AN INCLUSIVE APPROACH FOR THE DEAF/deaf: A FALLACY?

Sofia Oliveira

Escola Secundária Avelar Brotero, Coimbra, Portugal

Paper presented at the 2003 ECER Conference

Hamburg, Germany, 18h September 2003

1

AN INCLUSIVE APPROACH FOR THE DEAF/deaf: A FALLACY?

Sofia Oliveira

Escola Secundária Avelar Brotero, Coimbra, Portugal

Abstract

The goal of an inclusive policy is to ensure that pupils with special educational needs have full access to the curriculum, bearing in mind their broader educational and social needs (Watson and Parsons, 1999).

Most deaf people consider themselves as different and not as disabled. They are culturally deaf and consequently they perceive themselves as a linguistic and cultural minority group with their own language and culture.

Portugal, along with other countries, namely European, follows an inclusive policy. Accordingly, an inclusive approach for pupils with special educational needs, namely Deaf/deaf pupils, is being implemented.

Nevertheless, according to the researcher belief there is a lack of teachers’ awareness of the meaning of inclusive education and even of being Deaf/deaf, at least from what it means from a theoretical point of view.

So, it seemed fruitful for the fields of inclusive education and of educational research to study the features of a so-called inclusive school and, particularly, of an inclusive classroom in order to evaluate if the claimed inclusive approach, in relation to deaf pupils, is a fallacy or not.

Some implications of the study can be drawn for educational research and for the field of Deaf Studies, especially for teacher education.

Sofia Oliveira, 2003

1

AN INCLUSIVE APPROACH FOR THE DEAF/deaf: A FALLACY?

Sofia Oliveira

Escola Secundária Avelar Brotero, Coimbra, Portugal

Introduction and Theoretical Underpinnings

The main goal of an inclusive policy, a current European trend, is to ensure that pupils with special educational needs have full access to the curriculum, bearing in mind their broader educational and social needs and, consequently, to ensure that they receive the necessary assistance in order for them to achieve their educational potential and, consequently, to be valued for the contribution that they can make to the school community (Watson and Parsons, 1999, p.135). That is, the goal is eventual maximum empowerment, independence and participation in the wider society, through high levels of academic and social achievement (Powers, 1999, p.35).

Portugal, along with other countries, namely European, follows an inclusive policy. Consequently, a report of the Portuguese Council of Education states “In the case of pupils with special educational needs (…) inclusive education has become the most simple and impressive formula to designate the opportunities for socialization, of learning, of using potential talents, in schools as well as in society” (Macedo, 1999, p.9). Accordingly, an inclusive approach for pupils with special educational needs, namely Deaf/deaf pupils, is being implemented.

Nevertheless, according to the researcher belief, based on a practical knowledge, there is a lack of teachers’ awareness of the meaning of inclusive education and even of being Deaf/deaf, at least from what it means from a theoretical point of view.

Most deaf people consider themselves culturally deaf and consequently they perceive themselves as a linguistic and cultural minority group with their own language and culture. Deaf children, however, are not a homogeneous group, and many factors, not only their hearing loss, need to be taken into account when discussing their education (Gregory et al, 1999).

Inclusive schools must recognise and respond to the diverse needs of their pupils, accommodating both different styles and rates of learning and ensuring quality education to all through appropriate curricula, organisational arrangements, teaching strategies, resource use and partnerships with their communities (Manivannan, 1999). So, in order to promote inclusive education for deaf pupils, there is a need to recognize their status of different and not of disabled, the contributions of the advances in technology for their learning (from note-taking computers to the simple flashing lights) and the importance of sign language as a mean of promoting and facilitating the transmission of knowledge and yet, of cultural identity.

Purpose of the Study

It seemed fruitful for the fields of inclusive education and of educational research to study the features of a so-called inclusive school and, particularly, of an inclusive classroom in order to evaluate if the claimed inclusive approach, in relation to deaf pupils, is a fallacy or not.

Methodology

A case study research was developed.

The data were gathered based on interviews of the teachers of Deaf/deaf pupils and of the headmaster of the school and on observation. The guidelines for the observations and interviews took into account some theoretical criteria underlying the meaning of an inclusive approach. Modes of communication, school and classroom settings, attitudes and beliefs of the teachers, curricular approaches and school improvement strategies were some of the aspects focused (Mertens, 1997).

The interviews were carried out with the headmaster of the school as well as three teachers that interacted with the deaf pupils on a daily basis. One of the teachers was an experienced, specialized, teacher of the deaf, another was an experienced, not specialized, mainstream teacher and the third one was a novice mainstream teacher.

A content analysis of the observation records and of the answers to the questions of the interview guide was performed.

