This study was an investigation of the relationship between the self-concepts of hearing-impaired children and the self-concepts of normal hearing children. Sixty-four hearing-impaired children and nineteen normal hearing children were given the Primary Self- Concept Inventory, the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale, and were rated by a teacher using the Bristol Social Adjustment Guide. The differences between means were analyzed and tested for significance. It was concluded that there is no difference between the self concept of the hearing-impaired child and the self-concept of the normal hearing child. It was further concluded that the instruments currently available for measuring self-concept are poor and inadequate. Further research on the self-concept of the hearing impaired child was recommended.

This study explores from the perspective of deaf persons, how the identity of deaf persons is shaped by their educational experiences. Previous studies on identity by Erickson (1984) and Leigh (2001) on deaf persons have located identity within either the medical model, as a discourse of assimilation, or within the reactive social model, as a discourse of human rights. It is argued that the ‘first wave of deaf identity politics’ (Wrigley, 1996) of the medical and social model binary are sites of oppression and resistance. This binary provides both an insufficient and a static explanation of deaf identity as a victim is increasingly at odds with the lives of deaf persons in a post-modern ontology. Subsequently, this study engages in exploring the post-modern driven ‘second wave of identity politics’ and proposes a bi-cultural Dialogue model that recognises and explores, through cross-cultural exploration, the complexity and fluid construction of a DeaF identity. Later, the contributions of Bat-Chava (2000); Glickman (1993) and Ohna (2006) towards deaf identity are discussed within the post-modern educational framework. This ethnographic study explores the identity development of nine deaf participants through their narratives. The inclusion of the researcher as a DeaF participant in this study provides an auto-ethnographic gateway into exploring the lives of deaf/Deaf/bi-bi DeaF persons. The themes of ‘significant moments’; ‘connections at home and school’ and ‘deaf identity development’ were investigated. This study investigated the educational experiences of both deaf learners who attended regular mainstream schools and also deaf learners who attended schools for the Deaf. The findings suggest that deaf identity is not a static concept, but a complex ongoing quest for belonging and acceptance of being deaf through ‘finding ones voice’ in a hearing dominant society. This study challenges educators, parents and researchers through using dialogue and narrative tools to broaden their understanding of deaf identity and the dignity associated with being a deaf person.

O tema Educação de Surdos vem ganhando destaque na última década, sobretudo com o reconhecimento da Língua Brasileira de Sinais, Libras, como a primeira língua do surdo pela Lei 10.436/02, regulamentada pelo Decreto 5.626/05. O presente estudo, que se desenvolve tendo como base a perspectiva discursiva e enunciativa de Bakhtin, se debruça sobre a constituição do ser professor surdo, utilizando-se, para isso, de conceitos como língua, palavra e dialogismo, dentre outros desenvolvidos pelo autor. Nosso objetivo foi conhecer a trajetória escolar, profissional e de participação social deste sujeito que atua como educador e buscar, a partir disso e do que os professores narram sobre o ser professor, analisar, indagar e refletir sobre os reflexos e refrações dos elementos de sua vida/história na constituição deste papel. Para isto, foi conduzido um estudo sob o viés qualitativo mediante entrevistas realizadas em língua de sinais. Foram entrevistados três docentes surdos que atuam em escolas de educação básica no Estado de São Paulo com alunos surdos. Durante os encontros, registrados em vídeo, foi utilizado um roteiro semiestruturado construído a partir de cinco temas: História de vida, Participação Social e Cultura Surda, Trajetória escolar, Trajetória Profissional, O papel do professor surdo Práticas e Concepções sobre Educação de Surdos. A análise dos resultados demonstrou que existem diversas aproximações entre as primeiras experiências escolares e de formação dos nossos sujeitos, que se traduzem por um passado de exclusão e de dificuldades relacionadas à questão da língua. Essas aproximações nos sugerem a existência de outros elementos constitutivos do ser professor surdo como, por exemplo: a configuração do ambiente de trabalho e as relações estabelecidas; a participação, dentro do ambiente de trabalho, nos espaços e momentos de discussão, debate, e enfrentamento de ideias e concepções; a presença de pares surdos; a presença de um grupo que se empenhe no desenvolvimento de um trabalho pedagógico coletivo e compartilhado, aberto às trocas e discussões; a clareza na distinção dos papéis de professor de Libras e de professor de surdos; o lugar que a Libras ocupa na escola; o que a Libras representa para os professores surdos; o posicionamento político e ideológico dos professores com relação à Libras e à Educação Bilíngue; entre outros. Tais elementos acabam por contribuir para o delineamento das práticas pedagógicas desenvolvidas pelos professores e constituem-se enquanto fatores determinantes para que estes professores venham a reproduzir ou não as práticas e discursos com os quais tiveram contato. / The Deaf Education theme has been getting prominence over the past decade, especially with the recognition of the Brazilian Sign Language, Libras, as