The finding that the median percentages of repeated school years of the normal-hearing, cochlear-implanted deaf students were similar and lower than that of deaf students without implants suggest that cochlear implants reduce the number of school failures, although the difference in between the deaf with implants and deaf without implants was not statistically significant.
The group of implanted deaf students in this study did not appear to be biased because of the studied characteristics, the only statistically significant difference between the selected participants and the deaf implanted Portuguese population was their district of residence; no significant difference in sex, age, or place of cochlear implantation was found. We believe that the district of residence is not a factor that biases the data from our sample. Although 11 cases were lost after the participants were age- and sex-matched, this did not bias our results because the groups remained comparable in sex, age, and socio-demographic status.
There were no significant differences between the non-implanted and implanted deaf study participants regarding enrolment adjustments or adjustments in the evaluation process. Both groups benefited from these special measures that aim to promote access, educational success, and equal opportunities.
Failure usually results from a combination of factors and can have lifelong consequences. Byrd (2005) stated that health conditions can impair academic performance, and one in five children who repeat a grade in school has some identifiable disability.
Deaf students without cochlear implants appear to fail more than deaf students with cochlear implants. Experience shows that worldwide, the non-implanted deaf are largely excluded from tertiary education (Ruben 2000). Lang (2002) stated that teachers need to be better prepared to teach deaf students, providing these students with quality elementary and secondary educational opportunities so that they have equal access to higher education.
Once science demonstrates that the learning capabilities of an individual are not determined at birth but rather are the result of life history, experience, and the wealth of stimuli offered by the environment, new perspectives and duties emerge. Thus, it is no longer only a question of equal access to school but one of equal knowledge (i.e., the necessary opportunities as well as the means should be given to all so that learning is possible for all).
Therefore, we believe that schools and society in general must tailor resources in a way that ensures that the right conditions exist to allow deaf children to develop personalities and skills. Unequal results are inevitable, but they are acceptable if these children have been afforded learning conditions of equivalent quality as their normal-hearing counter-parts.
Thus, the equality of opportunity reflects the need to ensure the normal performance, not necessarily the equal performance, of each individual. Every individual must have the necessary means to make a choice. Equality comprises, in this way, the concept of individual self-realization.
Allowing deaf people to become part of the community is only an initial step because being part of the community means being part of the structure and playing a social role. The real challenge is for deaf people to perform social functions that are valid and valued.
Moreover, cochlear implantation appears to favor the perception of a good quality of life in deaf children and adolescent compared with deaf peers without cochlear implant (Duarte et al. 2014). This finding reflects the satisfaction of the children and adolescents with their own competence and academic performance.
Here, the role of technicians and teachers may be relevant. Several authors have observed that schools are in the best position to take the initiative of approaching the family and community (Harry 1992; Shen et al. 1994). When parents are aware of what their children are learning, they are more likely to help or become involved in their child’s learning activities at home when requested by teachers to do so.
We were also able to investigate the effect of family participation on school life, although they were evaluated in an indirect way through the perspective of the teachers. It was found a significant difference between the three groups in respect to the support given by their guardians regarding homework. The teachers believed that the normal hearing children are the ones receiving more support, followed by the implanted children and lately the hearing impaired children with less support. This may be due to a lack of competence concerning sign language as well as a distrust of their capacities to help, we found that only 25 % of the deaf students with and without cochlear implants had at least one parent able to communicate in sign language (25 %). This effectively reduces or limits communication between these parents and their children, especially if this is the only method of communication.
Although there is no consensus in the literature on the subject, Lyness et al. (2013) found no convincing evidence that the use of sign language was detrimental to the success of the cochlear implant. On the contrary, the success of the cochlear implant seems to depend on audiovisual integration skills. Early placement of a cochlear implant is an amazing contributor to the acquisition of functional hearing for congenitally deaf children. However, language skills and cognitive development should not be overlooked when considering the effectiveness of a cochlear implant (Lyness et al. 2013). In this study, 95 % of the implanted deaf used both sign language and speech to communicate; 5 % used speech only.
Horacek et al. (1987) demonstrated that educational intervention reduced the incidence of grade failure most successfully (15 % reduction) when delivered both as preschool and school-age programs, and that achievement test scores in reading and mathematics showed a parallel beneficial effect from intervention. These data support the use of early intervention programs that target high-risk children as a mean of reducing their rate of school failure.
Undoubtedly, one of the current challenges of the educational community is the ability to facilitate successful learning in all students, regardless of their socioeconomic status, cultural or family situation, personality characteristics, abilities, or any type of deficit.
In this sense, every child or young person requires a proper analysis of their situation. Attention to individual differences requires the delivery of a personalized education to each student. Thus, it is the responsibility of the education system to fit into reality or rather to put into practice what is laid out in the various legal documents focused on the matter.
Thus, in a general sense, we can say that to achieve educational success, particularly of a deaf child, we should take into account from an early age the characteristics and particular needs of each student, realizing that the needs of an implanted deaf child will be different from those of a normal-hearing child or a deaf child without implants. On the other hand, the age of deafness onset, the time lag between diagnosis and initiating the rehabilitation process, and the home environment of a child are paramount in a child’s functional recovery. Thus, it is critical that deafness screening be promoted and conducted in an equitable manner on all newborns with the aim of identifying hearing loss so that rehabilitation can proceed in global and multidisciplinary terms as soon as possible.