Deaf and Successful Career Destinations of Deaf Graduates

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Deaf and Successful Career Destinations of Deaf
Graduates

• Joan Fleming and
• John A. Hay
• University of Wolverhampton

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Dorothy Miles Poet 1931 - 1993

• ..If she had not become deaf.
• She should never had the grammar school
  education .the scholarship to
• Gallaudet ( University).
• had she been hearing she would have been what
  her mother called, just another ten a penny
  tin-pot office girl. Sutton-Spence ( 2005)

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The context

• Deaf students who use sign language as primary
  communication have been entering HE since the
  middle of the
• 20th Century
• The explosion of applications has mirrored the
  creation of
• Disabled Students Allowance 1990

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Support Services Required

• In order to access Higher Education Deaf Students
  have required qualified key workers
• Sign Language Interpreters
• Lip-speakers
• Manual note-takers
• Electronic note-takers
• Support tutorials
• Administrators

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CHESS

• The Consortium of Higher Education Support
  Services ( CHESS) was developed by the Deaf
  Universities in 1992
• UCLAN, Bristol, Derby, Sheffield Hallam, City,
  Nottingham Trent and Wolverhampton were the
  original members
• Deaf Students tend to go where services are
  efficient and where they can be with Deaf peers
• SENDA 2000/01 means that all universities must
  address all issues of access

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Impetus for our research and questions which
remained

• J.T.E. Richardson
• (2002) examined Deaf Students' perceptions
  of HE - Findings published 2004
• Via CeLT we researched their learning strategies
  in HE Findings published 2003

• We asked ourselves Why there is a perception in
  the Deaf Community that Deaf Students do not
  succeed?
• We looked for a specific study into deaf graduate
  career destinations as yet none

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Aims and research projects

• We aim to explore the connection between HE
  qualifications and career destinations by four
  mechanisms
• 1. We created case studies by following the
  career paths of the graduates of 2000
• 2. We are examining the significance of numbers
  of all deaf HE students ( BSL and Non-BSL users)
  
• 3. We are comparing general graduate career
  destinations with those of deaf graduates

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Deaf Applicants declaringCode 3 UCAS Statistics

• Deaf and Partially Deaf
• Numbers available
• 2001 - 868
• 2002 - 875
• 2003 - 900
• 2004 897
• 2005 1,078

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Students who are BSL users from the Deaf
Community

• We obtained figures compiled by the CHESS
  Universities mentioned earlier
• Collectively CHESS universities have supported
  an average of 200 BSL users per year since 1996,
  at Levels ( years) one, two and three
• They also report that there is a low drop out
  rate

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Degree classifications of all UK graduates
1998/99 ( HESA)

• Classification Percentage
• First Class 7.9
• Upper second 2.1 42.4
• Lower second 2.2 35
• Third class 7.9
• Unclassified 6.9

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Degree Classifications of the Wolverhampton Class
of 2000 ( All BSL users)

• BSL users graduating Year 2000 - 10 graduates
• Degree classifications and other qualifications
• First class degree - 0
• Upper second 2.1 - 9
• Lower second 2.2 - 0
• Third class - 0
• Unclassified - 0
• HE Diploma - 1

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Their degree areas (taken from Communication
Support Tutorial records 1997 - 2000)

• Engineering and Built Environment - 2
• Computer Aided Product Design - 1
• Computer Science - 1
• Environmental Science and Sports Studies - 1
• Digital and Electronic Media with Photography
  and/or Deaf Studies 3
• Deaf Studies and or Linguistics - 3
• Arts for Society - 1

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Their first destinations reported to us 2000/05

• A national engineering company - 1
• A city council surveyors department -1
• Successful self employment in a design studio - 1
• Delay followed by web design agency 1-
• Leaving of Environmental Sciences then entering
  broadcasting - 1
• Employed in television or web design 3

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Continued

• Media company - 1
• Freelance research in HE for a consortium and
  London galleries - 1

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Where are they now and how did they do it?

• The 2000 graduates - have they retained career
  status?
• Yes
• www.artsigns.ac.uk
• www.signpostbsl.com
• www.bbc.co.uk/seehear/
• www.deafandcreative.ac.uk

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Suggested Factors involved in deaf graduates
entry to the workplace

• Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and subsequent
  amendments
• Creation of the Disability Rights Commission
• Access to Work schemes
• Official recognition of BSL
• Higher Education with satisfactory results

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Useful contacts

• J. T.E. Richardson
• www.iet.open.ac.uk
• The authors
• www.wlv.ac.uk
• Careers destinations
• www.prospects.ac.uk

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Thank you

• J.A.Hay_at_wlv.ac.uk