the first language of deaf people by Law 10.436/02, regulated by Decree 5.626/05. This study, developed based on Bakhtins discursive and enunciative perspective, focuses on the constitution of the deaf teacher, using, for that, concepts such as language, word and dialogism, among others developed by the author. Our goal was to know about the educational and professional path and the social participation of this individual who acts as an educator and seek to, based on this and what these teachers narrate about being a teacher, analyze, investigate and think about the reflections and refractions of the elements of their life/history in the constitution of this role. For this purpose, a qualitative study was held through interviews conducted in sign language. Three deaf teachers who work in Basic Education schools in the state of São Paulo with deaf students were interviewed. During the meetings, recorded on video, a semi-structured script which was built from five themes was used: Life History, Social Participation and Deaf Culture, Professional and Educational Paths, The Role of the Deaf Teacher Practices and Conceptions about Deaf Education. The results showed that there are several similarities among our interviewees first school and graduation experiences, which can be translated into a history of exclusion and difficulties related to the language issue. These similarities suggest the existence of other constitutive elements of being a deaf teacher, for example: the working environment structure and the established relations; the participation, within the work environment, in spaces and moments of discussion, debate, and confrontation of ideas and concepts; the presence of deaf partners; the presence of a group that strives to develop a collective and shared pedagogical work, open to exchanges and discussions; the clarity in distinguishing the roles of the Libras teacher and the teacher of deaf students; the position that Libras occupies in school; what Libras means for the deaf teachers; the political and ideological positioning of teachers about Libras and Bilingual Education; among others. These elements end up contributing to the designing of pedagogical practices developed by teachers and constitute as determinants for these teachers to come to reproduce or not the practices and discourses with which they had contact.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-27T13:52:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 WALERIA BATISTA DA SILVA VAZ MENDES.pdf: 576235 bytes, checksum: 54cd6cf7d42c3b4bf2d711ac78286ab9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-09-14 / This dissertation is part of the research Education, Society and Culture of Post- Graduation Program Stricto Sensu in Education, of Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Goias (PUC Goiás). Analises a gathering of eleven (11) deaf youngsters, in the educational space of the school, Escola Estadual Colemar Natal e Silva, situated in Setor Aeroporto, im Goiania- Goias, seeking to apprehend their characteristiscs as groups in a lifestyle (habitus and lifestyle), in an afirmation movement of a specific culture the Deaf Culture. Using qualitative researching methods, as direct observation, individual interviews, and group debates. Its theoretical referencial is costituted of the following authors: Pierre Bourdieu (1998), Canezin Guimarães (2002), (2007) and (2008),Veiga-Neto (1992), (2002), Hall (1990), (1992),(2000) and (2005) e Wrigley (1996); Silva (1997) and (2003), Behares (2000), Skliar(1998), Sá (1999), (2004) and Perlin (2006-2009). Shows the reality of the students by their social class, space, juvenil condition and tongue, also discusses the multiple processes of representation and marginalization that are imposed and as well part of the deaf comunity, specially related to family, school, self-perception, the fight movements for social and legal rights, to the social networks for new information between others. Special emphasis is given to the importance of the Sign Language in the relationships, deaf identity constitution, and mainly, in development of a Deaf Culture. / Esta dissertação de mestrado faz parte da linha de pesquisa Educação, Sociedade e Cultura do Programa de Pós-Graduação Stricto Sensu em Educação (PPGE) da Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Goiás (PUC Goiás). Analisa um agrupamento de onze jovens surdos do Ensino Fundamental, no espaço educativo da Escola Estadual Colemar Natal e Silva, situada no Setor Aeroporto, em Goiânia GO, buscando apreender as suas características enquanto grupo com modo de vida (habitus e estilo de vida), num movimento de afirmação de uma cultura específica a Cultura Surda. Utiliza os métodos da pesquisa qualitativa, como observação direta, entrevistas individuais e grupo de debates. O seu referencial teórico principal é constituído dos seguintes autores: Pierre Bourdieu (1998), Canezin Guimarães (2002), (2007) e (2008),Veiga-Neto (1992), (2002), Hall (1990), (1992),(2000) e (2005) e Wrigley (1996); Silva (1997) e (2003), Behares (2000), Skliar(1998), Sá (1999), (2004) e Perlin (2006-2009). Apresenta a realidade dos alunos a partir de sua classe social, espaço, condição juvenil e língua e discute os múltiplos processos de representação e marginalização que são impostos e constituem a comunidade surda, especialmente em relação à família, à escola, à autopercepção de si, aos movimentos de luta por direitos sociais e jurídicos, às redes sociais das novas tecnologias da informação, entre outros. Ênfase especial é dada à importância da Língua de Sinais nos relacionamentos, na constituição das identidades surdas, e, principalmente, na elaboração de uma Cultura Surda.

