The Coping Strategies of Deaf Students in Relation to the Challenges of School Life in Mainstream Secondary Schools in England

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the coping strategies of deaf students in relation to mainstream school life challenges in England. Previous studies have shown that most deaf students feel more stressed and less satisfied with their lives than their hearing peers (Eschenbeck et al., 2016; Olsson et al., 2017). The significant impact of stress and coping on deaf students’ lives has led some researchers to underline the need for research to explore the stress and coping experiences of deaf students about mainstream school life (Fellinger et al., 2012; Olsson et al., 2017; Zaidman-Zait & Dotan, 2017). In this study, a multiple case study design using mixed methods was used to address a gap in the literature. The data was obtained through five data collection tools: a checklist (the stressful school events checklist for deaf students), a coping questionnaire (Kidcope), in-depth semi-structured interviews, non-participant observations, and field notes. A cross-case analysis was used to analyse the data. Moreover, this study investigated the research phenomenon from the perspectives of nine deaf students who attended mainstream secondary schools (Key Stage 3) in England. This has been rarely done in both the deaf and coping literature (Compas et al., 2001; Sutherland &Young, 2013). In addition to that, this research was guided by a young deaf adult who experienced mainstream school life as a co-researcher. The study is inspired by participatory research, which does research with people, not on people (Young & Hunt, 2011). This study overall found that deaf students employed emotion-focused strategies to cope with the most stressful school events. The most stressful school events were found to be: noise, being a deaf student in a mainstream school, exams, and additional support. The data revealed that they also utilised social support coping strategies for the most commonly experienced stressful events. The data revealed these events to be: taking part in activities, subjects and homework (Kisanga, 2017; Punch & Hyde, 2005; Rohatyn-Martin, 2017). In other words, the hearing loss specific stressors led deaf students to perceive more stress 5 compared to general school life stressors; thus, they attempted to cope with the stressors by regulating their emotions or easing the impact of stress on their emotional well-being. Also, avoidance/escape and instrumental support coping subtypes were more stable across the stressful events (Lazarus 1993a). The findings contribute to the knowledge about deaf adolescent students’ stress and coping experiences. Importantly, this study provides knowledge for those who work with deaf students as professionals, practitioners, and their families and themselves to understand better what leads deaf students to experience stress and how they cope with any encountered stressors.