The Relationship Between Self-Esteem and Academic Achievement of Girls with Hearing Impairments in Secondary Schools for the Deaf in Kenya

JAASEP Spring/Summer 2010 38

The Relationship Between Self-Esteem and Academic

Achievement of Girls with Hearing Impairments in

Secondary Schools for the Deaf in Kenya

Beatrice Bunyasi Awori, M.Ed

Dr John K. Mugo

Dr. John A. Orodho

Dr G. K. Karugu, Ph.D

Kenyatta University

Abstract
Several factors had been cited as contributing to the perpetually dismal academic
achievement of girls with hearing impairment in Kenya. Personal esteem factors had not
been adequately explored. The study used Carl Roger’s client-centered theory and an Expost
facto design. Rosenberg self-esteem scale was used to measure self-esteem
dimensions. School academic scores were used to measure academic achievement. A
sample of fifty-three girls was drawn. Data were collected through questionnaires and
interviews. The results: girls with hearing impairment possessed positive/high self-esteem
but academic achievement was low. It was concluded that girls with hearing impairment
placed more value on relational aspects (grooming), music and dance. They lagged
behind due to lack of specialized technological devices. The study recommended:
teachers to make deliberate use of positive reinforcement; principals to initiate active
collaborations with interested partners; the government to make the curriculum more
flexible and curriculum developers to reconsider curricula adaptation. Kenya National
Examination Council to focus on practical assessment and/or use of sign language
interpreters. The government to increase disability fund and provide opportunities for
capacity building for assistive-devices-technicians. Further research in the area of
teachers’ proficiency in Kenya Sign Language to be conducted.
The Relationship Between Self-Esteem and Academic Achievement of Girls with
Hearing Impairments in Secondary Schools for the Deaf in Kenya
Kenya has made concerted effort to bridge the gender gap in education of girls on the
understanding that gender disparities lead to more inequalities in meaningful lifelong
education. As a country, it recognizes that education is a human right and has put in place
JAASEP Spring/Summer 2010 39
both legislative and long-term policy frameworks to ensure that basic education is
available and free for all. To meet the national goals of education, recent policy initiatives
have focused on dealing with key challenges such as access, participation, retention,
equity, quality, relevance, transition and efficiency that consider gender and geographical
disparities. Women are recognized for their crucial role in society, namely, giving birth to
children and playing a major role in the implementation of any family planning
programmes. They bear the main responsibility for nutrition and health of their families,
particularly children. They also play a predominant part as educators for future
generation (Juma, 1994).
Numerous studies have shown the impact of maternal education, which plays a major role
in determining the level of infant and child mortality. Juma (1994) reveals that educating
women to acquire information, knowledge and skills, increases their self-confidence and
raises their status as full participating members of the society. In Kenya, women are said
to constitute 50 percent of the country’s population yet the poorest strata of the society.
According to UNESCO estimates, nearly half of the women in developing countries do
not know how to read and write (UNESCO, 1988). Nonetheless, it has been established
that countries that have the highest rate of women illiteracy have also low enrolment rates
for girls at primary to secondary education. But with the introduction of Universal
Primary Education (UPE) and Free Primary Education (FPE) in Kenya and in many other
countries, some countries have succeeded in reducing their female illiteracy rates
significantly.
In spite of the efforts to increase female educational opportunities, enrolment ratio in
secondary school and university admissions for girls is lower than for boys in Kenya. It is
worse for the girls with hearing impairment. A report by UNICEF (2001) reveals that
with only two secondary schools for children with hearing impairment available to
graduates of primary schools in Kenya, relatively few move to secondary schools and
post-secondary education. Among the few who manage to reach this level, the number of
girls is dismal as revealed in Table 1.
