Practice And Challenges Of Physical Education Participation Among Hearing Impaired Students At Selected Tepi Town Primary Schools, In South West Ethiopia

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to aimed at the practice and challenges of students with hearing impairment participating in physical education during practical sessions. The study was conducted in Tepi at three selected primary schools. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative research methods and also used a descriptive research design. The study's target population included hearing-impaired students, physical education teachers, school administrators, and parents of hearing-impaired students. The purposive sampling method was used and 61 sampled populations were employed. Interviews, observations, and document analysis were used to collect data from the sampled population. The collected data were organized and analyzed by using SPSS software version 20 and descriptive statistics in the form of frequency tables, bar graphs, and pie charts in order to give clear explanations, presentations, and interpretations of quantitative data. According to the findings of the study, there was a low participation rate among HI students in physical education practical lessons. The sports facilities and equipment were not suitable for hearing-impaired students. The study investigate the following barriers to participation in physical education practical lessons for students with hearing impairment: These include a lack of skills, less attention from teachers to those students, a lack of communication, teacher and peer attitudes toward HI students, and students' interest in practical classes. The study also found that these challenges greatly influenced the participation of hearing impaired students at the sampled schools. The study recommended that the school and other responsible bodies create various opportunities for hearing impaired students to participate in physical activity, such as appropriate apparatus in the school, access to training for teachers about inclusive training that allows both hearing impaired students and nondisabled students to participate together, and opportunities for physical education teachers to scale up their level of participation .