Deaf students’ access to higher education in Greece

Abstract

In 1983 the Greek Parliament approved a bill that enabled deaf graduates of high schools (amongst others) to be admitted to institutions of higher education without having to take entrance examinations. Until very recently the education of deaf children in Greece has been based on the exclusive use of the oral approach (i.e. the use of spoken Greek as the language of instruction and excluding the use of Greek Sign Language). The educational attainments of Greek deaf children on completing their school education have been poor compared to those of hearing children and, it has been argued (Lampropoulou 1994), has resulted in the situation that many Deaf people are poorly prepared for participation in society. In light of this situation I investigated the experiences of Deaf students who have availed of the opportunity provided by the above law to enter higher education. The subjects of the study are deaf people whose first or preferred language is Greek Sign Language (GSL) who, hereafter, are referred to as Deaf (spelt with an upper case 'D') people. The samples of Deaf students were made up of students who had graduated, interrupted their studies, were studying or were about to commence their studies at a Greek institution of higher education. In addition I obtained the views of schoolteachers of deaf children, higher education lecturers and representatives of the Greek Federation of the Deaf Brief overviews of the Greek education system and different models of d/Deafness are provided as way of background to the study. The data obtained from interviews with the above groups are presented and discussed, and include proposals as to how access for Deaf students to Greek higher education can be improved. The author hopes that this study will be seen as a contribution to the education of Deaf people in Greece. It provides suggestions for consideration by Greek Deaf and hearing people interested in the education of Deaf people, as well as public and private organisations, as to how improvements in Deaf people's education in Greece can be achieved.