Self-esteem, family connectedness and social skills on academic performance of students with hearing impairment in Ibadan, Nigeria

Introduction: Extant and indigenous literature have shown that students with hearing impairment are found to be below their hearing counterparts in the area of academic and their poor academic performance most times, it is traced to lack of communication, paying little or no attention to other factors. Purpose: This study therefore investigated factors such as self-esteem, family connectedness and social skills as determinants of academic performance of students with hearing impairment in Ibadan Oyo State, Nigeria. Design: Descriptive survey research design was adopted in the study. A total of fifty two students with hearing impairment were selected through simple random sampling technique for the study. Purposive sampling technique was used to select three integrated schools in Ibadan. Four instruments were validated and used to collect relevant data. Three research questions were raised to guide the study. Data collected were subjected to a descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The study found that there was positive multiple correlation (R = 0.572) among self-esteem, social skills deficits and family connectedness on academic performance. All these factors in this order of magnitude: family connectedness (r = 0.426, p <0.05); self-esteem (r = 0.419, p< 0.05), and social skills deficits (r = 0.138, p< 0.05) predicted academic performance of students with hearing impairment. Recommendations: It was therefore recommended that school counselors should provide direct service to parents, classroom teachers, school community and students with hearing impairment on the roles these factors play on the academic performance of students with hearing impairment.