Findings

There are no signs or flashing lights to warn deaf pupils about, for example, the beginning or end of classes. Practically, no one from the staff knows sign language. The teachers only know, if at all, the basis communication signs, which are clearly not enough for teaching.

There are no interpreters, only exceptionally and booked well in advanced, and even, it is questioned if they are favourable for the deaf pupils, if they do not disrupt the class and even if the mainstream teacher accepts them.

The classroom setting is inadequate. The layout of the room is similar to the one implemented in classes with only hearing pupils, with rows of tables in front of each other. This is even more inappropriate as there are no mixed classes but just deaf pupils classes. Hence, classes with deaf and hearing pupils, or even special needs classes, do not exist. As a consequence deaf pupils feel isolated.

The deaf pupils only socialize among themselves; nevertheless they do not belong to the Deaf Community. They do not even know it exists. The deaf pupils are not aware of the Deaf Culture and neither are the teachers, the school staff, the parents or the hearing pupils. The expectations about the deaf pupils are not only lowered by the teachers as a consequence of the way the school curriculum is adapted, but by themselves because they do not have role models and consequently they do not know they can go further. They are not aware of their potentialities and feel unable to build their identity as Deaf. The deaf pupils are isolated within the school as well as among themselves as they are not aware of the richness of the Deaf World and of the Deaf Community.

The attitudes and beliefs of the teachers interviewed by the researcher reveal paternalism, protection and well meaning condescendence regarding deaf pupils. For the teachers, the deaf pupils are disabled and consequently they cannot achieve the same goals as the hearing. However, they believe that the deaf are able to concentrate more than the hearing, that they are more creative, that their vision is more accurate and that they are more sensitive. The teachers use this misconception to explain why they are good at disciplines such as drawing and geometry.

The headmaster has little contact with the deaf pupils and tries not to get involved. She revealed to know almost nothing about their situation in the school and she was only able to tell in which school setting the deaf pupils were by consulting her records. She did not refer any particular school improvement strategy.

The specialized teacher of the deaf is ambivalent between what she knows in theory about inclusion and what she actually does at the school and the strategies that she implements and the notions that she has about deafness and deaf people and their abilities. For example: she states “inclusive education exists when the school is adjusted to the pupils, that is, teachers practices must be adapted and a whole set of resources (material and human) must be present in order to ensure that the deaf pupils achieve the goals of the mainstream curriculum” but, later on, she adds “both the parents and the deaf pupils have to be confronted with the disability and with the limitations of deafness. We (the school) advise the deaf pupils to follow a professionalisation route because, generally, they are not successful in an educational one”.

The non-specialized mainstream teacher knows little or nothing about inclusion “and only follows the directions that the specialized teacher gives her” as well as implementing other strategies used years before with all the other deaf pupils that she as already taught. Still, she believes that the deaf pupils are not able to do more than they already do.

The novice mainstream teacher, in spite of knowing nothing about inclusion, believes in the deaf pupils and that they are able to do much more. She believes “that with the adequate strategies and enough time dedicated to each pupil they can go further beyond what we can imagine and they can amaze us all”. She seems to agree with Powers (1996) when the author states that inclusion is an attitude, not a place.

Conclusions and Implications of the Study

Neither school or classroom settings, modes of communication used, attitudes and beliefs of the teachers, curricular approaches and school improvement strategies seem to reveal an inclusive approach.

The researcher agrees with Watson and Parsons (1999) when they state that “teachers in supporting roles felt obliged to make themselves as unobtrusive as possible and to attempt to minimise the demands made on mainstream staff”(p.136). Still, instead of adapting the activities and the methods used so that all pupils, with or without special educational needs, can achieve the same, regardless of their “disability”, the curriculum is adapted based on the principle that these pupils cannot achieve the same as other and consequently lowering the expectations from the beginning. Consequently, they do not try to conceive different ways of achieving the same learning outcomes. So, it seems that there is a misunderstanding that deserves to be clarified about the meaning of adapting the curriculum.

The researcher also feels that there is a lack of awareness about deafness and about deaf culture with implications in the way the educational community interacts with the deaf pupils. Nevertheless, this lack of awareness is not just from the hearing part (colleagues; mainstream teachers; school staff) but also from the deaf pupils themselves, as they do not even know that the Deaf Community exists. This lack of awareness, which is dissimulated by the word “inclusion”, contributes for the isolation of the deaf pupils side by side with the hearing giving them a strong feeling of loneliness. Consequently, there is a serious need for future professional interventions so that the professionals from the educational field gain a greater awareness on Deaf/deaf issues.

