Inclusive Education for Deaf Students in Saudi Arabia

322 Pages·2014·2.53 MB·English

Inclusive Education for Deaf Students in Saudi Arabia:
Perceptions of Schools Principals, Teachers and Parents

By
Abdulaziz Alothman

A thesis submitted in part fulfilment of the requirements of
the University of Lincoln for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy in Education – School of Education (CERD)
University of Lincoln

April, 2014
Abstract

This study is set in Saudi Arabia within the context of increasing national and
international emphasis on inclusive education of deaf students and where policy overtly
supports increasingly inclusive schools. This research is important because it is one of
the few qualitative Saudi Arabian studies that have been conducted within the
interpretive paradigm with a view to understanding the complexity of inclusive
education. It specifically explores the factors that have influenced its theory and practice
at inclusive boys’ primary schools for deaf students in the Saudi educational context.
The empirical study which was set in the Local Educational Authority in Riyadh city
focuses on the perceptions of schools' principals, teachers and parents of deaf students.
It explores the knowledge, understanding, attitudes and experiences of these three
groups of participants regarding the inclusive education of deaf students, in order to
establish the factors that influence inclusive education and determine the kind of
services that are needed for inclusive education of deaf students in the Saudi context.

The study had two stages: the first involved exploratory focus-group interviews with
schools' staff including schools' principals, teachers and parents of deaf students; and,
stage two was based upon individual interviews, observations and documentary data. I
adopted a purposive sampling strategy in both cases and overall 61 participants were
included. A key finding was that principals of inclusive schools lacked the knowledge
and understanding of inclusive education necessary for effective education for deaf
students. This arguably has affected their attitudes and unconstructively influenced their
attitudes towards the inclusive education of deaf students in their schools. Whilst the
majority of teachers of deaf children had more knowledge and the necessary positive
views towards their inclusive education and have tried to adapt classroom materials and
activities to accommodate deaf students, the lack of support from principals inhibited
them. In addition parents appear to lack knowledge about inclusion and its possibilities
for their children and they are as such excluded from influencing educational policy and
mostly do not play the role in inclusive schools to support their children that Saudi
Arabian policy suggests they should. Other inhibiting factors for inclusive education for
deaf students included insufficient facilities and resources, lack of training courses and
lack of collaboration among school staff and between staff and parents of deaf students.
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My research indicates that these insufficiencies cannot be addressed without there being
a symbiotic relationship between principals, teachers, parents, the Local Educational
Authority, the Ministry of Education and the school environment. There is a strong need
to create mechanisms to change the knowledge, attitudes and qualifications of
principals, teachers and parents. Therefore in response to these findings I have
developed and proposed a strategic model that focuses on the deaf student and their
educational support, for the Saudi Education System.

There is considerable research needed if inclusive education for deaf students is to be
more grounded in an understanding of the context. The study ended with utilising its
findings and previous literature to develop recommendations for theories of inclusive
education and made contributions to knowledge about the role of attitudes. It also
provided a set of policy guidelines and made suggestions about pedagogy. In Saudi,
organisationally the Local Educational Authority need to pay more attention to funding
inclusive schools and providing facilities and specialised training to school staff and
parents. With work this may lead to successful inclusive education for deaf students in
Saudi Arabia.

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Acknowledgements
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

At the beginning, Praise and Great Thanks be to Allah (God) for providing me with the
ability and patience to carry out this study.

I am indebted to many people and organisations that helped and supported me to
complete this study. Firstly, I am very grateful to my supervisors, Dr. Andrea Abbas
and Dr. Fiona King for their unlimited advice, encouraging remarks, feedback, and
support throughout this journey. I would also like to thank the University of Lincoln, for
their guidance and beneficial comments throughout the period of the research.

Additionally, my respect and thanks go to Professor Howard Stevenson for his advice in
the early stage of this research. Sincere thanks to Professor Abdul Karim Awad for his
support and professional translation.

This is a great opportunity to express my special thanks for all the participants who
shared with me their knowledge, experiences and for their patience and co-operation
which made this thesis possible. Thanks also to the inclusive schools for deaf students
and the Local Educational Authority in Riyadh city for being so welcoming and helpful
in this research. Thanks to all my friends and colleagues for their help and support.

