The predictive influence of gender, onset of deafness and academic self-efficacy on the attitudes of deaf learners towards Biology

In the study reported on here we examined the attitudes of deaf learners towards biology in Ibadan, Nigeria. Forty-one deaf learners (28 males; 13 females) in the Secondary School II science classes from 3 government-funded secondary schools for the deaf were purposively selected for the study. In the study we adopted a descriptive survey research design of the correlational type. Four research questions were raised and answered. A structured questionnaire, “Deaf Learners and Biology Questionnaire” with a reliability coefficient of 0.81, was used for data collection. Data were analysed with descriptive statistics and inferential statistics of Pearson product moment correlation, multiple regression and t-test at 0.05 level of significance. There was a positively significant relationship between academic self-efficacy and the attitudes of deaf learners towards biology (r = 0.511; p < 0.05); a significant but negative relationship between gender and the attitudes of deaf learners towards biology (r = 0.15; p < 0.05). No significant relationship between the onset of deafness and the attitudes of deaf learners towards biology (r = 0.810; p > 0.05) was observed. A total of 58.1% of the variance of the independent variables accounted for the attitudes towards biology among deaf learners who participated in the study. We conclude that academic self-efficacy has a great effect on the attitude of deaf learners towards biology. Gender contributes to and is inversely proportional to learners’ disposition towards biology. In light of the findings, appropriate recommendations are made. Keywords: academic self-efficacy; attitude towards biology; deaf learners; gender; onset of deafnes