More Alike than Different: Educational and Social Aspirations and Paths to Successful Adulthood of Polish Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Adolescents

Abstract

This chapter outlines the history and current status of education for deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) learners in Poland. In the past 30 years, Poland has undergone significant social and educational changes that have influenced the education of all students, including those with special needs, as well as ideas about their position in society. These changes have empowered many young people (including DHH students) to pursue university education, to work abroad in richer Western countries, and to generally lead lives that are more independent and self-directed than those of their parents. The authors also discuss the important influences that the country’s universal neonatal hearing screening program and today’s technology play in improving the lives of Polish DHH young people.