Quality of higher education and self-determination for Deaf and hard-of-hearing students in Saudi Arabia

Background: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Saudi Arabia's Persons with Disabilities Rights Law guarantee the rights of individuals with disabilities to receive high-quality education. Therefore, Saudi Arabian higher education institutions have implemented programs specifically designed for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) students. According to the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (2023), quality in higher education supports students in achieving positive learning and career outcomes. One form of support is the enhancement of self-determination skills, despite evidence of self-determination's role in facilitating success in higher education, research on deaf education has not explored this construct extensively. Aim: This study explored the role of self-determination in enhancing the quality of higher education for DHH students according to the program's staff' perspectives. Furthermore, this study examines the opportunities provided to practice self-determination skills. Methods: A qualitative approach was employed, involving semi-structured interviews with seven staff from six higher education institutes in Saudi Arabia. Results: Inductive thematic analysis of the interview data revealed three key themes. First, interpreter scarcity hinders Deaf students' major selection, affecting their academic quality. Second, Deaf Role Models influence Deaf students' self-determination, thus affecting their academic quality. Finally, self-regulation was the least supported component of self-determination due to higher education institutes policies and support services.