Postsecondary Transition Experiences of Young Women Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Saudi Arabia

General secondary school experiences

The participants shared their general high school experiences—especially those with different school subjects. Participants reported that different factors influenced their preferences for a subject, including that subject’s content or teacher. For example, some of the participants claimed that mathematics was one of their favorite subjects, while others said it was not, for a variety of reasons, including the subject’s difficulty. In addition, the participants reported preference for subjects based upon teachers’ characteristics, such as their proficiency in sign language, use of educational aids, and ability to provide clear explanations of the content. When students who were DHH talked about their general experiences in high school, some referred to their schools’ educational settings. A few of them shared positive experiences related to their educational setting. A student who was deaf and attended an institute compared the institute and mainstreaming schools: “[T]he institute is better because the teachers are all fluent in sign language. It is better than mainstreaming schools; I feel that it is my second home, and I am among my family” (Participant 17). Among those who attended a mainstreaming school, a student who was HH talked positively about her experiences with mainstreaming teachers (special education teachers). She said, “If I go through difficulty or any problem, I go to the mainstreaming teacher, and she communicates with the subject teacher and they help me” (Participant 4). Another student who was HH shared her unsatisfactory experience in mainstreaming schools: “I did not know how to study, I did not know how to answer, I did not know the words ‘getting a high GPA,’ and I didn’t participate by the way; the girls and I were not participating” (Participant 2).

Secondary transition preparation experiences

All participants in this study reported their experience with secondary transition preparation. When students who were DHH were asked whether their high schools prepared them for the transition to postsecondary education, most of the participants said yes, and when they were asked what kind of support their schools offered them, a student who was deaf and who graduated from a mainstreaming school said as follows: “They [the school] prepared me in advance with information about universities, entry into them, exams and interviews, and expression” (Participant 15). Students who were DHH were also asked about what the high schools had done to give them information about their educational and career options after graduation. Most of the participants said that their high schools did not provide them with information regarding postsecondary education options. However, there were students who indicated that they had obtained information on postsecondary education options. Importantly, a few of them said they obtained this information through a school-coordinated visit to the university. However, most of the students who reported having obtained information about educational options after high school indicated that the school had only informed them about one of the available options. Furthermore, when asked about the nature of the information they had obtained, most of the students said it was only general. In addition, most of the students who were DHH said they were not provided with information about their career options after graduation, while the few students who said they received such information from their high schools highlighted that the information they received was not detailed. Furthermore, all the participants in this study pointed out that their schools did not help them choose their college majors. Only a few of the students said their schools informed them about the available university majors but also reported that they were not provided with any opportunities to explore how these different majors may or may not relate to their career goals.

Through the experiences in preparing for the transition to college that students who were DHH shared, there were noticeable indications of a lack of individual support from the schools. If any support was provided, it was offered to all students in general. It was also clear that some of the students did not have clear future goals when they were in high school. Some of them were also planning their futures in high school without individual support. For example, a student who was deaf said she wanted to join many scientific majors even though she was on the literary path in high school.

When they recalled their experiences in high school, some participants, especially those who were HH, pointed out that they had low expectations in the school environment, whether regarding their expectations for themselves or others’ expectations of them. A student who was HH shared her experiences in high school: “Originally, I wasn’t thinking that I was going to go to college; I did not expect that I am a university [student]” (Participant 8). When asked if she received support from her high school to join the university, another student who was also HH said,

The teachers some of them helped me and some of them said no, I mean, they did not expect that I would enter the university, so they said because I am HH and I need someone to help me with the service in the study and such. (Participant 3)

Some participants also mentioned that when they were in high school, they had the belief that they would not get the support they needed in their future at universities or workplaces. Concerning a university education, some students believed that they would not get the support they needed and that university studies would be difficult for them. Regarding students’ concerns about their future careers, those who shared their thoughts often talked with the expectation that there would be a lack of support in the workplace.

When sharing their transition experiences, the majority of the participants often referred to the continued support they received from their families and friends. Most of them mentioned how their parents helped them overcome challenges, encouraging and supporting them to enroll in a university. They also referred to their friends as a source of support in making decisions, in obtaining information about universities, and in overcoming academic challenges.

Suggestions regarding school reform

All the participants in this study provided some suggestions on what high schools should do to better prepare students who are DHH to be successful in their postsecondary transition. These suggestions included modifying curriculum content, considering the use of educational aids, and reconsidering the extent of the content density provided to students who are DHH compared to their hearing peers. Many of them mentioned that they were being provided with nonintensive materials when they were in high school. Some of the participants said that to prepare for postsecondary education, students who are DHH should not be accustomed to studying from simple materials that provide them with summaries or highlights from books. In considering this, a student who was deaf commented as follows: “They [students who are DHH] will be educated in advance and prepared for the future, and it will be easy for them when they enter a university” (Participant 15).

