Assessing integrated science teaching and learning to the hearing impaired at University Practice Inclusive Junior High School-South Campus, Winneba

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the teaching and learning of Integrated Science to the hearing impaired at the University Practice Inclusive Junior High School at the South Campus, Winneba. The study focused on Integrated Science teachers, interpreters and hearing impaired pupils of the University Practice Inclusive JHS, South Campus, Winneba. The estimated population was forty (40), which were made up of thirteen (13) teachers, three (3) interpreters and twenty-four (24) hearing impaired pupils. Out of a target population, five (5) Integrated Science teachers and three (3) sign language interpreters were purposively sampled from the University Practice Inclusive JHS for the study. However, simple random sampling technique was used to select seven (7) hearing impaired pupils (4 females and 3 males) out of the total of twenty (20) hearing impaired pupils in the University Practice Inclusive JHS at the South Campus, Winneba. The study was conducted using the causal comparative study design, and the methods used to collect data were semi-structured interview, document analysis, formal observation checklist and questionnaire. The results indicated that there was no policy governing science education for students with deafness in Ghana, further, hearing impaired pupils solely depend on the interpreters for information in the classroom and outside the classroom. Also, the Integrated Science syllabus does not favour the hearing impaired pupils, since they are taught like their hearing counterpart which in turn makes the latter not benefit fully from science lessons. Having discussed these findings, it is recommended that The Ministry of Education should introduce a teaching syllabus that lay emphasis on how to teach Integrated Science to the hearing impaired.