<p>The aim of this study is to establish an understanding of how the concept educational materials can be interpreted, as well as to investigate how teachers describe their use of educational materials. The focus of this study is the subject “Sign Language for the hearing”, at the upper secondary level. We, the authors of this essay, both have a great personal interest in this language. Swedish Sign Language is the sign language mainly used in Sweden. In colloquial conversation, Swedish Sign Language is often called “Sign Language”, as American Sign Language is often called Sign Language in the USA. Swedish Sign Language is referred to as Sign Language in the current curriculum for the compulsory school and the non-compulsory school, which explains the title of this essay. Although this essay does not focus on research concerning the linguistic qualities of Swedish Sign Language, but we still wish to emphasize that sign language is not one, international, language.</p><p>The results presented in this study are derived from the collected knowledge mediated through a field study, in which eight teachers, with experience of working with the subject Sign Language for the hearing, have described their thoughts and experiences of the meaning of the concept educational materials, and how they explain that they use educational materials. These results are put in relation to curriculums, past and present, as well as previous litterature about educational materials.</p><p>By analysing the answers given by the teachers, who particiated in this study field, the curriculums are said to affect how they work with educational materials. The results of the field study comfirm the historical interpretation of educational materials as synonymous with a text-book. This being said, the participants in this study state that they have a wider understanding of the concept in relation to the subject Sign Language for the hearing. They explain that this is due to the fact that there is no text-book to work with, within the subject. They further describe that they work with different forms of experiences, such as theater, educational visits and interviews, in order to induce their students’ interest to want to learn and commuicate by using the language.</p>

The aim of this study is to establish an understanding of how the concept educational materials can be interpreted, as well as to investigate how teachers describe their use of educational materials. The focus of this study is the subject “Sign Language for the hearing”, at the upper secondary level. We, the authors of this essay, both have a great personal interest in this language. Swedish Sign Language is the sign language mainly used in Sweden. In colloquial conversation, Swedish Sign Language is often called “Sign Language”, as American Sign Language is often called Sign Language in the USA. Swedish Sign Language is referred to as Sign Language in the current curriculum for the compulsory school and the non-compulsory school, which explains the title of this essay. Although this essay does not focus on research concerning the linguistic qualities of Swedish Sign Language, but we still wish to emphasize that sign language is not one, international, language. The results presented in this study are derived from the collected knowledge mediated through a field study, in which eight teachers, with experience of working with the subject Sign Language for the hearing, have described their thoughts and experiences of the meaning of the concept educational materials, and how they explain that they use educational materials. These results are put in relation to curriculums, past and present, as well as previous litterature about educational materials. By analysing the answers given by the teachers, who particiated in this study field, the curriculums are said to affect how they work with educational materials. The results of the field study comfirm the historical interpretation of educational materials as synonymous with a text-book. This being said, the participants in this study state that they have a wider understanding of the concept in relation to the subject Sign Language for the hearing. They explain that this is due to the fact that there is no text-book to work with, within the subject. They further describe that they work with different forms of experiences, such as theater, educational visits and interviews, in order to induce their students’ interest to want to learn and commuicate by using the language.