The participants also highlighted the importance of high school students who are DHH developing many skills. The related suggestions they provided differed based on their respective experiences. However, some of the participants said that skills related to the Arabic language were important skills that should be developed before they graduate from high school. A student who was deaf provided a suggestion based on the issue of unemployment among individuals who are deaf:

Develop different skills, not the traditional skills that are saturated in the labor market; is it necessary to be computer computer computer skills . . . NO! This means that they [the school] are not limited to certain skills; that is, they have the flexibility to teach them skills that are appropriate and new. (Participant 9)

From another perspective, a few students who were HH indicated the importance of possessing social skills that would help them integrate into the hearing community, particularly those related to forming friendships with their hearing peers. In addition, some of the participants indicated that high schools should provide more information about postsecondary options to students who are DHH. Emphasizing the importance of such information, a student who was HH commented as follows:

They [high school] are supposed to teach us what will happen if we graduate from high school and what things we need to do, how to arrange our goals, and how to achieve our ambitions so that we do not feel lost after high school. (Participant 2)

School-to-college transition experiences

Most of the participants held more positive attitudes toward their university than toward their high school. Through their experiences in high school and university, the participants highlighted the importance of students who are DHH knowing how to depend on themselves to prepare for study at the university level. Students who were DHH also pointed out the difference between universities and high schools in terms of the difficulty of course materials. A few of them indicated that the course materials at the university were different from what they were accustomed to in high school, pointing out their dissatisfaction with what teachers were doing at the secondary stage by reducing the difficulty of the subject materials for them, as this negatively affected their preparation for the university stage. They also expressed the shock they experienced when they entered the university as a result of not being prepared for this stage. A student commented: “I hope the teachers do not help the HH by highlighting books at school so that they get used to the university’s system” (Participant 8).

Although many students who were DHH indicated that they were shocked when they joined the university and that they faced some difficulties in the beginning, they indicated that they had surpassed that. A student spoke positively about her university experience compared with her high school experience: “For me, high school did not benefit me very much, but the university changed many things for me.” She added, “Qualifying year, major, and everything, I mean, it even expanded my acquaintances” (Participant 7). Another student who was deaf talked positively about her experiences at the university, referring to the qualifying year: “a big benefit; I benefited from it more than I did from school” (Participant 17). The participants also described how high school had influenced their current academic performance at the university. Most of them pointed out different ways in which they think high school prepared them for the university. Some of the participants mentioned the preparation they had received in learning necessary Arabic language skills. In addition, a few of the students referred to specific people (e.g., a sign language interpreter and one of the subject teachers) in high school who helped them prepare for the university through their own efforts. This was either by developing their Arabic language skills or by providing them with information about postsecondary education.

Experiences at the university

The participants’ responses showed that many students who were DHH enrolled in the university without any prior knowledge of the major they wanted to pursue. Most of the students who were DHH talked about their experiences in choosing their majors. Only a few of them mentioned that they had certain majors in mind when they joined the university, while the rest chose their majors after enrolling. When asked about the academic support they received at the university, all the participants said the university provided them with that support. Students referred to different types of services they received at the university, including coordinating their study schedules, coordinating with faculty members in case the exams conflicted, providing them with the necessary documentation to disclose their disability, and sign language interpretation. Most of the participants listed the qualifying year as among the services that they benefited from at the university. This is a year in which students enroll in their first year of university and which is devoted to developing Arabic language skills for students who are DHH. A student who was HH described how this year prepared her to transition to the university:

It prepared me psychologically before I got ready for the preparation year, and it does the same thing for the mind. I learned how to put together a sentence, how to ask for help without being ashamed. (Participant 2)

The majority of the participants shared some of their positive experiences at the university. These experiences were related to the university in general and the services provided, the program for students who are DHH and the support they provided, or the courses and the support provided by faculty members. Furthermore, through their discussions, students who were DHH clearly described the role of their families and friends as encouraging and supporting them, whether that support came when they decided to enroll in the university or after their enrollment. They also referred to the supportive role of their friends, for example, in their choice of a major or in obtaining information about the university and its services. Even though the participants shared positive experiences, they also indicated that they experienced some challenges at the university. Some of them reported facing difficulties in course assignments and exams, especially when they included writing requirements. Other challenges in academic courses included the density of course materials; some indicated that this was due to the fact that they were not used to such intensity when they were in high school. Most of the participants also shared some of the challenges they were currently facing with distance learning (as a result of COVID-19), including difficulty hearing voices and their lack of clarity, in addition to some professors’ lack of use of presentation slides, difficulty in concentration and participation, and technical issues. For students who were deaf, the challenges they shared were related to the difficulty of focusing when there were presentation slides and a sign language interpreter at the same time, as well as when some faculty members used some video conferencing programs that did not allow them to appear on the same page with the interpreter, which forced the students to use two programs or devices to follow both the faculty member and interpreter. Difficulty in participation was also another challenge; some explained that while they were still following the interpreter, hearing students had already participated or answered the lecturer’s questions. Finally, some of the participants mentioned the lack of majors available for students who are DHH as another challenge.

