Interpretation services open up new study opportunities

In autumn 1976, the first two deaf students were admitted to do upper secondary school studies at the Mikkeli school for the deaf. Even though deaf students could now sit the matriculation exam, they still did not have many opportunities for further education at universities. In 1980, Finnish universities only had three deaf students and there were no deaf students at any other mainstream educational institutes.

This situation changed when interpretation services became available in the 1980s and the number of sign language interpreters increased. The number of deaf students at mainstream educational institutes increased immensely when they had access to interpretation services.

This opened up new career opportunities and deaf students could now study fields that they could only dream of in the past. As more deaf students were able to continue to upper secondary school after secondary school, there were also more opportunities for further studies. Deaf students also attended vocational schools, business schools, art institutes, technical colleges and universities. The Kuurojen kansanopisto (folk high school for the deaf) began its operations in 1987. It offered a sign language teacher programme (later a sign language instructor programme). The programme contained academic and vocational studies and enabled graduates to work part-time as teachers of sign language at folk and adult learning centres. However, teacher training remained a field that was almost impossible for deaf people to enter. It was only in the 1980s that deaf people could study to become a teacher. Many deaf students also studied abroad, for example in Denmark or at Gallaudet, a US university for the deaf.

Poor Finnish or Swedish skills posed challenges to students and teachers alike. Communication problems could also isolate a deaf student from the hearing student community. At first, the role of sign language interpreters was not clear, and because the training was short their professional and sign language skills were often insufficient. Also, there was a shortage of interpreters, which slowed down studies for many people. No national statistics were kept on the number of people dropping out. Deaf people who were among the first to study new fields became pioneers in their professions.

Despite the obstacles, more deaf students were admitted to mainstream educational institutes and started working in new fields in the 2000s. The biggest growth in the number of deaf students was seen in universities, partly because the University of Jyväskylä started training programmes in Finnish Sign Language and for sign language class teachers.

Better access to interpretation services and a decrease in the number of deaf people in schools for the deaf affected their student intake. They began to accept hearing students.