Influence of Psychological Wellbeing of Mothers on Academic Achievement of Mainstreamed Children with Hearing Impairment

Abstract

In India, inclusive education is still in its nascent stage with mainstream schools and teachers yet to get fully prepared to accommodate special educational needs in children. In this background, the major responsibility to help children with special needs succeed in the mainstream schools lies with the parents and other primary caregivers. There are several earlier researchers which have generated evidences to the positive influenceof optimisticattitudes and adequate education of caregivers on the academic achievement of children in mainstream learning environments. But, there are several deterrent factors right from the time of detection of the loss that disturbs the psychological and physical wellbeing of mother who are the primary caregivers of children in India. The literacy and educational status of Indian women are also not very appreciable. Hence, the reported study was undertaken with the purpose of investigating the health status of mothers and their consequent influence on education of their mainstream children with special needs like hearing impairment. WHO’s Quality of Life –BREF scales adapted to suit Indian context was used gather information about mothers’ wellbeing, and academic achievement of children with hearing impairment was collected from academic progress reports. The study involved 28 children with hearing impairment and their primary caregivers, that is, mothers. The results of the investigations revealedhigh positive correlation between educational status of mothers and academic achievement in children, while theirpsychological well being also added to the positive influence on learning in the wards.