During the interviews, the participants were asked to share their opinions on what universities should do to better support students who are DHH to succeed at higher education. These recommendations included that professors should offer test alternatives, replace essay questions with objective questions, offer an alternative to class participation, provide options for the assignments that include writing, and use presentation slides during lectures.

College-to-work transition preparation

All participants, who represented different majors, assured that they know what career options were available to them after graduation from the university. They named some of these career options and explained the nature of the jobs. Most of the participants indicated that they had the information about career options after graduation from the courses they attend in their fields of study, and had acquired the information from the course materials (such as books), course requirements (such as field visits), or faculty members who provided information about the majors. Some of them also gained such information through meetings that some department heads held with students, exhibitions held by the university, or friends. Others indicated that they had searched for this information themselves, either through Google or social media. A student who was deaf and studying tourist guidance said,

The faculty members, told us that you, as deaf, have excellent sign language. For example, foreign deaf tourists from all over the world will come to you—Chinese, American, and Spanish. They told us about the jobs that fit our major and that suit us as deaf. (Participant 9)

The participants also provided information on the university’s role in their preparation to transition to work. Most of them said that the university prepares them for jobs after graduation by providing information about available jobs and their future careers, through either the courses or specific professors. Some also indicated that the university prepared them for jobs by coordinatoring field visits, or by encouraging them to take courses/workshops related to their field of study. One student explained: “they’re [the courses] in the university, and they also bring us advertisements for courses outside the university that target tourism” (Participant 9). However, the responses of the participants about the nature of the support provided to them differed due to their different experiences, majors, and whether they were at the beginning or the end of the semesters in which they began taking courses in their majors.

Self-determination

The experiences that the participants shared in high school and university reflected self-determination skills that they possessed or those which were limited. The concept of self-advocacy emerged from the participants’ experiences in disclosing their disability to others, as well as in seeking help when they need it. This appeared in some of the answers of participants who were HH. A few of them said they would seek help from university when faced with some challenges, but that was not the case when they were in high school. Furthermore, the participants’ problem-solving skills were also shown when they spoke about some of the problems they have faced and solved. Although most of these students stated that they were dealing with challenges by talking with the subject teacher or professor, a few of them indicated that they did not do so. One student who was HH indicated that she was facing difficulty due to the lack of clarity of sound in lectures during distance learning. When she was asked if she had tried to solve this problem, she responded: “No, I did not try because this is my hearing level” (Participant 5). Another student, who was deaf, indicated that she preferred seeking help from her family instead of communicating with the professor.

Many of the participants’ responses reflected their own self-efficacy. This was expressed by most of the students who were DHH, either with regard to their ability to overcome difficulties or ambitions that they seek to achieve. In expressing her ability to do various things, one of the students who was HH said, “I’m not telling you that I am perfect, but give me work. I will not tell you no; I will do my research, and I will work” (Participant 10).

In addition to the different previously mentioned concepts of self-determination, most of the students who were DHH were often reminded of the importance of self-reliance and independence. A student who was HH expressed her appreciation for her high school, which supported her in becoming self-reliant: “The nice thing was that they let me depend on myself. They did not have that system where you are treated special because you are HH” (Participant 7). However, comments on high schools and their role in preparing students for self-reliance were not all positive. A student who shared her experience in high school indicated that they had not given her the opportunity to rely on herself, which affected her negatively, as she was not able to improve academically. She commented: “If I had relied on myself in high and middle schools and if I knew how to overcome the difficulties [I could have improved academically]” (Participant 2). From another point of view, a student who was HH described the concept of self-reliance as not depending on the encouragement of others, especially at university. She explained that “I feel that there is a battle ahead of us in the future, and we are looking for someone to motivate us” (Participant 3).

Integration with the hearing community

Social challenges emerged in experiences shared by students who were DHH in high school and at university. Such social challenges emerged clearly among some of the participants, who shared their experiences in and feelings toward integrating with hearing students. One student who was HH described her experiences with hearing students in a mainstreaming school: “They stare at us. They may think that we do not understand or that we are stupid.” She added that they were supposed to know how to make friends with hearing students, but she commented: “We used to say this, ‘if she became my friend, I would not expect her to want me because I am HH” (Participant 2). A few other participants described their experiences at university when meeting hearing students for the first time. A student who was deaf said, “Because I studied at an institute, all of them were deaf, and when they integrated us with hearing students at the university, I got a little strange feeling” (Participant 17). When asked if it was difficult for her to introduce herself, she said, “I am okay, but for example, they see me using sign language; how do they feel?” She added, “If she comes to me, I am welcoming, and if she does not approach me, I do not go to her because I do not know how she feels about me” (Participant 17). The other student who was HH described her feelings when integrating with hearing students as alienated. She explained: “I was not used to sitting with hearing girls; there were no HH and deaf students” (Participant 5). In the same context, a few students who were HH talked about hearing students using terms such as “normal girls” or “ordinary girls.” A HH student commented: “We do not have something in us; we are like normal girls” (Participant 1). It was noticeable that students who were deaf, on the contrary, used the sign for “hearing” when talking about their hearing peers.