Nesta dissertação, apresento uma investigação acerca das representações envolvidas nas práticas pedagógicas no processo de educação literária de alunos surdos em fase de alfabetização. Assim, proponho discutir o problema de pesquisa: quais representações docentes sobre as práticas pedagógicas de educação literária circulam nas classes de alfabetização em escolas de surdos localizadas em Porto Alegre/RS e Região Metropolitana? Objetiva-se, com este estudo, analisar as representações de docentes, em classes bilíngues de alfabetização, sobre as suas práticas pedagógicas de educação literária na educação de surdos. Ainda, pretende-se analisar os usos e funções que a literatura infantil assume através da fala de docentes no contexto da educação bilíngue. Essa temática justifica-se pelas potencialidades da literatura infantil no âmbito da produção cultural, aquisição da língua brasileira de sinais (Libras) e da escrita do português em contexto escolar. Fundamentado na perspectiva dos Estudos Culturais e Estudos Surdos, este estudo inspira-se nas contribuições de Hall (1997), Costa, Silveira e Sommer (2003), Karnopp (2005), Skliar (2015), Hunt (2010) e Colomer (2007). Trata-se de uma pesquisa de abordagem qualitativa envolvendo o uso e análise de entrevistas com seis docentes de classes de primeiro, segundo e terceiro anos, em escolas de surdos localizadas em Porto Alegre/RS e Região Metropolitana. Com base na análise dos dados coletados, foi possível sistematizar cinco agrupamentos analíticos, sendo eles: a leitura pelo prazer/gosto/hábito; práticas pedagógicas de leitura literária na alfabetização; leitura de imagens e a descoberta da escrita; bilinguismo na educação de surdos; e, por fim, experiências através/a partir da literatura infantil. A partir dessa investigação, é possível depreender que a literatura infantil possui múltiplos usos e funções na prática pedagógica de docentes, contribuindo para a reflexão acerca das representações construídas de educação literária. Assim, envolvem representações acerca da literatura enquanto prática cultural, como produtora e constituidora de significados e como formadora de leitores bilíngues. Ainda considerando o contexto bilíngue de surdos, através da investigação realizada, evidenciam-se as representações das línguas envolvidas enquanto experiência visual. / In this dissertation, I present an investigation about the representations involved in pedagogical practices in the process of literary education of deaf students during their early literacy development. Thus, I propose to discuss the following research problem: what teaching representations about pedagogical practices of literary education circulate in early literacy classrooms in schools for deaf students in the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre, in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul? The present study aims to analyze teachers’ representations, in early literacy bilingual classes, about their pedagogical practices of literary education in deaf education. I seek to analyze, moreover, the uses and roles that children’s literature can take on through teachers’ words, in the context of bilingual education. This subject is justified by the potentialities of children’s literature in terms of cultural production and the acquisition of the Brazilian sign language (Libras) and writing skills in Portuguese in the school context. Building on the perspectives of the fields of Cultural Studies and Deaf Studies, this study is inspired by the contributions of Hall (1997), Costa, Silveira and Sommer (2003), Karnopp (2005), Skliar (2015), Hunt (2010), and Colomer (2007). The present study is of a qualitative nature, involving the use and analysis of interviews with six teachers of classes of first, second and third grades at schools for deaf students in the city of Porto Alegre and its metropolitan area. Based on the analysis of collected data, I was able to systematize five analytical groups: reading for leisure/taste/habit; pedagogical practices of literary reading in early literacy; reading of images and the discovery of reading; bilingualism in deaf education; and, finally, experiences through/based on children’s literature. From this investigation, one can see that children’s literature has multiple uses and roles in the pedagogical practice of teachers, contributing for the reflection about the constructed representations of literary education. These include representations about literature as a cultural practice, a producer and builder of meanings, and a builder of bilingual readers. Moreover, considering the bilingual context of deaf people, the investigation evidences the representations of the languages involved as visual experience.

