DEAF AND HARD-OF-HEARING LEARNERS IN EUROPEAN UNION POLICY: MEANINGFUL ACCESS ACROSS DISABILITY, EDUCATION AND ACCESSIBILITY FRAMEWORKS

Georgios Stathis, Dimitra G. Vangeli, Christos Georgokostopoulos, Constantina Corazon Argyrakou, Emmanouil D. Milakis

Abstract


European Union (EU) policy increasingly frames disability and education through rights, inclusion and accessibility, yet it remains unclear whether these commitments address the distinctive linguistic and communication conditions of Deaf and hard-of-hearing learners. This study examines how EU disability, education, digital and accessibility frameworks represent these learners, establish the policy conditions for meaningful access, interact across policy domains and evolve between the 2010-2020 and 2021-2030 periods. A comparative qualitative policy analysis was conducted on 24 legal, strategic, technical and interpretive documents, combining directed coding derived from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) with inductive thematic coding. The findings show that Deaf-specific linguistic and communication rights are articulated most clearly in the UNCRPD framework and a non-binding European Parliament resolution, whereas mainstream education policies generally subsume learners within broad disability or disadvantage categories. Digital and audiovisual instruments provide more operational requirements  for captions, real-time text and accessible technologies, but these provisions remain weakly connected to pedagogy, support services and institutional responsibility. The later strategic period strengthens rights framing, participation and monitoring and consolidates the increasingly operational digital-accessibility architecture, without equivalent progress in sign-language education, interpreting, transcription or communication-quality standards. The EU policy architecture is therefore normatively compatible but operationally fragmented. The study argues that meaningful educational access depends on policy coherence linking linguistic rights, communication support, accessible digital environments, professional capacity, resources and accountability in practice.

Keywords


deaf and hard-of-hearing learners; European Union policy; meaningful educational access; inclusive education; policy coherence

Full Text:

PDF

References


Bowen, G. A. (2009). Document analysis as a qualitative research method. Qualitative Research Journal, 9(2), 27–40. https://doi.org/10.3316/QRJ0902027

Cejudo, G. M., & Michel, C. L. (2017). Addressing fragmented government action: Coordination, coherence, and integration. Policy Sciences, 50(4), 745–767. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11077-017-9281-5

Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. (2014). General Comment No. 2 (2014): Article 9: Accessibility (CRPD/C/GC/2). United Nations. Retrieved from https://docs.un.org/en/CRPD/C/GC/2

Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. (2016). General comment No. 4 (2016) on the right to inclusive education (CRPD/C/GC/4). United Nations. Retrieved from https://docs.un.org/en/CRPD/C/GC/4

Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. (2018a). General comment No. 6 (2018) on equality and non-discrimination (CRPD/C/GC/6). United Nations. Retrieved from https://docs.un.org/en/CRPD/C/GC/6

Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. (2018b). General comment No. 7 (2018) on the participation of persons with disabilities, including children with disabilities, through their representative organizations, in the implementation and monitoring of the Convention (CRPD/C/GC/7). United Nations. Retrieved from https://docs.un.org/en/CRPD/C/GC/7

Council of the European Union. (2000). Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation. Official Journal of the European Communities, L 303, 16–22. Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2000/78/oj/eng

Council of the European Union. (2010). Council Decision 2010/48/EC of 26 November 2009 concerning the conclusion, by the European Community, of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Official Journal of the European Union, L 23, 35–61. Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32010D0048

Council of the European Union. (2021a). Council conclusions on equity and inclusion in education and training in order to promote educational success for all (2021/C 221/02). Official Journal of the European Union, C 221, 3–13. Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52021XG0610%2801%29

Council of the European Union. (2021b). Council Resolution on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training towards the European Education Area and beyond (2021–2030) (2021/C 66/01). Official Journal of the European Union, C 66, 1–21. Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32021G0226%2801%29

Council of the European Union. (2022). Council Recommendation of 28 November 2022 on Pathways to School Success and replacing the Council Recommendation of 28 June 2011 on policies to reduce early school leaving (2022/C 469/01). Official Journal of the European Union, C 469, 1–15. Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32022H1209%2801%29

Degener, T. (2016). Disability in a human rights context. Laws, 5(3), Article 35. https://doi.org/10.3390/laws5030035

European Commission. (2010). European Disability Strategy 2010–2020: A renewed commitment to a barrier-free Europe (COM(2010) 636 final). Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52010DC0636

European Commission. (2020a). Digital Education Action Plan 2021–2027: Resetting education and training for the digital age (COM(2020) 624 final). Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0624

European Commission. (2020b). On achieving the European Education Area by 2025 (COM(2020) 625 final). Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0625

European Commission. (2021). Union of Equality: Strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities 2021–2030 (COM(2021) 101 final). Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52021DC0101

European Commission. (2026). Enhancing the strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities up to 2030 (COM(2026) 541 final). Publications Office of the European Union. https://doi.org/10.2838/8513842

