“There is no barrier when it comes to your deafness”: participatory research exploring the views of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing students being educated in a Resource Base

Resource Bases (RBs) are a form of educational provision which may allow Children and Young People (CYP) with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) to be included within a mainstream school environment and access appropriate learning opportunities. Research has started to consider the ways in which this type of educational provision can be beneficial. However, much of the research has focused on RBs which support CYP with social communication and language needs, therefore there is a gap in the literature which considers other needs, such as Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (D/HH) students. Furthermore, current research around the educational experiences of CYP tends to focus on the perspectives of staff or parents/carers, this means the views of the child is missing. CYP have a right to give their views about decisions which affect them, therefore it is important they are given opportunities to provide their opinions.

The current research sought to explore the school experiences of D/HH students being educated within a RB within an outer London borough secondary mainstream school. The current research aimed to have an emancipatory purpose, and as such, a participatory research approach was implemented with the aim to empower the students to provide authentic views on their experiences. Six students took on the role of co-researchers and were involved in the design, data collection, analysis and dissemination of the current research.

The students designed the aim and research questions which involved exploring their feelings in relation to their school experience and the support they receive. Individual interviews, focus groups and diary entries were used to collect data on the students’ school experiences and thematic analysis was employed to identify five themes to answer their research question. The students then created presentations to disseminate their findings to their educational setting.

The themes identified by the students highlight the importance of relationships with others, including their peers and staff members. In addition, the students discuss how their own acceptance of their identity and self-esteem also influences how they view their school experiences. The findings and the participatory process used within this research has important implications for the educational provision in which the research was conducted and for the students themselves. In addition, the findings may also have implications for educational psychologists in supporting educational settings in enabling the inclusion of D/HH CYP and CYP being educated in RBs.