Na articulação aos Estudos Culturais em Educação, aos Estudos Surdos e à Linguística, busca-se, nesta tese, responder à seguinte problemática de pesquisa: como o ensino de língua portuguesa a surdos vem sendo produzido em contextos de educação escolar bilíngue no Rio Grande do Sul? Para isso, objetiva-se: a) descrever e problematizar a educação bilíngue em escolas de surdos do Rio Grande do Sul; b) investigar e analisar práticas discursivas de ensino de língua portuguesa a surdos em contextos de educação escolar bilíngue. Ao operar com ferramentas teórico-metodológicas da análise de discurso foucaultiano, os dados desta investigação foram produzidos em etapas: 1) visitas de apresentação a oito (8) escolas participantes da pesquisa, incluindo conversas com integrantes de equipes diretivas e professoras (com encaminhamento de procedimentos éticos); 2) pesquisa em documentos escolares: Regimento Escolar, Proposta Político-Pedagógica e Planos de Estudos do componente curricular de Língua Portuguesa; 3) entrevistas presenciais com doze (12) professoras de Língua Portuguesa a surdos; 4) rodas de conversa com as professoras participantes da pesquisa. Em uma análise de artefatos culturais, sinaliza-se que, diante dos fracassos dos estudantes surdos em escolas especiais ou comuns e da consequente resistência a ineficazes modos oralistas e bimodais de ensino, luta-se por outro modo de condução: uma educação bilíngue, que está sendo construída em escolas de surdos. Na composição do corpus desta pesquisa, a investigação empreendida possibilita concluir que uma educação escolar bilíngue de surdos é tecida principalmente em práticas discursivas acadêmicas, políticas e escolares, sendo o ‘discurso da educação bilíngue’ produzido por enunciados de diferentes campos discursivos, que lhe conferem status de verdade. Em defesa da potencialidade de uma educação escolar bilíngue de surdos, centralizada no ensino e no acesso ao mundo em Libras, no contato com artefatos da cultura surda e no encontro com diferentes surdos, a investigação de contextos escolares também aponta impasses e desafios, principalmente linguístico-culturais (uso e status das línguas em contato), socioeconômicos (participação familiar e investimentos na escola) e político-pedagógicos (atravessamentos das mantenedoras, concepções que permeiam a educação de surdos, formação docente e propostas de ensino das professoras). Nesses singulares cenários escolares, cotidianamente (re)inventados, figura o ensino de língua portuguesa, e sua importância atribui-se à interação social de surdos no País, sendo que estes, como estudantes, têm sinalizado maior interesse em aprendê-la. Nesta tese, a língua portuguesa, na modalidade escrita, é entendida como uma língua adicional à Libras, de modo que, em práticas discursivas pedagógicas e escolares, é dada relevância para a educação linguística e o letramento de surdos em português. Nesses processos de ensino, sugerem-se mudanças curriculares; também se apontam os necessários avanços na produção de recursos didáticos e na interlocução com subsídios teóricos e estratégias metodológicas. Além disso, o olhar para as práticas discursivas escolares possibilita concluir que o ensino de língua portuguesa está articulado a representações acerca do sujeito surdo, a concepções de ensino de uma língua e a experiências escolares. / In conjunction to Cultural Studies in Education, to the Deaf Studies and to Linguistics, it is sought, in this thesis, to answer the problem of search: how has the Portuguese language teaching for deaf been produced in bilingual education contexts in Rio Grande do Sul? For this, the objective is to: a) describe and discuss bilingual education in deaf schools in Rio Grande do Sul; b) investigate and analyze discursive practices of Portuguese teaching for deaf in bilingual education contexts. When operating with theoretical and methodological tools of Foucault's discourse analysis, the data of this research were produced in stages: 1) visits for presentation to eight (8) schools participating in the survey, including conversations with members of the school management and teacher teams (with routing ethical procedures); 2) research on school documents: School Rules, Political and Pedagogical Plans and the curricular component of Portuguese Studies; 3) in-person interviews with twelve (12) Portuguese-speaking teachers for deaf; 4) conversation circles with participant teachers of the research. In an analysis of cultural artifacts it indicates that, given the failures of deaf students in special or regular schools and the consequent resistance to ineffective oral and bimodal teaching methods, it is necessary to fight for another conduction mode: a bilingual education, which is being built on deaf schools. In the composition of the corpus of this research, undertaken research makes it possible to conclude that a bilingual education for deaf is mainly woven in academic, political and discursive practices being the 'discourse of bilingual education' produced by statements of different discursive fields, which give true status. In defense of the capability of a bilingual education for the deaf, centered on education and access to the world of Sign Language, in contact with artifacts of deaf culture and the encounter with different deaf, the school context research also points obstacles and challenges, particularly language - cultural (use and status of languages in contact), socioeconomic (family participation and investment in school) and political-pedagogical (penetrations of the sponsors, concepts that permeate the education for the deaf, teacher training and educational proposals for teachers). These unique school settings, daily (re)invented stands the Portuguese language teaching, and its importance is attributed to social interaction for the deaf in the country, and these, as students, have signaled greater interest in learning it. In this thesis, the Portuguese language in the written form is understood as an additional language to Sign Language, so that, in pedagogical and discursive practices, it is given relevance for language education and literacy in deaf Portuguese. In these educational processes, they suggest curriculum changes; also show the necessary advances in the production of teaching resources and dialogue with theoretical support and methodological strategies. In addition, the look at the school discursive practices allows to conclude that the Portuguese language teaching is articulated to representations about the deaf subject, the teaching concepts of language and school experiences.

