Innovations In Deaf Studies

What does it mean to engage in Deaf Studies and who gets to define the field? What would a truly deaf-led Deaf Studies research program look like? What innovations do deaf scholars deem necessary in the field of Deaf Studies? Editors Annelies Kusters, Maartje De Meulder, and Dai O'Brien and their contributing authors tackle these questions and more. Innovations in Deaf Studies foregrounds deaf ways of being and how the experience of being deaf is central not only to deaf research participants' own ontologies, but also to the positionality and framework of the study as a whole. The focus here is on the underdeveloped strands within Deaf Studies, particularly on areas around deaf people's communities, ideologies, literature, religion, language practices, and political aspirations. -- Adapted from the dust jacket.

Deaf children are not hearing children who can't hear. Beyond any specific effects of hearing loss, as a group they are far more diverse than hearing peers. Lack of full access to language, incidental learning, and social interactions as well as the possibility of secondary disabilities means that deaf learners face a variety of challenges in academic domains. Technological innovations such as digital hearing aids and cochlear implants have improved hearing and the possibility of spoken language for many deaf learners, but parents, teachers, and other professionals are just now coming to recognize that there are cognitive, experiential, and social-emotional differences between deaf and hearing students likely to affect academic outcomes. Sign languages and schools and programs for deaf learners thus remain an important part of the continuum of services needed for this diverse population. Understanding such diversity and determining ways in which to accommodate them must become a top priority in educating deaf learners. Through the participation of an international, interdisciplinary set of scholars, Diversity in Deaf Education takes a broad view of learning and academic progress, considering "the whole child" in the context of the families, languages, educational settings in which they are immersed. In adopting this perspective, the complexities and commonalities in the social, emotional, cognitive, and linguistic mosaic of which the deaf child is a part, are captured. It is only through such a holistic consideration of diverse children developing within diverse settings that we can understand their academic potentials.

Education in general, and education for deaf learners in particular, has gone through significant changes over the past three decades. And change certainly will be the buzzword in the foreseeable future. The rapid growth of information and communication technology as well as progress in educational, psychological, and allied research fields have many scholars questioning aspects of traditional school concepts. For example, should the classroom be "flipped" so that students receive instruction online at home and do "homework" in school? At the same time, inclusive education has changed the traditional landscape of special education and thus of deaf education in many if not all countries, and yet deaf children continued to lag significantly behind hearing peers in academic achievement. As a consequence of technological innovations (e.g., digital hearing aids and early bilateral cochlear implants), the needs of many deaf learners have changed considerably. Parents and professionals, however, are just now coming to recognize that there are cognitive, experiential, and social-emotional differences between deaf and hearing students likely to affect academic outcomes. Understanding such differences and determining ways in which to accommodate them through global cooperation must become a top priority in educating deaf learners. Through the participation of an international, interdisciplinary set of scholars, Educating Deaf Learners takes a broader view of learning and academic achievement than any previous work, considering the whole child. In adopting this broad perspective, the authors capture the complexities and commonalities in the social, emotional, cognitive, and linguistic mosaic of which the deaf child is a part. It is only through such a holistic consideration that we can understand their academic potential.

Edited by Stephanie W. Cawthon and Carrie Lou Garberoglio, Research in Deaf Education: Contexts, Challenges, and Considerations is a showcase of insight and experience from a seasoned group of researchers across the field of deaf education. Research in Deaf Education begins with foundational chapters in research design, history, researcher positionality, community engagement, and ethics to ground the reader within the context of research in the field. Here, the reader will be motivated to consider significant contemporary issues within deaf education, including the relevance of theoretical frameworks and the responsibility of deaf researchers in the design and implementation of research in the field. As the volume progresses, contributing authors explore scientific research methodologies such as survey design, single case design, intervention design, secondary data analysis, and action research at large. In doing so, these chapters provide solid examples as to how the issues raised in the earlier groundwork of the book play out in diverse orientations within deaf education, including both quantitative and qualitative research approaches. Designed to help guide researchers from the germ of their idea through seeing their work publish, Research in Deaf Education offers readers a comprehensive understanding of the critical issues behind the decisions that go into this rigorous and important research for the community at hand.

