Teachers Perspectives: Accommodating students with Mild or Moderate Hearing Loss in the Classroom.

The aim of this research study was to investigate the outcomes, successes, challenges and strategies of accommodating students with Mild or Moderate Hearing Loss (MMHL) in educational classrooms. The main research question that guided this study was: how do a sample of teachers support the environmental and social needs of students with a MMHL in an inclusive general classroom? Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with two elementary school teachers currently working in a classroom with MMHL students. Findings suggest that teachers face a range of social and environmental barriers in supporting MMHL students. As well, classroom educators indicated that resources such as technology and environmental materials are crucial to accommodate MMHL students. Findings also suggest that factors such as student support systems and accommodations for student learning, needs to be taken into consideration when teaching MMHL students. The implications of these findings suggest that more needs to be done in order to increase MMHL students’ overall success. More specifically, it was found that schools and school boards should focus on educating teachers what hearing loss is, as well as practical and effective strategies/resources that can be used in the classroom to accommodate an inclusive classroom for students with MMHL