Approaches to studying in deaf and hearing students in higher education.

We conducted a survey to compare the responses of 149 deaf students and 121 hearing students taking the same courses to a shortened and adapted version of the Approaches to Studying Inventory. In general, the impact of deafness on approaches to studying was relatively slight, and deaf students appeared to be at least as capable as hearing students of engaging with the underlying meaning of the materials to be learned. We used factor analysis to identify eight scales, and differences between the two groups were statistically significant on four of these scales. Discriminant analysis indicated that deaf students found it more difficult to relate ideas on different topics and that this was more marked in those who preferred to communicate using sign. However, deaf students were more likely than hearing students to adopt a critical approach and to analyze the internal structure of the topics studied.

The career status of deaf women. A comparative look.

Discrepancies in labor force, occupation, and earnings outcomes were observed between men and women in a follow-up study of 4,900 deaf high school graduates who had responded to annual surveys conducted from 1982 to 1989. Reasons for the disparities were sought by further examination of the postsecondary programs undertaken, degrees earned, labor force activities, jobs held, and socioeconomic status. Despite efforts to expand career awareness and postsecondary programs for deaf people, deaf women continue to pursue a relatively narrow range of programs, leading to stereotypical female careers. Moreover, when women earn less than a bachelor's degree, they experience high underemployment and unemployment relative to deaf men and hearing peers. Without concerted intervention, this condition may be exacerbated as the labor market demands that workers be more professionally and technically trained in career areas where deaf females are yet underrepresented.