Deafness, Teacher-of-the-deaf Support and Self-concept in Australian Deaf Students

This study examines whether self-concept scores of deaf students vary according to age at diagnosis of deafness, the degree of deafness and the number of visits students receive from a teacher of the deaf. Thirty-seven deaf students between the ages of 12 and 18 attending inclusive educational settings in Western Australia participated in the study. The Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale, Second Edition (Piers-Harris 2) was used as a measure of self-concept. Overall, group mean self-concept scores on the Piers-Harris 2 were within the average range, with some differences between groups in relation to these. There were no significant main effects of age at diagnosis of deafness or the degree of deafness on Piers-Harris 2 domain scale and total self-concept scores. There was also no significant main effect of the number of visits by a teacher of the deaf on the Piers-Harris 2 total self-concept score. However, a significant main effect of the number of visits from a teacher of the deaf found on Piers-Harris 2 domain-scale scores was attributable to differences between the groups on the Physical Attributes and Happiness and Satisfaction scales. Specifically, students receiving one visit per week scored higher on these self-concept scales than students who received two or more visits per week. Implications and limitations of the study are discussed. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.