Further Education as a post-secondary destination for deaf and hard of hearing young people: a review of the literature and analysis of official statistics in England

This article concerns further education (FE) as a post-16 destination for deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) young people. It addresses: (1) the size and characteristics of the DHH population within the FE sector; (2) the perceived functions of FE for DHH young people; (3) the trends, progress, and achievements of DHH learners within FE provision. A narrative literature review drawing on international sources is combined with a specific analysis of two official government data sets in England, the National Pupil Database and the Individualized Learner Record, in order to establish some baseline data on the DHH, FE population in England. The analysis includes data on 6758 DHH students aged 16 to 19. Results demonstrate that DHH learners are far more likely than their hearing peers to leave school at 16 and to progress to FE colleges. FE is regarded as a suitable destination for DHH young people both to enable social maturity and to improve educational attainment. Within FE in England, DHH young people are more likely to be on part-time courses and more than double the number drop out of FE provision in comparison with the wider population. DHH learners with no additional needs significantly underperform in comparison with hearing learners with no additional needs within the FE setting. Nearly one-quarter (23.2 per cent) of young people recorded in the data sets analysed showed no recognized qualification on leaving FE.