Table 1: Enrolment in special needs institutions by category in 1999 and 2003
Category
1999 2003
Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total
Special Primary 3,716 2,796 6,512 13,353 10,106 23,459
Special Secondary 492 388 880 6490 536 7,026
Special
Tech/Vocational
305 246 551 1,286 1,114 2,400
Primary
Units/Integrated
3,323 2,417 5,740 53,112 75,828 128,940
Total
7,836 5,847 13,683 74,241 87,584 162,825
Source: Special Education Section and Statistics Section, MoE (2007)
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The table shows the enrolment pattern in Special Needs Education (SNE) institutions by
category in 1999 and 2003 in Kenya. Indeed, this table reveals a gap in access of girls
with hearing impairment to post-secondary education and likewise to professional
training and career upward mobility. In addition, the Kenya National Examination
Council (KNEC), which is a body mandated with the responsibility of assessment and
evaluation of academic standards (Table 2) shows that the performance of girls with
hearing impairment is low in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE)
examinations in special sampled schools between 2003 and 2006. Particularly, the
reflection on performance for girls with hearing impairment is relatively low as compared
to boys with similar impairment or other girls with different disabilities. Table 2 reveals
a gap that exists in academic achievement particularly for girls with hearing impairment.
Table 2: Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education performances in special
schools from 2003 to 2006
2003 2004 2005 2006
Centre Name Gender Entry Mean
Score
Entr
y
Mean
Score
Entry Mean
Score
Entr
y
Mean
Score
Rev. Muhoro for
the Deaf (HI)
Female 33 2.7 19 2.2 26 2.8 26 2.5
Male 17 2.0 27 2.7 17 3.4 19 2.6
Joytown (PH) Female 14 4.9 10 4.9 21 5.0 23 4.7
Male 14 6.3 10 6.4 20 5.2 9 4.6
Thika Sch. For
Blind
Female 13 5.2 20 4.8 25 5.4 18 6.1
Male 31 5.0 28 5.1 28 6.0 36 5.8
St. Angela
Mumias for Deaf
girls (HI)
Female 7 3.7 14 2.2 16 1.5 16 1.4
Male - - 8 2.6 9 2.3 - -
Source: Kenya National Examinations Council (2003-2006).
It was on this premise that the need arose to focus on the individual girls’ competencies
and experiences. The fact that several factors such as school environment, lack of
resources, family status and communication barriers had been observed, little was known
concerning personal self-esteem. It was evident that parental socio-economic status,
teachers’ attitude and lack of learning resources in the school environment affected
provision of basic physiological needs (Mwathi,1998). However, the Kenya government
through its initiative to provide free education has enabled parents to send their children
to school without much strain. Great sensitization on change of attitude towards persons
with disabilities through media, workshops and policy frameworks, had also brought
about attitudinal change that had led to the realization of inclusive education, which was
a great celebration in the schools. With all these measures in place, performance of girls
with hearing impairment was low hence the need to investigate the underlying factors of
which the search for individual self-rating was to be considered. Self-esteem was viewed
as the affective or evaluated counterpart to cognitive representations of the self (Brown,
1998). It was widely acknowledged as having a strong influence on psychological
orientation of the individual, including motivation to engage in efficacious behavior.
JAASEP Spring/Summer 2010 41
According to Brown (1998), the experience of being competent to cope with the basic
challenges of life and of being worthy of happiness, results from one’s self-esteem. This
consists of two components: the first is self-efficacy which is confidence in one’s ability
to think, learn, choose and make appropriate decisions and self-respect, which is
confidence in one’s right to be happy and by extension, confidence that achievement,
success, friendship, respect, love and fulfillment are appropriate to oneself (Brown,
1998).
Branden (1969) points out that people acquire experience differently and this affects their
existence. Their self- evaluation is the basic context in which they act and react, choose
their values, set their goals and meet the challenges of life. Their responses to events are
shaped in part by who and what they think they are, that is, how competent and worthy
they perceive themselves to be. In other words, self-esteem is a basic human need just as
other needs mentioned earlier. These differences in how peoples’ perceptions are have
important implications for other elaborate behaviours including such areas like academic
achievement (Cloninger, 2004).