European Committee for Standardization, European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization, & European Telecommunications Standards Institute. (2021). EN 301 549 V3.2.1 (2021-03): Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services. Retrieved from https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_en/301500_301599/301549/03.02.01_60/en_301549v030201p.pdf

European Parliament. (2016). European Parliament resolution of 23 November 2016 on sign languages and professional sign language interpreters (2016/2952(RSP), P8_TA(2016)0442). Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52016IP0442

European Parliament & Council of the European Union. (2016). Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of 26 October 2016 on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public-sector bodies. Official Journal of the European Union, L 327, 1–15. Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2016/2102/oj/eng

European Parliament & Council of the European Union. (2018a). Directive (EU) 2018/1808 of 14 November 2018 amending Directive 2010/13/EU on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the provision of audiovisual media services in view of changing market realities. Official Journal of the European Union, L 303, 69–92. Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2018/1808/oj/eng

European Parliament & Council of the European Union. (2018b). Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of 11 December 2018 establishing the European Electronic Communications Code (Recast). Official Journal of the European Union, L 321, 36–214. Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2018/1972/oj/eng

European Parliament & Council of the European Union. (2019). Directive (EU) 2019/882 of 17 April 2019 on the accessibility requirements for products and services. Official Journal of the European Union, L 151, 70–115. Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2019/882/oj/eng

European Union. (2012). Consolidated version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Official Journal of the European Union, C 326, 47–390. Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:12012E/TXT

European Union. (2016). Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (2016/C 202/02). Official Journal of the European Union, C 202, 389–405. Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:12016P/TXT

Hsieh, H.-F., & Shannon, S. E. (2005). Three approaches to qualitative content analysis. Qualitative Health Research, 15(9), 1277–1288. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732305276687

Knoors, H., & Marschark, M. (2012). Language planning for the 21st century: Revisiting bilingual language policy for deaf children. The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 17(3), 291–305. https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/ens018

Ladd, P. (2003). Understanding Deaf culture: In search of Deafhood. Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781853595479

Murray, J. J., De Meulder, M., & le Maire, D. (2018). An education in sign language as a human right? The sensory exception in the legislative history and ongoing interpretation of Article 24 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Human Rights Quarterly, 40(1), 37–60. https://doi.org/10.1353/hrq.2018.0001

Napier, J., & Barker, R. (2004). Accessing university education: Perceptions, preferences, and expectations for interpreting by deaf students. The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 9(2), 228–238. https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/enh024

Nilsson, M., Zamparutti, T., Petersen, J. E., Nykvist, B., Rudberg, P., & McGuinn, J. (2012). Understanding policy coherence: Analytical framework and examples of sector–environment policy interactions in the EU. Environmental Policy and Governance, 22(6), 395–423. https://doi.org/10.1002/eet.1589

Nowell, L. S., Norris, J. M., White, D. E., & Moules, N. J. (2017). Thematic analysis: Striving to meet the trustworthiness criteria. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406917733847

Quinlivan, S., & O’Mahony, C. (2025). UNCRPD concluding observations in relation to the EU report, from the perspective of petitions received (In-depth analysis, PE 780.258). European Parliament. Retrieved from https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/IDAN/2025/780258/IUST_IDA%282025%29780258_EN.pdf

Saldaña, J. (2021). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (4th ed.). SAGE. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/The_Coding_Manual_for_Qualitative_Resear.html?id=RwcVEAAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y

Schreier, M. (2012). Qualitative content analysis in practice. SAGE. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781529682571

Spencer, L. J., Marschark, M., Machmer, E., Durkin, A., Borgna, G., & Convertino, C. (2018). Communication skills of deaf and hard-of-hearing college students: Objective measures and self-assessment. Journal of Communication Disorders, 75, 13–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomdis.2018.06.002

Tannenbaum-Baruchi, C., Ahad Ha’am, B., & Harari, R. (2025). Accessibility and support in higher education: A case study of deaf and hard of hearing students’ perceptions. Higher Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-025-01586-x

Thomas, C. (2004). How is disability understood? An examination of sociological approaches. Disability & Society, 19(6), 569–583. https://doi.org/10.1080/0968759042000252506

United Nations. (2006). Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Optional Protocol. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/convention/convoptprot-e.pdf

Vangeli, D. G., Georgokostopoulos, C., Loukisas, T., & Milakis, E. D. (2025). Implementing the UNCRPD for Deaf or hard of hearing students in Greece: Bilingual education, career guidance, vocational training, vocational rehabilitation and digital inclusion. European Journal of Special Education Research, 11(3), 23–72. https://doi.org/10.46827/ejse.v11i3.6024




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejse.v12i7.6970

Copyright © 2015 - 2026. European Journal of Special Education Research (ISSN 2501 - 2428) is a registered trademark of Open Access Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

This journal is a serial publication uniquely identified by an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) serial number certificate issued by Romanian National Library (Biblioteca Nationala a Romaniei). All the research works are uniquely identified by a CrossRef DOI digital object identifier supplied by indexing and repository platforms.

All the research works published on this journal are meeting the Open Access Publishing requirements and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).