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Deafness : Inclusion and Deafness Report Contents
University of Manchester, June 14th 1999
The seminar began with an overview of the current trends and thinking in inclusive education internationally. There are many different interpretations of the term inclusive education and it was important to consider these before discussing the relevance of this philosophy for Deaf education. Inclusive education in income-poor countries can perhaps best be achieved through partnership with the community and there are already some excellent examples of Deaf children being included in community-based informal and non-formal education initiatives.
The other four presentations focused on the different levels of inclusion in the family, the community, and in the school. There was insufficient time to discuss policy and teacher education issues, although they were referred to throughout. The promotion of inclusion in the family for Deaf people was highlighted as a pre-requisite for successful inclusion in education and in society. The need to inform and support parents as they bring up their Deaf children can best be achieved through close collaboration between Deaf adults and community based workers. Examples were given from Mozambique and Tanzania, where, it is estimated that, only 1% of Deaf children attend school.
Support for the development of Sign Language at the community level is another essential part of the process of preparing for inclusive education. The capacity building of organisations of Deaf people helps to provide a community of Deaf adults who can teach Sign Language and provide positive role models for Deaf children and their parents. The work of Action on Disability in Development (ADD) in Northern Uganda was described.
The benefits of employing Deaf adults in the classrooms in schools for Deaf children were highlighted through examples in Africa where high standards of education have been achieved. Many of the Deaf teachers are ex-pupils of the school and are very keen to improve the situation for the next generation of Deaf children. Inclusive education could pose a threat to this very positive development, if it means that such schools would close. The fear of hearing teachers threatens the employment of Deaf teachers, because of the ease with which the latter are able to communicate with Deaf children. Increasingly the education of Deaf children is becoming ‘more professional’, and therefore more dominated by a medical model, as many hearing teachers of Deaf children are sent to the North for training.
A pre-school initiative to introduce sign bilingualism into a school for Deaf children in Nanjing, China, was described. There are important differences between China and other countries of the South in terms of the high levels of literacy achieved and the unifying force of the written word. It is estimated that 60% of all Deaf children are in schools for Deaf children compared to only 1% in some African countries. The increasing dominance of the medical model of Deafness in China, however, means that there is a strong emphasis on a ‘cure’ at the pre-school stage through intensive oral-auditory methods. There is also a decline in the influence of Deaf teachers of Deaf children and the predominant method of teaching is through Sign Supported Chinese. Deaf girls are under-represented throughout Chinese schools for Deaf children, but the situation is worse in rural areas.
The Government of Papua New Guinea (PNG) introduced changes in the pre-service training of teachers in 1991 in order to promote inclusive education. PNG has a mostly rural and scattered population of 4 million people and over 770 languages. There is only one school for Deaf children in PNG, which is situated in the capital and is a day school. A community-based home-contact scheme, an inclusive kindergarten and a screening programme was developed by Callan Services for Disabled Persons to support the Government’s policy. Hearing children learned to sign naturally by being educated together with Deaf children and they have acted as interpreters in primary school for teachers whose signing skills are limited.
In Afghanistan Deaf clubs and classes have been set up by SERVE, a British charity, despite the lack of a basic infrastructure and the ongoing civil war. SHIP, SERVE’s Hearing-Impaired Programme, has a CBR programme which has been very active in identifying Deaf children and in developing appropriate local solutions to their educational needs. Classes for Deaf children are taught in local village schools after school hours. SHIP has trained existing teachers in Sign Language skills to enable them to teach these classes. Deaf girls are taught in the home of a female teacher because they are not allowed to attend school. A Sign Language dictionary has been produced and there is a growing interest among parents and siblings in learning to sign.
Key issues arising from the presentations and subsequent discussion are summarised at the end of the report. The issues are discussed under the following headings: Inclusion; Sign Language; Deaf Culture and Community; Listening to the views of Deaf people; Interpreters; and Training. The seminar highlighted the fact that western terms, such as inclusion, should be informed by the experiences of the income-poor countries of the South. In particular the social model of Deafness, which has prevailed for so long in Africa, has given rise to a large number of schools for Deaf children including Deaf teachers on their staff, and some of these schools have been set up by Deaf people and have Deaf head teachers. The Salamanca Statement recommends the inclusion of disabled children in mainstream schools, but it makes an exception of Deaf children because of the need to learn Sign Language. Although there are some excellent examples quoted in this report of community-based schools for Deaf children, it is not possible in the near future to provide education for all Deaf children in separate schools for economic, cultural and logistical reasons. The only realistic option for most Deaf children in the South is to attend their local school, or to remain at home. Appropriate community-based support for the children, their families and teachers, and the opportunity of meeting other Deaf people would help to ensure their inclusion in society.
Deafness : Inclusion and Deafness Report Contents
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22/10/1999