Educational achievement on the other hand has great value to human beings and the
society in which they belong. That is the reason for every nation to monitor the progress
of its citizens through organizations or bodies like KNEC, to keep track of educational
performances or achievements irrespective of gender, disability, colour and religion. For
instance, in Kenya, the KNEC records (Table 2) reveal the gap that exists in the
performance of girls with hearing impairment, which was the focus for this study.
Despite the fact that several studies have been carried out to investigate factors affecting
educational development of children with disabilities in general such as social,
economical, school factors (resources in terms of materials and personnel), (Murugami,
2002; Mwathi, 1998; & Oliwa, 1998), no study has investigated the personal or rather the
intrinsic factors which the present study focused on, that is the self-evaluation.
Purpose and Objectives of the Study
The purpose of this study was to establish the relationship between self-esteem and
academic achievement for girls with hearing impairment in Kenya. Girls with hearing
impairment achieve considerably lower in the academic arena compared to hearing girls
or even girls with visual or physical impairments. The study set out to establish whether
low self-esteem was linked to low academic achievement. The specific objectives of the
study were to:
 Determine the relationship between self-esteem level and academic achievement
scores of girls with hearing impairment in secondary schools.
 Establish the nature of social relationships among girls with hearing impairment
in secondary schools.
JAASEP Spring/Summer 2010 42
Theoretical Framework
Rogers (1951) developed the person-centered or client-centered theory as it is known to
many people. He investigates an internal influence, the child’s self-understanding or selfinsights
that enable an individual to have personal assessment. He also investigates
children’s behaviour in relation to external factors which include family environment,
economic and cultural influences as well as social and educational background. The
findings of his study indicate that the factor which most accurately predicted later
behaviour is self-understanding. Rogers (1951) states that the basic nature of human
being when functioning fully is constructive and trustworthy. When one is freed of
defensiveness and is open to experience, his/her reactions are bound to be trusted as
positive, forward moving and constructive. He argues that one needs to maintain and
enhance the self, in order to become a fully functioning person which is the main goal of
all human beings. He adds that a child’s self-understanding encompassed the acceptance
of self and reality as well as responsibility for the self.
Rogers (1951) posits that each person has a private experiential world, which includes the
present experiences and memories of past experiences that actively guide the person’s
perception of the moment. He suggests that higher levels of development sharpen and
define experiential world and they lead to the formation of the self. Rogers further notes
that the development of the “self” emerges as the child interacts with other people and
learns to distinguish what is direct and immediate to oneself and what is external to
oneself. As the self emerges, the child develops a need for positive regard which includes
acceptance, love and approval from other people notably the mother or caregiver during
infancy. If the mother or caregiver does not bestow positive stimulation, an infant’s
tendency towards actualization and enhancement of self is hampered. This marks the
beginning of internalization of the attitudes and behaviour of others and the feedback
received refines the child’s self-esteem.
Conceptual Framework of the Study
In developing the conceptual framework of this study, an attempt was made to investigate
the possible nature of relationship between self-esteem dimension and school academic
achievement of girls with hearing impairment. Figure 1 exhibits the conceptual
framework which encompasses the major variables that is self-esteem and the possible
pattern of influence on academic achievement for girls with hearing impairment.
JAASEP Spring/Summer 2010 43
Source: Self adopted conceptual framework of the study
Figure 1: Correlates of self-esteem and its influence on academic achievement
The researcher’s own adaptation of the conceptual model shown in Figure 1 demonstrates
the influence of self-esteem (independent variable) on academic achievement (dependent
variable) or vice versa as shown by the arrows. For instance, self-esteem manifests as
high leading to hard-work, setting high goals and having positive perception or as low
leading to setting low goals, negative perception and low motivation that will affect
academic achievement. The resultant effect is to be either high academic scores or low as
shown by the arrows in figure 1. The framework also shows the trend of possible other
pedagogical attributes that could as well affect the academic achievement positively such
as availability of learning resources, provision of hearing aids, boarding facilities, trained
teachers in manual communication or negatively by lack of all those attributes. All these
effects have great influence on educational developments of girls with hearing
impairment hence the need for investigation.
