Greetings Students,

My name is Dr. Livhuwani Ramphabana, from the Discipline of Social Work at Howard College Campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

I wish to invite you to participate in a study entitled “Inclusive Education in Practice: Lived Experiences of Students Who Use the South African Sign Language (SASL) in Higher Education”. The purpose of the study is to understand how Deaf students experience teaching and learning, institutional support, and social inclusion within university environments. The study will be helpful in identifying practices that promote or hinder accessibility and inclusion.

If you agree to participate, you will take part in an individual interview conducted in South African Sign Language (SASL) with the assistance of a qualified interpreter. The study is limited to Deaf students who use SASL. You may choose whether to hold the interview in person or online, based on your preference and convenience. For online interviews, I will provide data that will help you participate. Should you be interested in participating, please send an email to Lramphabana@gmail.com or RamphabanaL@ukzn.ac.za.

Your participation in this study is completely voluntary and you are free to withdraw from the study at any time, without any negative consequences. All information shared will be treated as strictly confidential. A pseudonym will be used to protect your identity.

This study has been ethically reviewed and approved by the UKZN Humanities and Social Sciences Research Ethics Committee (approval ref number: HSSREC/00010085/2026).

Attached please find the Gatekeeper’s permission letter and a consent form.

Kind Regards,

Dr Livhuwani Ramphabana

RamphabanaL@ukzn.ac.za or Lramphabana@gmail.com

031 260 2306/076 973 1546