Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Historically, studies have shown that Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) young people are less likely to enter employment than hearing peers, have a restricted range of career opportunities and tend to do less well academically, often with default educational or employment pathways that tend to link DHH learners with the wider group of learners with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND). Most young people now entering adulthood in the UK were part of the universal newborn hearing screening programme leading to earlier identification and support with the potential to overcome developmental barriers to education and employment. A self-selecting sample of 163 DHH young people between the ages of 16 and 19 completed on-line surveys at 3 time points in a prospective longitudinal study. This paper focuses on the questions relating to career aspirations, and whether these are influenced by educational attainments. The findings suggest that study participants have done well academically and have high aspirations for their career choices that are broadly in line with the wider population of young people of this generation. Levels of academic attainment were not found to influence the range of career aspirations of DHH young people. The findings challenge previous assumptions and place new responsibilities on professionals working with DHH learners.
Institution: University of Manchester
Language: English
Subfield: Safety Research
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4411386891