Research Methodology
The study used a quantitative approach and a correlational design. The decision to use
this design was due to the fact that a correlational design enabled the researcher to
discover the relationship between variables through the use of correlational statistics
(Gall, Borg & Gall 1996; Orodho, 2005). Fraenkel and Wallen (2000) note that in a
correlational research, relationships among two or more variables are studied without any
attempt to influence them. They contend that a major purpose of correlational research is
to clarify our understanding of important phenomena through the identification of
relationships among variables. This study attempted to determine the relationships that
JAASEP Spring/Summer 2010 44
occur between self-esteem and academic achievement for girls with hearing impairment
in secondary schools for the deaf in Kenya.
Target Population
Target population comprised of all girls with hearing impairment in secondary schools
for persons with hearing impairment in Kenya. A total population of about 300 girls with
hearing impairment in secondary schools was targeted however only about 140 girls from
those schools were found to be covering the academic curriculum. The rest were provided
with technical and vocational curriculum.
Rationale for Sample Selection
The two schools were purposively sampled since they were the only secondary schools
for girls with hearing impairment that provided an academic secondary school curriculum
in Kenya. The other girls’ secondary schools with hearing impairment provided an
integrated curriculum or technical and vocational training. These were Kambui in Central
Province and Nyang’oma and Kuja in Nyanza Province. Karen Technical College in
Nairobi Province only provided technical and vocational training for girls and boys with
hearing impairment. The two principals of the sampled schools were as well purposively
sampled since they were the administrators who would provide necessary rich
information for the study.
In every school forms ones being new to the school at the time of study were excluded
because they knew very little about the schools. Simple random sampling technique was
used to sample girls from forms two, three and four. Unfortunately, the number of girls in
every class was not adequate for this technique. Therefore, all girls in every class
participated in the study but still they were not the expected number. For instance, at
secondary school B, the expected number for participants was 32 yet only 30 girls were
found who were doing the academic curriculum. Others were taking vocational courses.
So the technique was not applicable as it could not work. At secondary school A, it was
also not possible to find eight girls per class in forms two, three and four as expected. A
sample of 23 girls with hearing impairment from school A and 30 girls with hearing
impairment from secondary school B participated in the study. In total, a sample of 53
girls with hearing impairment participated in the study constituting a 40% out of the total
population of 132 girls with hearing impairment as shown (Table 3). It was hoped that the
selected sample from the two schools could provide adequate data for the study. The
study only focused on relationship between self-esteem and academic achievement of
girls with hearing impairment.
Table 3: Target population and study sample
School Number of girls Sample selected Percentage
Secondary School A 60 23 40%
Secondary School B 72 30 40%
Total 132 53 40%
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Research Instruments
The research instruments for the study were three types of questionnaires with an
additional complementary interview. One questionnaire was an adaptation from
Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale to suit the situation on the ground that is, girls with hearing
impairment in Kenya. Rosenberg’s scale had been used in the United States of America
and on different culture hence the need to adapt it. The scale had also been used on
regular students without any disabilities. This data-collection instrument typically
inquired about the feelings, motivations, attitudes, accomplishments and experiences of
individuals (Gall, Borg and Gall, 1996). The other two questionnaires were self-made.
One sought for demographic information from the respondents and the other sought for
other school attributes from school principals. Such information was quite important
since it enabled the researcher to understand various factors that were personal, such as,
aspirations for higher learning and pedagogical attributes like learning resources/methods
that were being used if they had an effect on the subject coverage. Examination grades
for the last four terms for each participating girl were recorded and analyzed. Grade range
was as follows: E 0-39 (Very poor), D 40-49 (Poor), C 50-59 (Average), B 60-69 (Good)
and A 70-100 (Very good).
