EMPOWERING PEOPLE WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENT; FINE ART AS AN OPTION IN VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

Abstract

Education is a tool for empowering people including the hearing impaired and a starting point for reduction of poverty. Through vocational education, persons with hearing impairment can possess necessary knowledge and skills to be self-reliant, have integrity, dignity, and contribute to national development in the face of unemployment. The paper concentrates on the concept of vocational education, concept of hearing impairment, fine art as an option in vocational education, method of empowering persons with hearing impairment, the paper concludes that, hearing impaired persons are with varied abilities and are capable of accelerating themselves to self-reliant, self-supportive if empowered with the right vocational subject (Fine Art) through vocational education. Based on these, the paper propose six recommendations as a way forward in the education of students with hearing impairments.