Transforming Primary Education for Hearing-Impaired Learners: A Curriculum Review Grounded in Social Justice and Sustainable Development

Abstract

This study aimed at critically examining the elementary curriculum of hearing-impaired learners with respect to social justice and sustainability towards inclusive education. The qualitative descriptive methodology was selected in this research, and the researchers created an analysis framework, an Inclusive Transformation Curriculum Assessment Model (ITCAM) to analyze the results. The analysis of the curriculum materials (syllabus, textbooks and other materials) was conducted methodically on various dimensions such as accessibility, pedagogical support, social justice, language, stakeholder engagement and technology use. The findings indicated that despite the perceived early-recognition of hearing-impaired students in the curriculum in segregated forms, it is text-based and not multimodal with limited visual aids and Pakistan Sign Language (PSL). In addition, the curriculum is not self-sufficiently connected to social justice, sustainability, and culturally relevant issues, thereby restraining the connection of the learners with the real world. Other areas of the curriculum that were deficient included guidance by the teachers, collaboration, emotional skills, technology, and stakeholder engagement. The research finds that the existing curriculum is structurally inclusive, but not functionally inclusive and requires major changes to meet the diverse learning needs of students with hearing impairment. Included in the study are multidimensional teaching and learning methods, clear social justice and sustainability principles, teacher support, and involvement of stakeholders and use of technology. These reforms play a vital role in the creation of an inclusive, accessible, and sustainable curriculum that will allow hearing-impaired learners to become an integral part of education and society.