Pilot Study
It was important to conduct a pilot study before embarking on the main study. Robson
(1993) argues that piloting provides opportunity for the researcher to test his/her
confidence in identifying difficulties and obstacles that could affect the actual collection
of useful data. The pilot study helped to evaluate the effectiveness and validity of the
instruments. The pilot study was conducted in Kambui Secondary School which had an
integrated programme for girls with hearing impairment. Kambui is located in Central
Province of Kenya. The school served as a secondary school with an academic
programme and also had a technical and vocational section. It was hoped that simple
random sampling technique would be applied to sample the girls but unfortunately, the
number of girls was quite small. A sample of six girls with hearing impairment who were
the only ones integrated in Kambui secondary school participated in the pilot study. The
six girls were explained the purpose of the study and then requested to participate. They
were provided with questionnaires to fill. With the assistance of one of their class
teachers, they filled the questionnaires. The researcher analyzed the data collected with
the help of the supervisors. The findings from Kambui School helped to guide the
researcher to adjust the instruments where possible. The piloted school was not used in
the main study.
Data Collection and Analysis
Data for this study were collected by the researcher herself with assistance of class
teachers. The researcher made visits to the schools as a familiarization exercise and was
also able to introduce the purpose and nature of the study to the concerned authorities.
The visits helped the researcher to understand well the schools’ schedules. The researcher
then made appropriate appointments with the school administrators to fix the most
JAASEP Spring/Summer 2010 46
appropriate times for the administration of the questionnaires. Finally, the researcher
administered the questionnaires and also carried out observations of school academic
records for the same participants involved in the study.
The data for this study were computer analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social
Sciences (SPSS) programme. The descriptive statistics, that is, frequency distributions
and percentages were used to describe and summarize the data in reference to
demographic variables such as age, gender, education level, among others. The statistical
hypothesis was tested using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation. Qualitative data
collected from the two principals through complementary interviews were presented
descriptively and analyzed appropriately.
Major Findings of the Study
1. Majority of the respondent (60%) were aged between 17-19 years, 24% were between
20-22 years. Those who were 14-16 and years of age and above 23 years were 4%
each. Eight percent were non-committal on revealing their age. The findings revealed
that approximately 30% of girls with hearing impairment in the two secondary
schools were actually above secondary school age for hearing students which was
usually between 15-18 years.
2. It was established that 55% of the respondents came from Secondary School B which
was a boarding school for the girls, while 45% were from School A which was a
mixed secondary school.
3. It was found that the two secondary schools offered boarding facilities to the students
with hearing impairment. However, one school was open for both boarders and dayscholars
on condition that all girls with hearing impairment were boarders.
4. The findings showed that majority of girls with hearing impairment attended girls
secondary school which was also a boarding school.
5. The study established that 51% of the students wished to attain university education
and 28% wished to train in teacher training colleges. Fifteen percent of the girls
wanted to finish secondary education as their highest and perhaps engage into other
activities like dressmaking, saloon work and beauty therapy profession.
6. Majority (56%) of girls with hearing impairment felt that they had the ability to do
things as well as most other people according to their self-esteem ratings.
7. Majority of girls (86.5%) denied the fact that they were useless.
8. Many girls (93%) expressed the need for self-value and admired to be what they were
irrespective of their hearing impairment.
9. Most of girls (98%) wished to be respected by other people.
Results and Discussion
Girls with hearing impairment in my study were happy, sociable and no clue to use of
drugs was expressed. They were less likely vulnerable to depression yet their academic
achievement was low. The correlation between academic achievement and self-esteem
was positive although quite insignificant. The information regarding the nature of social
JAASEP Spring/Summer 2010 47
relationships among girls with hearing impairment was provided by the principals of the
schools visited. Generally, they indicated a positive cordial relationship between and
among teachers and students. One principal remarked, “Our girls are very friendly
particularly if you engage them in a conversation.” She added, “They become quite
inquisitive about the mood you portray to them.” That was an illustration how girls with
hearing impairment were caring and could take great concern for other people. In
addition, students were reported to engage in social activities that fostered their
socialization at school such as good grooming, music and movement, dance and drama.
For purposes of recreation and entertainment, particularly for girls with hearing
impairment, they enjoyed being entertained by other people in activities that they could
observe or watch. Since their lead sense is sight, it can be concluded that they benefited
or were stimulated most through watching other peoples’ plays or theatre acts.
