined sign language interpreters and self-efficacy as predictors of achievement of students with hearing impairment in biology. Survey design of correlation type was adopted for the study. The population comprised all schools with students with hearing impairments in Senior Secondary Schools in Oyo State, Nigeria. 224 students with hearing impairment were drawn from seven schools that offered biology in West Africa Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations. A purposive sampling technique was used to select students with hearing impairment from the schools. Students’ Inventory on Instructional Supports (SIIS) and Students’ Self Efficacy Formative Questionnaire Scale (SSEFQS) were used to collect data. The face and content validity of the instruments were ascertained. The reliability coefficient Of Students’ Inventory on Instructional Supports (SIIS) was determined using Cronbach Alpha and it was found to be reliable at 0.77 while the students’ self- efficacy scale was determined using Cronbach Alpha and it was found to be 0.78. Based on the findings, it was recommended that teachers should provide opportunities in class and support to students with hearing impairments to enable them participate in the teaching and learning processes in a bid to create better teacher-students’ interactions and enhance learners’ academic achievement in Biology. Students should improve on their ability to complete a task successfully. School principals should organize sign language workshops and seminars to improve academic achievement of students with hearing impairment in Biology among others.

Keyword: Sign language interpreter, Hearing loss, Self efficacy

I. INTRODUCTION

Hearing impairment can be defined as a condition that results in a full or partial decline in the capacity to detect or understand sound (USlegal, 2019). Individuals with disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2018) defined hearing impairment as hearing difficulty which may be either permanent or fluctuating and adversely affect the child’s educational achievement. A major and obvious effect of hearing impairment is on spoken communication. Hearing loss does not affect the person physically, but it can cause communication issues (Hear-it, 2018). Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2018) indicated that Sign Language Interpreters are needed by such students.
Sign language interpreters are professionals who play a significant role in facilitating communication between students with hearing loss and their teachers as well as other stakeholders particularly in an educational environment. This is an individual who provides services to learners with hearing impaired so that the speech of the hearing is transmitted to the student with hearing impairment by using conventional signs, finger spellings, oral cues and body language to enable such individuals understand what is being discussed simultaneously and relay information or question asked by the student with hearing impairment in the classroom. Depending on the student’s preference, a sign language interpreter will translate what is said into British Sign Language (BSL) and or Sign Supported English (SSE). They can also convert signed documents into written documents and vice versa. If a deaf student’s speech is difficult to understand, they may voice over what they are saying. An interpreter would not normally assist a deaf student in completing tasks, explaining things to them, or advocating for them.
In improving academic achievement of students with hearing impairment, Self efficacy is one of the personal factors that should be considered. Self-efficacy is the belief in one’s own ability to complete a task successfully (Bandura, 1977). These beliefs are domain-specific, rather than focusing on the individual judging himself as a whole. For example, one can have high self-efficacy for learning mathematics but low self-efficacy for learning science. Self-efficacy beliefs are based on one’s assessment of one’s personal capabilities. People’s self-efficacy beliefs influence how they feel, think, motivate themselves and act. These beliefs have a variety of effects on four major processes: cognition, motivation, affect, and selection (Bandura, 1982, 1997). According to Bandura, students are more likely to develop a strong sense of self-efficacy if they record multiple successes in a row, especially in difficult tasks. His theoretical framework reflects that in order to be successful, one must have a sense of self-efficacy, or the belief that one can perform well. Self-efficacy beliefs, for example, influence how a person chooses goals, invests effort, and persists in those efforts (Bandura, 1997).

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