A study of the barriers to communication and learning of university students with hearing impairment during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT After the declaration of the State of Emergency in Spain in 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic, essential services were paralysed, including education. This change brought about consequences in the quality of education, especially in the support of students with hearing impairment. The general objective is to analyse the barriers to learning for students with hearing impairments at a Spanish university due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative descriptive study is presented in which 6 semi-structured interviews were conducted -four with hearing impaired university students, one with a Spanish Sign Language Interpreter and another with a technician from the university’s diversity service. The results show students with hearing impaired became vulnerable students, suffering processes of educational exclusion. The Coronavirus and the consequences arising from its appearance have had a great impact on the academic and social lives of the participants. This research identifies which specific barriers were experienced by the group with hearing impaired, different from those found by the rest of the groups. The conclusions show that barriers to communication increased significantly due to the use of masks, the delivery of classes in a digital format and the lack of preparation of the faculty members regarding online teaching.