Parental involvement, self-efficacy, and learning motivation of hearing-impaired students: insights from Savelugu, Ghana

The educational development of learners with Hearing Impairment (HI) remains a significant concern within inclusive education systems, especially in low-resource countries. The influence of parental involvement and academic self-efficacy on motivation to learn is considered important, but their relationship has not been thoroughly examined in Sub-Saharan Africa. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effect of parental involvement and self-efficacy on the learning motivation of HI students at the Savelugu School for the Deaf in Ghana. A quantitative descriptive-correlational design was used. A census approach was adopted to include all 141 students in junior high school. Data were collected using adapted scales measuring parental involvement, self-efficacy, and learning motivation. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression. The authors found that parental involvement (M = 3.30, SD = 0.9), self-efficacy (M = 3.9, SD = 1.0), and learning motivation (M = 3.8, SD = 0.9) were all high. Parental involvement and self-efficacy showed a strong and significant positive correlation (<i>r</i> = 0.633, <i>p</i> < 0.001), and both variables were significant predictors of learning motivation (<i>R</i> ² = 0.666, <i>p</i> < 0.001), with self-efficacy (<i>r</i> = 0.523) being a slightly stronger predictor than parental involvement (<i>r</i> = 0.428). This study highlights the vital roles of parental support and self-confidence fostering in enhancing the academic motivation of students with HI. It was recommended that educational interventions should target strategies that develop learners' self-efficacy and support active parental involvement, thereby improving learning outcomes in special education settings.