However, at some occasions where music and movement competitions are held and
persons with hearing impairment participate, most of them become stimulated through
vibro-tactile sensations that they receive from the beats of the drums on the ground. The
vibrations stimulate and guide them to make and change steps or advance any necessary
movement in accordance to the rhythm of the music. They are enabled to participate in
extra-ordinary performances that baffle the hearing audience and leave them unbelieving.
The principal of school “B” acknowledged that girls in her school had made outstanding
performances in “Scottish dance” and had won several trophies in the National Music
Festival competitions for secondary schools. Indeed, she had a display of the trophies in
her office as evidence of the girls’ participations in social activities.
In a complementary interview with the two principals carried out by the researcher as a
follow-up activity, one principal revealed that girls with hearing impairment had high
value for good-grooming. She said,
Our girls like modeling and fashion show activities where they can
demonstrate beauty, fashions and catwalk. In fact we organize for interhouse
beauty and fashion shows once in a while to promote their interest
in this area as part of recreational activity.
The findings showed that majority of the students, (49%) found the boarding facilities to
be good, 30% experienced the facilities as very good while 15% viewed them to be bad
with only 6% of students finding the facilities to be very bad. This finding suggests that
most girls with hearing impairment in secondary boarding schools found boarding
facilities to be adequate for their use. With the understanding that the girls had a safe
place to live and learn, there was no doubt that they were psychologically aware of the
protection they enjoyed and could forge ahead to embark on academic pursuits to higher
levels. It was evident that both secondary schools had permanent infrastructure furnished
with beds and mattresses for girls’ boarding use. Despite the fact that girls with hearing
impairment received good accommodation to enable them to embark on studies
uninterrupted, their academic performance was dismal. They were not able to achieve to
the expected levels yet they were all boarders with all necessary boarding provisions. The
finding of my study is supported by Harter, Whitesell and Junkin (1998); Kloomok and
Cosden (1994) who reveal that if a student considers his/her ability to be low in the
JAASEP Spring/Summer 2010 48
particular area of academic functioning (low self-esteem in the domain of academic selfconcept),
less importance may be attached to academic success in order to preserve
overall or global self-esteem.
The findings revealed that the preferred mode of communication by girls with hearing
impairment at secondary schools was Total Communication. The current trend in the
education of persons with hearing impairment emphasize the use of Total
Communication which is a philosophy that encourages incorporation of manual
communication, oral communication and component such as gestures, body language,
writing, pointing, drawing, pantomime and mimicry.
It was established that school A which had student population of about 240 had 20
teachers. Out of this number, one teacher had a Masters degree in Special Needs
Education, 14 had Bachelor of Education degrees, 3 teachers had diploma in Special
Needs Education, 1 teacher was S1(secondary one), while only 1 was untrained. From
school B which had a population of 189 students, there were 34 teachers. Two teachers
had Masters degrees in Special Needs Education, 15 had Bachelor of Education degrees,
9 teachers had diploma in Special Needs Education, 1 was S1, 1 was P1 (primary one),
and 4 were untrained. This finding is a proof that teachers for student with disabilities in
the two secondary schools that participated in the study were highly qualified and
possessed knowledge and skills to work favourably with those students. However, the
findings of my study revealed that despite the high qualifications teachers in the two
schools possessed, girls’ academic achievement was low and self-esteem high. This
depicts a situation whereby teachers in the two schools have to search for possibilities
that could arouse girl’s interest in academic work. The finding of my study corroborates
with Ardail (2005) who claims that women lack strong expectations of their own personal
efficacy in a number of occupations particularly in natural sciences, engineering and
mathematics.
Seventy-two percent of the students said that they used hearing aids while 28% did not.
There is high possibility that the high percentage of girls were hard-of-hearing since they
admitted to possess the aids. However, the percentage that reported failure to use the
hearing aids could be as a result of inability to purchase one. Indeed, hearing aids are
very expensive equipment and it could be impossible for the ordinary parent to afford.
