ATTITUDE TOWARDS DEAF PEOPLE AMONG MALAYSIAN SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

Abstract

Following the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 (Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Malaysia), the Ministry of Education Malaysia is working towards providing a special education integration program (Program Pendidikan Khas Integrasi) that would increase the studying potential of special need students which includes student with hearing impairment. Previous research showed that having a positive attitude towards deaf peers in the classroom facilitates the success of inclusive education for deaf students. Therefore, this study intends to investigate the attitudes towards deaf people among hearing students and the impacts of contact with and knowledge about deafness on their attitude. A total of 143 students from two regular schools in Kuala Lumpur participated in this study. Participants’ demographic data, contact frequency with deaf people, knowledge about deaf people, and attitude towards deaf people were obtained through the questionnaire. Results showed that both interaction with and knowledge about deaf people were positively associated with attitude toward deaf peers. More importantly, knowledge about deaf people was found to mediate the relationship between interaction with interaction and attitude towards deaf individuals. Implication of the result includes giving insights about the current attitude towards deaf people in schools, in preparation to facilitate deaf students’ social and communication needs in the classroom for successful inclusive education