There are around 1 million deaf people in Europe, facing a much lower employment rate and participation rate in higher education than non-disabled people. The main reason is the lack of quality and continuous education available in sign language. Therefore, deaf people earn a significantly lower income, and suffer from social exclusion and isolation (https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/762003/reporting.In our country, the rate of those who graduated from any higher education institution (including associate degree) among the hearing impaired is 1.9%. It is 0.9% in those with no hearing and speaking ability. Considering that this rate is 0.5% in mentally handicapped people, it will be understood that these results obtained with the current education system are desperate. Students who receive vocational training under the conditions mentioned above are also unsuccessful in business life. According to the data of the Turkish Employment Agency, it can be seen that only 5% of the hearing impaired work and they are unskilled workers.
Our project should be granted because we believe that we will produce simple but effective solutions to the problems we have mentioned above. To this end;
• We will prepare the Financial Literacy vocational training curriculum for hearing impaired individuals,
• We will determine the Financial Literacy readiness levels of hearing impaired individuals,
• We will prepare financial literacy distance education digital contents for the vocational training of the hearing impaired in their native language (sign language),
• We will prepare a Financial Literacy sign language glossary of terms.
The language of the hearing impaired is sign language. The sign language of each country is different. Sign languages have unique structure and grammatical rules. These structure and grammar rules are different from the structure of the spoken language spoken in the same country. Briefly, sign language is not dependent on spoken language. The reason why deaf people have difficulties in learning spoken languages in our country and in different countries is that sign languages are structurally very different from spoken languages (Dikyuva & Zeshan, 2008).
Education programs in our country and in the world are primarily prepared for individuals without disabilities. Afterwards, by taking some precautions, people with disabilities are included in these programs. In the vocational training of the hearing impaired, this approach is only considered as the sign language translation of the lecture. Moreover, the translators who make this translation do not have professional and terminological knowledge about the professional field taught. This approach is insufficient and not acceptable for the hearing impaired.
The project focuses on the obstacles faced by the hearing impaired in their vocational training. The results of our project for the hearing impaired, who have fewer opportunities compared to their peers, are such as to encourage social inclusion. The project will contribute to the creation and/or expansion of inclusive environments in vocational education and training. For these reasons, “Inclusion and diversity in all fields of education, training, youth and sport”, one of the HORIZONTAL priorities of the Erasmus+ program, well fits into the philosophy and principles of the project.
The project addresses the teaching and learning processes of the hearing impaired through the development and implementation of new and more relevant teaching and learning approaches. The project, which will reveal that the way in which vocational training activities for the hearing impaired should be changed, will produce sample teaching programs and materials as they should be. The project will create practical results for the training of people who are more suitable for the future needs of the accounting-finance sector. Therefore, our project addresses one of the vocational training priorities of the Erasmus+ program, “Contributing to innovation in vocational education and training”.
Flexible and learner-centered teaching programs and materials will be developed for hearing impaired. The outcomes of the project will be made available to everyone online and in open access, in a structure that does not require a membership system. Thus, the project will contribute to the transition of the hearing impaired to the labor market and to close the existing gaps in adults’ access to education. Thus, our project also addresses “Increasing the flexibility of opportunities in vocational education and training”, one of the vocational training priorities of the Erasmus+ Program.
Konak Mustafa Kemal Ataturk Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School, Turkey
DOKUZ EYLUL UNIVERSITY, Turkey
OZEL OGRETIM KURUMLARI GENEL MUDURLUGU, Turkey
Mavi Pencere Ozel Egitim Dernegi, Turkey
ASSOCIATION FOR EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF DISABLED PEOPLE, Greece
Fondazione Istituto dei Sordi di Torino ONLUS, Italy
Asociatia Nationala a Profesorilor pentru Elevi cu Deficiente de Auz Virgil Florea, Romania