Unmasking educational inequalities: The impact of COVID-19 on deaf students in higher education

The global pandemic has had a significant impact on students in higher education and this has been well documented in the media, but the specific positon of deaf students continues to go unheard. This mixed-methods research conducted across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, examines institutional responses to COVID-19 and the impact these responses had on deaf students' experiences. Institutional responses such as remote working, online teaching, facial coverings, online induction and extra-curricula activities will be explored. Deaf students' experiences of these measures will also be explored including any particular impacts on availability of human aids to communication such as interpreters, note takers, language support tutors, lipspeakers and sighted guides for deafblind people. It will examine availability and access to gateway assessment to support such as educational psychologists, disability assessors and the disabled students allowance scheme. The research will examine issues of inclusion and accessibility, in the online classroom and the wider organisations. It will explore perspectives and experiences of both new and returning students. It will examine institutional planning and responsiveness in the short, medium and longer term, but also in relation to future practices aimed at mitigating disadvantages experienced by deaf students so far. The research seeks to make recommendations for supporting current students in the remaining part of their studies. Given the current calls to re-think HE provision (Hack, 2020) the project will also make best practice recommendations for teaching deaf students online in the longer term. Deaf student voices will be centralised in any recommendations presented.