Feedback Loop Implementation as a Pathway to Inclusive Lifelong Learning among Hearing-Impaired Students in Rivers State
Keywords:
Inclusive Education, Lifelong Learning, Feedback Loops, Hearing Impairment, Instructional AccessibilityAbstract
This study set out to examine how feedback loops are being used to support inclusive lifelong learning for hearing-impaired students in Rivers State, Nigeria. Attention was given to three main channels: feedback from students to teachers on how accessible lessons are, feedback from teachers to school administrators about missing resources and training needs, and parents’ views on community-to-policy feedback concerning cultural attitudes and inclusion. A descriptive survey design was used. Seventeen special educators and twenty-nine parents were drawn using a purposive sampling technique from the two government-approved special needs schools in the state. The instrument was a researcher-developed questionnaire titled Feedback Loop Implementation and Inclusive Lifelong Learning Questionnaire (FLILLQ). Its overall reliability stood at Cronbach’s alpha of 0.80. Mean and standard deviation answered the research questions, while independent-samples t-tests tested the hypotheses at the 0.05 level. Results showed that student-to-teacher feedback loops operated at a moderate level, teacher-to-administrator loops at a moderate-to-high level, and community-to-policy loops also at a moderate level. Differences based on length of teacher training were not statistically significant for either student-to-teacher feedback, t(16) = −0.464, p = .649, or teacher-to-administrator feedback, t(16) = −0.998, p = .333 (bootstrap results with 5,000 resample confirmed these non-significant findings). The findings suggest that when schools put in place clearer and more regular feedback channels involving teachers, administrators, parents and the wider community, institutional response improves and better lifelong learning opportunities open up for hearing-impaired learners.
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