Özet:

Children with disabilities are systematically excluded from regular primary schools in Pakistan. Hearing-impaired children are not included in mainstream school settings and are compelled to be enrolled in special schools, except for a small number of institutions in the private sector, have somewhat accommodated them. The study was designed to explore the available institutional support and parents’ concerns for the successful inclusion of hearing-impaired learners in inclusive primary classrooms. It also aimed at proposing institutional support for the effective inclusion of hearing-impaired learners. In this qualitative study, a semi-structured interview was employed on purposively selected five parents of children with hearing impairment of inclusive primary schools of Punjab. Thematic analysis was used for data analysis. Analysis of the interviews revealed that absence and insufficient supportive services in the institutions in the form of teachers’ training for inclusion, related professionals, assistive resources prevent effective participation and inclusion of children with hearing impairment in regular primary schools. Due to weak institutional support, hearing-impaired learners feel excluded and fail in performing academic tasks adequately, which result in absenteeism, dropout and stress. It is recommended that institutions should ensure in-service teachers’ training; availability of assistive resources and collaborative support of service providers like audiologist, speech therapist and psychologist in order to enhance the functioning skills of hearing-impaired learners, making mainstream education possible for them at primary level. The proposed institutional support would be beneficial for the school administration to take adequate and practical measures for fruitful participation and inclusion of children with hearing impairment.

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