ATTITUDES OF SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS TOWARDS DEAF PEOPLE: A UNIVERSITY CASE FROM TÜRKİYE

This study aimed to measure the attitudes of social work students in Türkiye. Although the use of hearing aids and implants is common in Türkiye, the rate of those who have severe hearing problems or who cannot hear at all is 1.1% of the total population. It is important to determine the attitudes of social work students towards the deaf, because the attitudes of social workers towards the deaf will directly affect both their clinical practice with deaf clients at the micro level and the political practices that target the deaf community at the macro level. The Attitudes to Deafness Scale (AD Scale) was administered to 299 participants online along with a socio-demographic form. The data were analysed using the SPSS statistical package. Attitudes toward deaf people were used as the dependent variable. Socio-demographic characteristics of the students and some characteristics related to knowledge, and thoughts about the participation of deaf people in social and work life were the independent variables. The results show that the participants have relatively positive attitudes towards deaf people. Additionally, students have positive opinions about the capabilities of deaf individuals in both social and work life. Gender significantly affects attitudes and female students generally have more positive attitudes towards deaf people.