‘There is no barrier when it comes to your deafness’: participatory research exploring the views of deaf and hard-of-hearing students being educated in a resource provision

ABSTRACT

Resource provisions (or bases) are a form of educational provision in England intended to allow the inclusion of students with special educational needs and disabilities within a mainstream setting. Current research around the educational experiences of students within resource provision is limited. This small-scale study sought to explore the school experiences of a convenience sample of six deaf and hard-of-hearing students, aged between 12–18 years, educated in a resource provision within a mainstream secondary school. The study used a participatory approach in which all six students took on the role of co-researchers. Interviews and diary entries were used to collect the data and thematic analysis was carried out by the co-researchers to identify five themes. The themes highlight the complex interplay between individual agency, peer influence and societal barriers for this minoritised group. The co-researchers’ findings led to implications for action for themselves and for their immediate educational provision. The findings suggest implications for educational settings more widely in enabling the inclusion of deaf and hard-of-hearing students educated in resource provision.

KEYWORDS:

• Participatory research
• resource provision
• inclusion
• deaf
• hard of hearing
• school children

Acknowledgments

To the student experts, Alyana, Andrew, Bunty, Jennie, Rose and Sara. Thank you for your hard work and dedication. You are all an inspiration, and I am honoured to have been able to do this with you all.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2024.2372967