تصورات طلبة الدراسات العليا في الجامعات السعودية تجاه أهمية لغة الإشارة في تنمية المهارات الأكاديمية ومهارات التواصل الاجتماعي للصم
This research aimed to study the perceptions of postgraduate students in the Saudi universities towards the importance of sign language in developing academic skills and social communication skills. It adopted descriptive methodology, and used a questionnaire for collecting data, 409 postgraduate students participated in the current research, 310 master students, and 99 doctorate students. The results demonstrated that postgraduate students' perceptions towards the importance of sign language and in developing academic skills and social communication skills reached high degree generally, with weight average of total degrees 3,950 with standard deviation of 907. Postgraduate students' perceptions on the importance of sign language from communicative aspect were the first level with wright average of 4,315, and with standard deviation of 794 it achieved very high degree. The second rank was their perceptions on the importance of sign language from academic aspect with weight average of 3,910, and with standard deviation 878. It reached high degree. The third level was their perceptions on the importance of sign language from conceptual aspect, with weight average of 3,625, and with standard deviation 1,050. It reached high degree. The results demonstrated there was no statistical differences in postgraduate students' responses on the importance of sign language and its relationships with enhancing social communicative skills for the deaf that can be referred to the variables of gender, study level or type of study major. In terms of the variable of connection with the deaf, there was no statistical differences, except for the dimension of postgraduate students' students on academic aspect, there were statistical differences at level of ,05 for those who were in connections with the deaf. (Published abstract)