Education Of Deaf Children

A significant number of d/Deaf and hard of hearing (d/Dhh) children and adolescents experience challenges in acquiring a functional level of English language and literacy skills in the United States (and elsewhere). To provide an understanding of this issue, this book explores the theoretical underpinnings and synthesizes major research findings. It also covers critical controversial areas such as the use of assistive hearing devices, language, and literacy assessments, and inclusion. Although the targeted population is children and adolescents who are d/Dhh, contributors found it necessary to apply our understanding of the development of English in other populations of struggling readers and writers such as children with language or literacy disabilities and those for whom English is not the home language. Collectively, this information should assist scholars in conducting further research and enable educators to develop general instructional guidelines and strategies to improve the language and literacy levels of d/Dhh students. It is clear that there is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ concept, but, rather, research and instruction should be differentiated to meet the needs of d/Dhh students. It is our hope that this book stimulates further theorizing and research and, most importantly, offers evidence- and reason-based practices for improving language and literacy abilities of d/Dhh students.

In this book, renowned authorities Marschark and Hauser explain how empirical research conducted over the last several years directly informs educational practices at home and in the classroom, and offer strategies that parents and teachers can use to promote optimal learning in their deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

Here is a compelling and controversial text which asserts that Deaf students should be treated no differently than non Deaf students. The author, a veteran and practicing teacher, rejects the predominant view of Deaf students as special learners in need of language remediation and repair. Instead, she maintains that for Deaf students as well as their hearing counterparts, the primary educational goal is the making and sharing of understandings in various subjects. Furthermore, she views this as a process that occurs naturally, concomitantly, and reciprocally with the acquisition of language--regardless of one's hearing ability. Livingston's assertion clashes with conventional Deaf education, which presumes that the wider learning begins after students master a sign system that codifies and reconstructs English. With a cumbersome, orderly, piecemeal, and unnatural approach, this traditional view frequently forces teachers to water down curriculums in an attempt to make English more readily acquired. As a result, Deaf students are deprived of rich and challenging content. Rethinking the Education of Deaf Students offers an alternative and demonstrates how American Sign Language (ASL) and English can coexist in the same classroom, embedded in the content of what is being taught. Through clear theoretical explanations, field-tested teaching strategies, authentic examples of students' work, lesson plans, and sections on assessment, Livingston suggests ways to help students become educated language users. Her ideas hold enormous implications for those who teach Deaf students, develop school budgets, design programs, and train future teachers. More important, they may hold the key that unlocks the potential of Deaf students of all ages to become voracious readers and accomplished writers.

This book is the first edited international volume focused on critical perspectives on plurilingualism in deaf education, which encompasses education in and out of schools and across the lifespan. The book provides a critical overview and snapshot of the use of sign languages in education for deaf children today and explores contemporary issues in education for deaf children such as bimodal bilingualism, translanguaging, teacher education, sign language interpreting and parent sign language learning. The research presented in this book marks a significant development in understanding deaf children's language use and provides insights into the flexibility and pragmatism of young deaf people and their families’ communicative practices. It incorporates the views of young deaf people and their parents regarding their language use that are rarely visible in the research to date.

Teaching Deaf Learners asserts that the education of deaf learners profits from an ecological approach to learning and teaching.

An analysis and evaluation of the processes of communication among deaf children. Emphasizes actual observation in schools rather than relying solely on tests and experiments. Offers a number of criticisms of educational methods and teaching techniques, arguing that many of the deaf child's problems are not a 'natural' product of the disability but are created by ineffective educational methods.

Education for deaf learners has gone through significant changes over the past three decades. The needs of many have changed considerably. But deaf learners are not hearing learners who cannot hear. This volume adopts a broad, international perspective, capturing the complexities and commonalities in the developmental mosaic of deaf learners.