O objeto desta tese é um conjunto de diretrizes para projeto de recursos educacionais digitais, voltados para educação bilíngue de surdos. O público alvo primário deste trabalho, no entanto, não são os estudantes surdos, nem mesmo seus professores. O público alvo são designers: os profissionais que irão usar as diretrizes para projetar (e desenvolver) recursos educacionais para serem usados pelos estudantes surdos (e seus professores). A importância deste trabalho se deve ao fato que a maior parte dos designers não tem conhecimento científico ou empírico sobre o contexto e as necessidades dos estudantes surdos, tampouco reconhecem o bilinguismo como uma necessidade comunicacional e educacional. Utilizou-se um método chamado Mapas de Conceito, de Trochim (1989), que consistiu nas etapas: a) Preparação – coleta de fontes bibliográficas e entrevistas com professores; b) Compilação – onde o conjunto de diretrizes foi consolidado, gerando uma listagem com 185 diretrizes, sendo 75 oriundas de fontes bibliográficas e 110 de entrevistas com professores, as quais após análise, foram reduzidas para 50; c) Estruturação - etapa em que um grupo de 13 professores avaliou e agrupou as diretrizes, o que resultou num conjunto de 33; d) Representação – agrupamento das 33 diretrizes por meio das técnicas exploratórias Escala Multi Dimensional e Análise Hierárquica de Cluster; e)Elaboração do conjunto final. O conjunto de diretrizes sintetiza conhecimentos de diferentes áreas de difícil acesso ao designer. Acredita-se que a disponibilização das diretrizes compiladas nesta pesquisa possa auxiliá-los a produzir recursos educacionais bilíngues. / The purpose of this thesis is to propose a set of guidelines for the design of digital educational resources, aimed at bilingual education of the deaf. The primary target audience for this work, however, are not deaf students, not even their teachers. The target audience are designers: professionals who will use the guidelines to design (and develop) educational resources for use by deaf students (and their teachers). The importance of this work is due to the fact that most designers do not have scientific or empirical knowledge about the context and needs of deaf students, nor do they recognize bilingualism as a communicational and educational need. We used a method called Concept Maps (TROCHIM, 1989), which consisted of the following steps: a) Preparation - collection of bibliographic sources and interviews with teachers; b) Compilation - where the set of guidelines was consolidated, generating a listing with 185 guidelines, of which 75 were from bibliographic sources and 110 from interviews with teachers, which, after analysis, were reduced to 50; c) Structuring - stage in which a group of 13 teachers evaluated and grouped the guidelines, which resulted in a set of 33; d) Representation - grouping of the 33 guidelines through exploratory techniques Multi-Dimensional Scale and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis; e) Preparation of the final set. The set of guidelines synthesizes knowledge of different areas of difficult access to the designer. It is believed that the provision of the guidelines compiled in this research can help them to produce bilingual educational resources.