They cost at a tune of between Kenya shillings (Ksh 25,000 – 35,000) and above. Many
families/parents however, find it a great financial challenge to acquire one for their
daughters. So the girls with hearing impairment may be forced to survive without a
hearing aid. Whenever a student has been advised to use a hearing aid and cannot afford
to purchase one, she stands to be disadvantaged and miss a lot of information in class.
This would result in lack of interaction with the teacher, poor communication with peers
in class and generally poor performance as concerns academic achievement. The findings
revealed lack of adequate assistive devices for students with hearing impairment in
secondary schools thus creating a gap in terms of provision for appropriate learning
resources.
JAASEP Spring/Summer 2010 49
However, the two schools depended on donations from well-wishers, churches and Non-
Governmental Organizations. The principal of school A admitted that the school received
great support as concerns donation of hearing aids from Seaford and Seven Oaks of
United Kingdom as Presbyterian Church of East Africa was their major sponsor for the
school development. The principal of school B reported to receive great financial help
from well-wishers and friends from abroad while the Ministry of Education, Science and
Technology gave grants for construction of physical facilities.
It was noted that parents paid fees for their daughters although majority never paid on
time and they ran into arrears. The issue was a great setback that led to challenging
monetary deficits in school administration budget. One principal revealed that sometimes
students took a long time to report back to school from holiday due to lack of school fees
and therefore missed quite a lot in their studies. Such a factor could contribute towards
low performance in academics because of missing curriculum coverage during her
absenteeism and could also lead to low morale towards learning.
Conclusions of the Study
1. It was concluded that self-esteem of girls with hearing impairment was positive but
the academic achievement was low.
2. Students performing poorly in academic education approved highly of themselves
presenting deviation in literature.
3. Girls with hearing impairment placed more value on rational aspects (grooming) as
well as music and dance, much more than the will to score high in academic work
despite the help they received from teachers and support from schools.
4. Students with hearing impairment were not catered for adequately as concerns
provision of learning and teaching resources in schools.
Recommendations
1. Teachers should make deliberate use of positive reinforcement that will encourage
girls’ participation and promote their esteem towards academic performance. They
should ensure that they put in place all necessary and learning and teaching devices
that would support each girl to receive information in the simplest and easy way
without many difficulties.
2. The principals of secondary schools for girls with hearing impairment should
collaborate with parents, teachers, students and other interested partners in initiating
constructive projects that will actively engage girls’ participation and bring change in
attitude towards their education outcomes. Projects such as beauty therapy,
modeling, dance performances, grooming among others would go way ahead in
promoting girls’ potentials and exposure to the outside world.
3. Educators/teachers, counselors, parents, hearing peers and other stakeholders to
encourage girls and give moral support so that they work hard to improve on
academic work at school on the understanding that education is key to upward
mobility and job security.
JAASEP Spring/Summer 2010 50
4. The government should make curriculum flexible to give girls more time for syllabus
coverage since they require proficiency in a skill area before transiting to the next
higher level. It was proved from the findings that as level of classes increased, the
academic performance decreased. So girls with hearing impairment would require
more time in every class to polish up before proceeding to a higher level.
5. The curriculum developers that is, Kenya Institute of Education to reconsider
curricula adaptation to suit the potentials and abilities of girls with hearing
impairment. Provision for a diversified curriculum that gives alternative choices
should be available at all times in schools in order to motivate low achievers in
academics who may proof to be higher achievers in other areas of proficiency.
6. The Kenya National Examinations Council should rethink practical assessment
whereby candidates with hearing impairment could be exposed to strategies like
observations and demonstrations on concrete aspects as opposed to applications and
synthesis on theory or abstract work which may require too much reading and
cramming notes for purposes of passing examinations.
7. Further intensive research should be carried out to investigate the crucial emerging
issues that could contribute to the positive yet weak correlation that occurred because
girls with hearing impairment need empowerment to perform adequately in
academics.
8. Further research should be carried out in the area of communication proficiency in
Kenya Sign Language by teachers who teach in schools for students with hearing
impairment to determine the required levels of proficiency and also put in place
intervention measures such as constant in-service courses for improvement.
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