The Role of Social Capital in the Transition to Postsecondary Education of Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Abstract

Social capital can positively influence students' postsecondary aspirations and their postschool transitions to higher education and employment. Educators, families, and young people themselves can play an active role in generating and developing adolescents' social capital. A targeted focus on developing robust social capital could play an important role in the transition planning and support provided to secondary students who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) and contribute to their success in postsecondary education and employment. A qualitative study gaining the perspectives of DHH young adults attending universities in Australia investigated the role of social capital in assisting DHH students in their attainment of postsecondary education. Ten DHH university students who communicated primarily through spoken English participated in semistructured interviews. Thematic analysis identified social capital facilitator themes on four levels: community, school, family, and individual. In addition, two barrier themes were identified.

Voices of Young Deaf Adults: Supporting Adolescent Social Capital Development

“…Self-acceptance includes accepting one's deafness and all that goes along with being deaf or hard of hearing. Such acceptance influences how willing young people are to make use of supports specific to their deafness, for example, from teachers of the deaf during secondary school and from disability and access services in postsecondary education, and how comfortable they are advocating for their needs (Eichengreen et al, 2021;Punch & Duncan, 2022). The present study's findings indicate the importance of teachers talking about the student's deafness, both with the individual student and with their peers, and of showcasing the achievements of DHH people.…”

“…The present qualitative study investigated DHH university students' perceptions of how teachers, other professionals, and families could support DHH adolescents in developing social capital that would help them achieve positive postsecondary outcomes. The interview questions and discussions were based on the findings of the study's first phase, in which we identified the role that social capital had played in the participants' attainment of postsecondary education (Punch & Duncan, 2022). In this second phase, participants provided reflections, suggestions, and recommendations that in our analysis we organized under the themes of deaf connections, self-acceptance, preparation for postsecondary education and employment, fostering community connections, and family and friends.…”

“…For example, engaging with and developing a strong relationship with deaf peers and mentors (bonding social capital) has the potential to assist adolescents who are DHH in developing self-confidence that empowers them to instigate and develop other social connections (bridging social capital). In the first phase of our study, a clear theme in the analysis was the beneficial role of deaf connections, both through interactions with DHH peers and with older DHH role models, to the development of the participants' aspirations for the future, confidence in their ability to succeed, and sense of belonging (Punch & Duncan, 2022). The findings of the second phase reflected this theme, as all participants encouraged school personnel, parents, and extended family to support the adolescent in establishing such deaf connections as a priority.…”

“…In the first phase of the present study, DHH young adults who primarily communicated using spoken language were recruited through the disability support or access and inclusion services of universities across Australia, as we describe in Punch and Duncan (2022). For the second phase, we sent all 10 participants in the study's first phase a summary of the findings from their interviews and a request to participate in a second interview, in which they would be consulted about possible social capital development strategies for DHH high school students.…”

“…In the first phase of a two-phase study, we investigated the social capital experiences and benefits that DHH university students whose communication mode was spoken language had drawn upon in high school (Punch & Duncan, 2022). Using an interview guide informed by the literature on social capital and its role in the transition to postsecondary education and employment, we conducted in-depth interviews with 10 participants.…”