This title is a major professional reference work in the field of deafness research. It covers all important aspects of deaf studies: language, social/psychological issues, neuropsychology, culture, technology, and education.

Language development, and the challenges it can present for individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, have long been a focus of research, theory, and practice in D/deaf studies and deaf education. Over the past 150 years, but most especially near the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st century, advances in the acquisition and development of language competencies and skills have been increasing rapidly. This volume addresses many of those accomplishments as well as remaining challenges and new questions that have arisen from multiple perspectives: theoretical, linguistic, social-emotional, neuro-biological, and socio-cultural. Contributors comprise an international group of prominent scholars and practitioners from a variety of academic and clinical backgrounds. The result is a volume that addresses, in detail, current knowledge, emerging questions, and innovative educational practice in a variety of contexts. The volume takes on topics such as discussion of the transformation of efforts to identify a "best" language approach (the "sign" versus "speech" debate) to a stronger focus on individual strengths, potentials, and choices for selecting and even combining approaches; the effects of language on other areas of development as well as effects from other domains on language itself; and how neurological, socio-cognitive, and linguistic bases of learning are leading to more specialized approaches to instruction that address the challenges that remain for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals. This volume both complements and extends The Oxford Handbook of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, Volumes 1 and 2, going further into the unique challenges and demands for deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals than any other text and providing not only compilations of what is known but setting the course for investigating what is still to be learned.

Oxford Handbooks offer authoritative and up-to-date reviews of original research in a particular subject area. Specially commissioned chapters from leading figures in the discipline give critical examinations of the progress and direction of debates, as well as a foundation for future research. Oxford Handbooks provide scholars and graduate students with compelling new perspectives upon a wide range of subjects in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. The adage Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it is a powerful one for parents, teachers, and other professionals involved with or interested in deaf individuals or the Deaf community. Myths grown from ignorance have long dogged the field, and faulty assumptions and overgeneralizations have persisted despite contrary evidence. A study of the history of deaf education reveals patterns that have affected educational policy and legislation for deaf people around the world; these patterns are related to several themes critical to the chapters of this volume. One such theme is the importance of parental involvement in raising and educating deaf children. Another relates to how Deaf people have taken an increasingly greater role in influencing their own futures and places in society. In published histories, we see the longstanding conflicts through the centuries that pertain to sign language and spoken communication philosophies, as well as the contributions of the individuals who advocated alternative strategies for teaching deaf children. More recently, investigators have recognized the need for a diverse approach to language and language learning. Advances in technology, cognitive science, linguistics, and the social sciences have alternately led and followed changes in theory and practice, resulting in a changing landscape for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals and those connected to them. This second volume of the The Oxford Handbook of Deaf Studies, Language, and Education (2003) picks up where that first landmark volume left off, describing those advances and offering readers the opportunity to understand the current status of research in the field while recognizing the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. In Volume 2, an international group of contributing experts provide state-of-the-art summaries intended for students, practitioners, and researchers. Not only does it describe where we are, it helps to chart courses for the future.

The field of deaf studies, language, and education has grown dramatically over the past forty years. From work on the linguistics of sign language and parent-child interactions to analyses of school placement and the the mapping of brain function in deaf individuals, research across a range of disciplines has greatly expanded not just our knowledge of deafness and the deaf, but also the very origins of language, social interaction, and thinking. In this updated edition of the landmark original volume, a range of international experts present a comprehensive overview of the field of deaf studies, language, and education. Written for students, practitioners, and researchers, The Oxford Handbook of Deaf Studies, Language, and Education, Volume 1, is a uniquely ambitious work that has altered both the theoretical and applied landscapes. Pairing practical information with detailed analyses of what works, why, and for whom-all while banishing the paternalism that once dogged the field-this first of two volumes features specially-commissioned, updated essays on topics including: language and language development, hearing and speech perception, education, literacy, cognition, and the complex cultural, social, and psychological issues associated with deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals. The range of these topics shows the current state of research and identifies the opportunites and challenges that lie ahead. Combining historical background, research, and strategies for teaching and service provision, the two-volume Oxford Handbook of Deaf Studies, Language, and Education stands as the benchmark reference work in the field of deaf studies.