Educational and technological needs of university students with hearing impairments

Abstract

In Spain, only 9.2 % of persons with disabilities embark upon Higher Education (Fundacion Universia, 2014), and 14.7 % obtain a university degree, compared to 31.7% of the rest of population (National Statistics Institute, INE, 2012).

Regarding to Spanish university students with hearing impairments, total population is estimated at 163.627 people (IMSERSO, 2015), and the share of university students with disabilities is 7 % in undergraduate studies, and 7.2 % in postgraduate studies (Fundacion Universia, 2014).

Generally speaking, technological advances allow the inclusion of persons with functional diversity, and these advances cannot be seen as something isolated from education. They should therefore be a necessary part of the educational response to students with special educational needs and, specifically, to students with hearing impairments in both on-site and virtual learning environments.

This work provides a review of the educational needs and the current technological adaptations for students with hearing impairments, and also provides some solutions for an optimal inclusion of this group in Higher Education.