Tenth International Conference on The Image

Abstract

This study explored the effect of pictorials on the achievement of the deaf in primary school social studies in Nigeria. The study was guided by four objectives, research questions, and hypothesis. The quasi-experimental research design with an experimental and control groups was adopted for the study that used the instrument Social Studies’ Achievement Test (SSAT). Sample for the study comprised 27 deaf pupils in primary in the two schools for the handicapped in Benue State, using the purposive sampling procedure. The experimental group (n=14) was taught social studies using pictorials while the control treatment (n=13) was without pictorials. The four hypotheses were tested using t-test of independent means at 0.05 level of significance. The study found no significant difference between the visual awareness of the experimental and control groups in the pre-test. Another finding revealed a significant difference between the learning process of the experimental and control groups. The study also found that a significant difference existed in effective communication between the experimental group that was taught using pictorials and the control group that was taught without pictorials. Finally, the study revealed that the level of use of pictorials significantly facilitated the communication skills of the deaf pupils taught with pictorials. Based on the findings, the study recommended parental awareness creation on art appreciation as a means of communicating with the deaf through pictorials. It also recommended that teachers should be retrained to imbibe creative ways of achieving inclusion and mainstreaming of the hearing challenged pupils like using pictorials.