Accessing audiology: epistemological experiences of newly qualified audiologists.

Abstract

Audiology was introduced in South Africa in 1936, originally to train exclusively White, Afrikaans, and English-speaking students to serve hearing-impaired patients from the same demographics. Although South Africa’s democratic transition has expanded access to higher education, including Audiology training for Black African First Language Speaking (BAFLS) students, the extent of epistemological access (the ability to engage with knowledge, meaningfully) remains largely unexplored empirically. As a result, this study addressed this gap by examining the experiences of newly qualified BAFLS Audiologists as they navigated undergraduate Audiology curriculum and the subsequent impact of those experiences on their professional practice. Guided by the hermeneutic phenomenological approach, this qualitative study drew on semi structured interviews with 10 newly qualified Audiology graduates from a South African university. These graduates were purposively selected to reflect their diversity in terms of linguistic and socio-economic backgrounds. Through content analysis, data were analysed into pre-existing parent themes derived from the theoretical framework. Thereafter, thematic analysis was used to identify emergent themes. Participants reported significant barriers to epistemological access during their undergraduate studies. These barriers included linguicism, racism, classism, and a Eurocentric curriculum that excluded Afrocentric perspectives. Teaching and assessment practices were often perceived as biased against the BAFLS students, leading to surface learning. Hence, the BAFLS students felt underprepared for a more Afrocentric clinical practice, citing insufficient theoretical grounding and difficulty bridging academic knowledge with professional skills. Participants also highlighted positive experiences with BAFLS lecturers, who, in their experiences, exercised more relatable mentorship and teaching approaches. In professional settings, they continued to face systemic exclusion, particularly in private practice, alongside ongoing racism, and classism. The persistence of Eurocentrism in both academic and clinical environments was a dominant theme. Overall, the undergraduate Audiology curriculum at the University of Interest (pseudonym) remains predominantly Eurocentric, limiting the epistemological access for BAFLS students and their preparedness for Afrocentric or contextually relevant practice. Although existing models of transformation have been proposed to recontextualise the profession, they largely remain unimplemented. As a result, this study calls for a Radical Implementation of Fundamental Transformation (RIFT) framework, which emphasises enforcing and operationalising these models to ensure a more inclusive and Afrocentric Audiology curriculum. Such transformation is critical for equipping BAFLS students with the knowledge and skills necessary to meet the diverseneeds of South Africa’s population.