Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students' Attitudes towards of Studying at the Special Education Department and the Relationship between these Attitudes and Academic Motivation

Abstract

The study aimed to identify the deaf and hard-of-hearing students' attitudes towards the study of the Special Education Department and the relationship between these attitudes and academic motivation, and to identify how different these attitudes are depending on the school level, the level of loss, and the methods of communication. The sample of the study consisted of 24 deaf and hard-of-hearing students in the third and fourth level in the Special Education Department in the College of Education at King Saud University, of whom 17 were deaf students and 7 were hearing-impaired students. The scale of attitudes towards studying and the measure of academic motivation, prepared by the researcher, were administered to the sample. Findings revealed that there was a correlative relationship between the deaf and hard-of-hearing students' attitudes and academic motivation. While no differences were found between the deaf and hard of hearing students in their attitudes towards studying, differences were found between the deaf and hard-of-hearing students in the academic motivation, in favor of the latter.