My love and deepest gratitude should go to my big and small families, especially my
wife and my son and daughter who suffered a lot and shared the ups and downs of this
journey. My greatest thanks go to my parents, for their prayers for me to go back
successful. Finally, I would like to thank the Saudi government (Ministry of Higher
Education) for being the sponsor of my scholarship. I owe a lot to my country and I
hope I can pay back some of this favour.

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Table of Contents
Content Page

Abstract 1
Acknowledgements 3
Table of Contents 4
Abbreviations and Terms 9

CHAPTER ONE: Context and Exploring The Gap 10
1.1 Introduction 11
1.2 Research Context 12
1.3 Statement of the Research Problem 13
1.4 Objectives of the Research 15
1.5 Research Questions 15
1.6 Overview of the Research Method 16
1.7 Significance of the Study 17
1.8 Overview of the Study 18
CHAPTER TWO: The Saudi Arabian Context 21
2.1 Introduction 22
2.2 General information 23
2.3 Historical Perspective in Education in Saudi Arabia 25
2.4 The Development of Special and Deaf Education in Saudi Arabia 28
2.5 Policy of Special Education in Saudi Arabia 31
2.6 The Beneficiaries from Special Education Services 33
2.7 Educational Settings for Students with Special Needs 34
2.8 Current provision for Deaf Students in Saudi Arabia and Riyadh 37
2.9 Teachers of Deaf Students in Saudi Arabia 39
2.10 School Principals of Inclusion Schools for Deaf Students in Saudi 40
Arabia
2.11 Parents of Deaf Students in inclusive schools in Saudi Arabia 42
2.12 Concluding Remarks 42

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CHAPTER THREE: The Notion of Deafness and Special Education 44
3.1 Introduction 45
3.2 Models of Special Educational Needs and the example of Deaf 45
Education
3.2.1 The Medical Model 47
3.2.2 The Social Model 48
3.2.3 Interactional Model 50
3.3 The categories of special education 51
3.4 Understanding of Deafness 53
3.5 Dimensions and Degree of Deafness 55
3.6 Language Development and Communication with Deaf People 58
3.7 Learning Development for Deaf People 62
3.8 Concluding Remarks 64
CHAPTER FOUR: Inclusive Education: Theoretical Overview 66
4.1 Introduction 67
4.2 Educational Provision for the Deaf 67
4.3 The Historical Background to inclusion 70
4.4 The Differences between Inclusion and Integration 71
4.5 Key Features of Inclusive Education 73
4.6 Inclusive Educational Processes: meanings and practices 74
4.7 Classifications of Inclusive Education 79
4.8 Models of Inclusive Education 81
4.9 The underlying rationales for Inclusive Education 82
4.9.1 The Social-ethical Rationale 83
4.9.2 The Legal-legislative Rationale 85
4.9.3 The Psychological-educational Rationale 86
4.10 Challenges and Effects of Inclusive Education 87
4.11 Factors Influencing Inclusive Education 89
4.11.1 Professional Training and Development 90
4.11.2 School Environment 92
4.11.3 Collaboration and Communication 94
4.11.4 Nature of the Special Needs 94
4.12 The Possibility of Change 96
4.13 Concluding Remarks 100
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CHAPTER FIVE: On the Concept of Attitudes and Inclusive Education 102
5.1 Introduction 103
5.2 Explanations of the Concept of Attitudes 104
5.3 Models of Attitudes 106
5.3.1 The Single Component Model of Attitudes 106
5.3.2 The Three Component Model of Attitudes 106
5.4 Measurement of Attitudes 109
5.5 Overview of Studies Concerning Attitudes towards Inclusive 110
Education
5.6 Concluding Remarks 115
CHAPTER SIX: Design of Fieldwork: Materials and Methods 116
6.1 Introduction 117
6.2 Philosophical Underpinnings 118
6.3 The Interpretive Paradigm: ontology, epistemology, methodology 119
6.4 Justification for adopting the Qualitative Method 123
6.5 Research Design 126
6.5.1 Stage One 127
6.5.1.1 The Pilot Interview 127
6.5.2 Stage Two (case study) 128
6.6 Data Collection Strategies 130
6.6.1 Interview method 130
6.6.1.1 Focusing on the Interview Questions 132
6.6.2 Observation 133
6.6.2.1 Procedures for carrying out the Observations 134
6.6.3 Documentary Data 137
6.7 Actual Investigating Procedure 138
6.8 Sampling Procedures 139
6.9 Ethical Considerations and Access 141
6.10 Data Analysis 142
6.11 Quality of Research and Trustworthiness 146
6.11.1 Credibility 146
6.11.2 Transferability 147
6.11.3 Dependability 148
6.11.4 Conformability 149
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6.12 Researcher’s Positionality 149
6.13 Concluding Remarks 151
CHAPTER SEVEN: FINDINGS: Knowledge and Understanding of 152
Inclusive Education
7.1 Introduction 153
7.2 Knowledge and Understanding of Inclusive Education 155
7.2.1 School Principals’ Knowledge and Understanding 156
7.2.2 Teachers’ Knowledge and Understanding 163
7.2.3 Parents’ Knowledge and Understanding 171
7.3 Concluding Remarks 175
CHAPTER EIGHT: FINDINGS: Attitudes toward Inclusive Education 177
8.1 Introduction 178
8.2 Attitudes toward Inclusive Education of Deaf Students 179
8.2.1 School Principals’ Attitudes 180
8.2.2 Teachers’ Attitudes 189
8.2.3 Parents’ Attitudes 195
8.3 Concluding Remarks 198
CHAPTER NINE: FINDINGS: Facilities, Training and School 201
Environment
9.1 Introduction 202
9.2 Insufficient Facilities and Resources 202
9.3 Lack of Training Courses 208
9.4 Lack of Collaboration among School Staff as well as Parents 212
9.5 Concluding Remarks 220
CHAPTER TEN: Conclusion and Recommendations 222
10.1 Introduction 223
10.2 Summary of the Study and the Main Findings 223
10.3 Conception of the Findings 232
10.4 Recommendations 236
10.5 Concluding Remarks 242
10.6 Contribution of the study 243
10.7 Limitations of the Research 245
10.8 Directions for Further Research 246
10.9 A Reflexive Account 246
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REFERENCES 249

LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES
Chart 1: Distribution of SEN according to the category of disability and 34
school stage
Chart 2: Distribution of deaf students in education placement by 39
numbers and percentages
Table 3: The levels of hearing loss 57
Table 4: Features of continuum of educational provision 69

LIST OF MAPS AND FIGURES
Map 1: Map of Saudi Arabia 23
Figure 6.1: The research design 126
Figure 6.2: Triangulation of methods of data collection 130

LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix A: Exploratory focus-groups interviews with schools’ principals, 279
teachers and parents
Appendix B-1: Semi-Structured Interview Schedule with School Principals 281
Appendix B-2: Semi-Structured Interview Schedule with Teachers 284
Appendix B-3 Semi-Structured Interview Schedule with Parents 287
Appendix C-1 Diagram, Shows the Location of Deaf Students Classrooms 289
Appendix C-2 Diagram, Shows Inclusive Education Within-classroom 290
Appendix D: The Ethical Research Approval 291
Appendix E-1: Information Permission Form 296
Appendix E-2: Permission From the Local Educational Authority 298
Appendix G-1: Interview Transcript with School’s Principal 299
Appendix G-2: Interview Transcript with Teacher 306
Appendix G-3: Interview Transcript with Parent 315
Appendix F: Coding from some Pieces of the Original Interview 320

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Abbreviations and Terms

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organisation
GSSE The General Secretariat of Special Education
EAU The Educational Advisory Unit
MOE Ministry of Education
LEA Local Educational Authority
UK United Kingdom
DGSE Directorate General of Special Education
SEN Special educational needs
IEP Individual Educational Plan
ICF The Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health
WHO World Health Organisation
ICIDH The International Classification of Impairment, Disability and
Handicap
BSL British Sign Language
SSL Saudi Sign Language
SL Sign Language
CHL Conductive hearing loss
SNHL Sensor-neural hearing loss
dBHL Decibels Hearing Level
USA United States of America
DRTF Disability Rights Task Force
BERA British Educational Research Association
CPD Continuing Professional Development

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