An examination of job application portfolio development process with hearing impaired youths: An action research

Although success in education does not fully represent success in life and business, good marks, various certificates, a well-prepared job application portfolio and a good history of education are among the basic determiners. Like all students taking education, for hearing-impaired students to continue their lives and carry out their profession, they should apply for a job and become employed. Hearing impaired higher education graduates are likely to encounter with certain problems, biases and difficulties during their job application interviews due to their hearing problems. Therefore, it is important for hearing impaired graduates, when they apply for a job, to prepare a job application portfolio that will reflect their artistic and designer identities; which will help them demonstrate their authentic designs; which will allow them to prove their knowledge they gained during their education; and which will provide visual support to their communication with the employer. In addition, in the process of the preparation of this portfolio, it is also equally important for hearing impaired students to teach and activate the presentation for transferring the gains in arts and academic language into business life. If hearing impaired students do not prepare these portfolios or are not able to talk about the preparation process, this will certainly cause them to be ignored in a number of job applications due to social biases.The participants of this study were ten hearing-impaired students who prepared job application portfolios within the scope of the courses of Portfolio Development I and Portfolio Development II and who were attending Graphic Arts Department of the School for the Handicapped at Anadolu University at the time of the present study. The present study aimed examining the job application portfolio development process and products of the participants.During the preparation and application phase of portfolio designs in this study, each student was made responsible for his or her own portfolio. The students first designed the logo that would reflect both their graphic design and designer personality. Using these logos they designed, they prepared business cards, letterheads and envelopes and developed their designer personality. They reflected their designer identities onto brochures, CD covers and CD envelopes. Later, they prepared creative CVs that define their personal profile and background. After developing the page layouts of the visuals of the works they were planning to into their portfolios, they created the portfolio bags.As a result of these research efforts, various positive changes were observed in the students: They learned to make and receive criticism (receiving teacher criticism and peer criticism and criticizing friends? works). The competitive environment established by peer criticism positively influenced the students? creativity and increased their productivity. They learned the language of criticism. Appropriate evaluation of the criticism made and acquisition of the language of criticism contributed to their designs. They learned to participate in artistic discussions. Artistic speech, discussion and sharing and exchange of ideas had positive effects on their creativity.Use of visual materials to help the students understand the subject in the course as well as comprehend the reason and result relationship better led to positive results in all the works of the students.Students? exchange of ideas via the question-and-answer method in the course contributed to the communication among them. In this way, the students produced creative solutions in their designs, continued exchanging ideas with each other in the process and developed their ability to ask questions.As a result, their ability to ask questions about art was developed. Participation in group work allowed them to express their views verbally and nonverbally. In this way, their self-confidence was developed, and their theoretical, artistic and professional knowledge was enriched.It was seen that the study carried out helped the last year students own a visually-effective and spectacular portfolio and that these effective and spectacular portfolios would minimize the communication problems they encounter with in job application due to their hearing impairment. It is also expected that providing evidence for their professional efficiencies and skills, the portfolio will play an effective role in showing such skills and efficiencies to employers.For hearing impaired youths willing to become productive and active individuals in the society, their attempts to develop a Job Application Portfolio are thought to positively influence the biases of hearing individuals and of the employer about them.The data of the present study are also expected to contribute to the national and international literature regarding the hearing impaired students? gains in academic language and art.Key Words: Job Application Portfolio, Job Application, Education of the Hearing Impaired, Visual and Linguistic Utterances, Action Research