The academic challenges facing deaf students at Durban University of Technology.

Abstract

This study will take the form of a case study of a group of Deaf Information Technology

(IT) students and their Sign Language interpreters at Durban University of Technology

(DUT). These students are enrolled under a Programme for the Deaf run by the

Information Technology Department. The department provides additional assistance in

the form of Sign Language interpreters who attend all their lectures and also provide

extra tutorials for them. The aim of the research is to identify the main challenges

encountered by this group of students at DUT. I first became aware of the existence of

these students while engaged in an action research project at the beginning of 2005 and

realised that this was an area that needed further study.

There is a lack of research on Deaf students in tertiary institutions in South Africa and

there are not many tertiary institutions which enrol Deaf students and provide them with a

Sign Language interpreter. I realised that this was an area which needed to be researched

and that the resulting findings could make a difference to the lives of Deaf students at

DUT by identifying the main problems and perhaps suggesting ways in which these

could be addressed. Group interviews with the Deaf participants were conducted with the

assistance of a Sign Language interpreter in order to explore their challenges. Further

interviews were conducted with the interpreters who were interviewed individually.

The study was limited to Deaf students enrolled under the undergraduate Programme for

the Deaf at DUT and, as a result, might not reflect challenges faced by any other deaf

students at DUT or other tertiary institutions. The findings identified, amongst others,

problems such as poor literacy levels of the Deaf students and lack of communication

between the Deaf students and hearing staff and students on campus among other

problems. The Deaf students felt marginalised and largely ignored on campus. There was

very little awareness of Deafness among hearing students and staff at DUT. Some

possible solutions to these problems were suggested such as including deaf awareness in

the orientation of hearing staff and students.