Moderating Role of Hearing Status on The Relationship Between Technological Factors and The Academic Achievement of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students in Saudi Universities

Abstract

Issues related to academic achievement of deaf and hard of hearing students (DHH) in higher education has led to the need for a deep understanding of support factors related to academic achievement among these students, including technological factors and hearing status. Therefore, the purpose of this study is threefold: 1) to validate the psychometric properties of the technological factors measure, 2) to examine the relationship between technological factors and academic achievement of DHH students, and 3) to test the moderating role of students’ hearing status on the relationship between technological factors and student academic achievement. Using a quantitative survey approach, data were collected from 298 DHH students in Saudi universities. The study employed co-variance-based SEM by using AMOS in order to achieve the objectives. First, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was employed to test the psychometric properties of the technological factors. Second, a full-fledged SEM was conducted to test the relationship between the technological factors and academic achievement. Finally, to examine the moderating role of hearing status on the relationship between technological factors and academic achievement of DHH students, a multi-group analysis (MGA) was applied. The results confirmed that the multidimensional hypothesised model of technological factors was empirically valid and reliable. The results also revealed a statistically significant relationship between technological factors and academic achievement. The results also showed no moderating role of the hearing status on the relationship between technological factors and achievement. Finally, this study has a potential positive impact on DHH students' higher education programmes, thus enhancing their academic performance.