Summarizing, after conducting the study the researcher realised that the lack of teachers’ awareness about the meaning of inclusive education and even of being Deaf/deaf is not only from a theoretical point of view but also from a practical one. Most of the features expected to encounter and that reveal an inclusive approach have not been identified. At least in the school where the study was carried out, the inclusive approach seems to be an illusion or a fallacy.

Further Studies

As a follow up study the researcher is developing a case study research giving an increased attention to the deaf pupils’ points of view gathering evidence of what is the experience of being Deaf/deaf in a so-called inclusive school and, particularly, in an inclusive classroom, privileging the Deaf/deaf voices. Furthermore, the data collected from both groups (hearing and deaf) will be analysed in order to enlight the eventual dissonance and its consequences between both perspectives.

References

  • Gregory, S., Knight, P., McCracken, W., Powers, S. and Watson, L. (1999). (eds.). Issues in Deaf Education. (p.135-142). London, UK: David Fulton Publishers.
  • Macedo, B. (1999). Nota Prévia. In Uma Educação Inclusiva a partir da escola que temos [Inclusive Education from the school that we have].Lisbon, Portugal: Conselho Nacional de Educação, Ministério de Educação.
  • Manivannan, M. (1999) Inclusive Education for Disabled Children. Associate Publication of Asia Pacific Disability Rehabilitation Journal. 2 1
  • Mertens, D. (1997). Research Methods in Education and Psychology. London, U.K.: Sage Publications, Inc.
  • Powers, S. (1996). Inclusion is an attitude not a place: part 1.Journal of the British Association of Teachers of the Deaf (20), 2, p.35-41.
  • Watson, L. and Parsons, J. (1999). Supporting deaf pupils in mainstream settings.In Gregory, S., Knight, P., McCracken, W., Powers, S. and Watson, L. (eds.). Issues in Deaf Education. (p.135-142). London, UK: David Fulton Publishers.

Appendix A

Interview Guide

  1. Please characterize the deaf pupils (of the school) with who you work. How many are they? When have they become deaf? Their parents are deaf or hearing? What is the pupils preferred mode of communication?
  2. Do the deaf pupils consider themselves as belonging to a community with specific characteristics? That is, with specific values, history and language?
  3. Is the use of Portuguese Sign language (Lingua Gestual Portuguesa-LGP) encouraged in the school?
  4. Do the deaf pupils teach LGP to the hearing, including colleagues, teachers and staff?
  5. How do you define, in general, the school achievement of the deaf pupils?
  6. Describe, according to you, what is the average school achievement of the deaf pupils when leaving school? Deaf pupils generally leave school in which grade?
  7. Which routes are advised to the deaf pupils? An educational or professional one? Why? Who makes those decisions? Based on which information?
  8. What happens if the deaf pupils choose a route that has not been advised?
  9. What happens if some deaf pupils desire to progress in their studies, at University level?
  10. Which school policy would you advocate for the integration of deaf pupils in this school, considering the set of options and approaches that seem realistic and useful for you?
  11. What is the meaning of Inclusive Education for you?
  12. What are the key characteristics of an inclusive school?
  13. What are the key aspects that can transform the schools that we have in inclusive schools?
  14. What approaches can help schools to show respect for differences? Are there ways in which teachers can be taught to be more empathetic? Consider some ways that could be usefully applied in schools.
  15. Where are the main challenges for effective inclusive education in relation to parental expectations?
  16. Give concrete examples of how the schools can value the different ways of learning?
  17. Do you think that a commitment to inclusive education implies a re-evaluation of priorities within the existing mainstream curriculum?
  18. Are there any specific ways in which the curriculum can be adapted to be more inclusive? Give examples of good practice and decide why they are “good practice”.
  19. Are there some strategies implemented by the teachers to help deaf children that might be usefully applied to other children within an average mainstream classroom?
  20. What aspects of pedagogy can be used by either a skilled teacher or by a learning support assistant?
  21. In what ways can a merging of special educational needs and mainstream pedagogies enrich the learning experiences of all learners (deaf and hearing)?
  22. How do you ensure that everyone is working collaboratively?
  23. Which criteria prevail when deciding where to place a deaf pupil, in a mainstream class or in a special class? Who makes these decisions?
  24. Do deaf pupils attend all disciplines? What are the criteria to make these decisions? Who makes them?
  25. Consider arguments for and against the value of withdrawing deaf pupils from mainstream provision in order to get intensive support. A mixture of both- whole class differentiated teaching and some individual withdrawal support- is compatible with an inclusive ideology?
  26. Does deaf schooling only involve teaching and assessment or does it need to recognize and be sensitive towards the social, economic and cultural complexities of the Deaf community?

Sofia Oliveira, 2003