A presente dissertação apresenta uma investigação sobre as representações de professoras sobre a Hora do Conto em Língua Brasileira de Sinais – Libras, tendo a seguinte pergunta de pesquisa: De que forma se constituem as representações dos professores sobre a Hora do Conto em Libras? O estudo analisa as narrativas de docentes que atuam em escolas de surdos em Porto Alegre e Região Metropolitana e investiga quais são as representações relativas à Hora do Conto em Libras. Os objetivos específicos foram: identificar as representações das professoras sobre a Hora do Conto e estabelecer relações entre o referencial teórico existente sobre a contação de histórias, na modalidade oral, com as práticas de contação de histórias infantis sinalizadas, realizadas em escolas de surdos. Inserida na linha de pesquisa dos Estudos Culturais em Educação e dos Estudos Surdos, fundamenta-se esta pesquisa principalmente nas contribuições de Hall (2016), Costa, Silveira e Sommer (2003), Karnopp (2005), Hunt (2010), Colomer (2007) e Sisto (2001). O estudo apresenta sua relevância pela inexistência de pesquisas que se proponham a investigar as práticas de contação de histórias em escolas de surdos realizada em Libras. Foram realizadas entrevistas com professoras que atuam em escolas de surdos de Porto Alegre e Região Metropolitana, por meio da coleta de experiências de contação de histórias. Trata-se de uma pesquisa de abordagem qualitativa envolvendo o uso e análise de entrevistas com oito docentes que atuam nas séries iniciais em escolas de surdos localizadas em Porto Alegre/RS e Região Metropolitana. A partir da análise das entrevistas realizadas em dois momentos distintos, ao longo de um ano, foi possível encontrar cinco agrupamentos analíticos, que classificam a Hora do Conto como um tempo/espaço de Cultura Surda, interdisciplinaridade, protagonismo, formação e mal-estar. A investigação ressalta a importância do trabalho com a literatura como artefato cultural e estético e destaca as contribuições da contação de histórias em Libras para os alunos surdos. / The present dissertation presents an investigation about the teachers representations with the “Hora do Conto” (Storytelling Hour) activity using Libras (brazilian signs language). As research question we ask how their representations with “Hora do Conto” in Libras are formed? The study analyses narratives from deaf schools teachers working in Porto Alegre and metropolitan region and investigates what are the representations surrounding the “Hora do Conto” in Libras. The study has also interviewed teachers working in Porto Alegre and metropolitan region and it has collected their experiences with storytelling; identify the teachers representations about the “Hora do Conto”; and stablished a paralel between the existing oral storytelling theory and the signs-based storytelling practice developed in deaf schools. This study fits in the Cultural Studies in Education and in the Deaf Studies and it’s based mainly in the contributions of the following authors: Hall (1997), Costa, Silveira and Sommer (2003), Karnopp (2005), Hunt (2010), Colomer (2007) and Sisto (2001). The study is relevant once there aren’t researches investigating the Libras based storytelling practices in deaf schools. It’s a qualitative approach research using and analyzing interviews with eight teachers working in Porto Alegre and metropolitan region. From the interviews (happened in two different moments along one year) analysis it was possible to emerge with five analytic groups, where the “Hora do Conto” became a time/space of: deaf culture, interdisciplinarity, protagonism, formation and welfare. The investigation underlines the importance of working with literature as a cultural and aesthetic artifact and stands out the contributions of an effective Libras-based storytelling work to deaf students.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 1981. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING. / Bibliography: leaves 185-192. / by Marcia Ann Bush. / Ph.D.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of the quantity of adult language input on their deaf and hard-of-hearing preschool children and to explore the effects, if any, on the child’s quantity of language, vocabulary development, and basic concept understanding. Using audio recording and the Language ENvironment Analysis (LENA) software, the study involved 30 preschool children with hearing loss who used spoken language as their communication modality and 7 children with normal hearing. Their language and the language spoken to them in all waking-hours of a two-day period (16 hours per day) were recorded and analyzed quantitatively as adult word counts (AWC), child vocalizations (CVC), and conversational turns (CTC). These components were compared to the child’s performance on the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts (BTBC-3) and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-4) to investigate if the quantity of language input had an effect on the child’s usage of vocabulary and basic concepts. Correlations were found between the amount of adult words, child vocalizations, and conversational turns across weekends and weekdays, but not on BTBC-3 or PPVT-4 scores. Interestingly, there were no significant differences between adult word counts and child vocalizations as a function of the child’s hearing loss, indicating parents of deaf or hard-of-hearing children are using as many words with their children as parents of children with normal hearing. Additionally, scores on the BTBC-3 and PPVT-4 were correlated with each other, but there wasn’t a statistically significant difference between the mean scores for children with normal hearing and the children with hearing loss, indicating both groups scored similarly on the assessment. Results from this study suggest the language used around children impacts their language use and the amount of interactions they have in their environment. This is significant because it identifies the influence of the quantity of adult language input on the child’s language development.