Thesis (Ph.D. (Education)) --University of Limpopo, 2010 / This research was initiated and undertaken in 2004 as an attempt to address one of the developments in education, namely the introduction of the policy of inclusive education and training system in South Africa in general and the Limpopo in particular. The major concern of this study is the implementation of the policy of inclusion to schools for learners with a hearing impairment (SLHI) in the Limpopo Province. This policy attempts to alleviate the system of discriminating learners with a disability (LWD) by including them into one single education system. However, the paradigm shift from specialized education system to inclusive education model has possible challenges to the management and governance of SLHI because managing schools for LHI requires specific skills, expertise knowledge and training of stakeholders. .Managers and governors of SLHI do not normally have these skills. In order to fully prepare managers and governors of SLHI within the context of inclusive education, they need to be trained in all spheres of management, and to do this, training programmes are needed. The specific research problem of this study is the lack of training of stakeholders, insufficient resources, and infrastructures which impact negatively on the management and governance of SLHI within the context of inclusive education model. Many buildings and schools are not accessible to wheelchair users. Classrooms are not equipped with group system hearing aids to facilitate teaching and learning of LHI. The fact that many inclusive education programmes for the first term steps are not yet in viii visible places or explicit, in the Limpopo Province contribute to the problem of implementation of inclusive education in the Limpopo Province. An in-depth study of literature dealing with research methodology was undertaken. This was meant to determine suitable research methods for this study. Both the quantitative and qualitative research methods were used. The findings from the empirical research (interviews, spontaneous sketches questionnaires and focus group interviews) were fully substantiated by the literature review. This complied with the rule of triangulation and also enhanced reliability of this research. In view of the findings of the research, it became evident that there are definite challenges of management and governance of SLHI by the implementation of inclusive education model in SLHI in the Limpopo Province. Models to train teachers were suggested. It is hoped that if these models can be implemented in SLHI, management problems could be minimized. Training programmes for parents were suggested. These programmes are crucial because parents play the major role in school management since they are the most in stake as is required by governance. Because education is not static, further research in this field is recommended in order for stakeholders to move along with current changes and developments in education. The present researcher hopes that this study will contribute greatly to the attempt to solve the problems of educators, learners and stakeholders.

Many advocates of the deaf fear that a whole generation of deaf children will be lost emotionally, socially, and educationally, this fear stems from the fact that many children who are deaf are not having their linguistic, sociocultural. and communicative needs met at home or at school (King, 1993). Their needs are not met primarily for three reasons. First. the hearing culture is often inaccessible to them because they do not understand most of the spoken language around them. When children lack the communicative abilities to interact with the hearing culture, they can not be expected to be knowledgeable of that culture, to participate in that culture, or to establish an identity as a part of that culture. Secondly, Deaf culture is unknown to many children who are deaf. Ninety percent of children who are deaf are born into hearing families who are unaware of Deaf culture (Moores, 1987). Most children who are deaf and hard of hearing do not know about Deaf culture until they become involved in it through a residential school for the deaf or the Deaf community (Padden & Humphries. 1988). Thirdly. Deaf culture. history. heritage. and American Sign Language are not taught as part of the curriculum in most schools nor in the mainstreamed or self-contained classrooms (Gannon. 1990).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence rates and effects of child sexual abuse in both deaf and hearing individuals living in Utah. A total of 104 deaf and 69 hearing individuals responded to the survey. The survey inquired about participants' experiences with sexual abuse and their mental health status. The difference in rates of abuse between the two groups was not statistically significant. However, deaf individuals tended to be abused more often than hearing individuals. Deaf victims also experienced more severe forms of abuse and were abused more frequently than hearing victims. However, hearing victims experienced the use of force during abuse more often than deaf victims. The difference in mental health status between the deaf and hearing groups was not statistically significantly different. However, the difference between the total deaf group and the total hearing group was statistically significant, the deaf group reporting more problems than the hearing group.

Inclusion is the practice of serving the needs of all students, with a full range of abilities and disabilities, in the general classroom with appropriate in-class support. Using qualitative case studies, this thesis explores the inclusive placement of three students with a hearing impairment. The students came from non-English speaking backgrounds, used hearing technology to access the class program and were eager to attend their local primary school. They had different types of hearing losses and were the only hearing-impaired students enrolled at their school. Five variables were examined which influenced the success of the inclusive placement. These included the student's academic, social and physical performance, the school environment and parental/family support. The constant comparative method was used to analyse data collected in each case study. Findings from the case studies identified strengths and weaknesses in the students' inclusive placement, and also provided data for future research and discussion on inclusive education / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

<p>Domfors, Lars-Åke (2000): Döfstumlärare – specialpedagog – lärare för döva och hörselskadade. En lärarutbildnings innehåll och rationalitetsförskjutningar</p><p> (Teacher of the Deaf-Mute – Teacher of Special Education – Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. The Content and Rationality Changes of a Teacher Education Program).</p><p>Örebro Studies in Education 1, 304 pp. Örebro ISBN 91-7668-252-8.</p><p>This dissertation is a study of some aspects of Teachers of the Deaf (ToD) education programs using the theoretical perspectives of symbolic interactionism and concepts of rationalitites. Changes in Swedish ToD teacher education from 1873 to the 1990s are examined through the text analysis of documents such as government regulations and syllabi and other texts such as education journals. It is argued that, parallel with the dominant rationality of the period, strands of other rationalities are to be found. In an ongoing struggle for power, one dominant rationality is challenged and gradually replaced by another. The research indicates the dominance of a patriarchal values-rationality in the decades following 1873, an instrumentaltechnical rationality during the 1930s to the 1960s and a communicative rationality from the 1970s.</p><p>Research was carried out at the National Upper Secondary School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in order to understand what characterizes Deaf education and the ToDs’ work, and what kind of professional skills are therefore required. The research was based on teacher interviews, student questionnaires and teaching observations in classes. Learning processes within a ToD teacher education course, as perceived by ToD students, are analysed by a study of written reflections, seminar observations and transcipts from tape-recorded seminars. ToD teacher education programs at universities in Washington D.C. and Edinburgh are also analysed.</p><p>A model for ToD education is discussed. It is argued that even if the dimension of essentialism stressing ToD basic skills and knowledge is important, the main theories for understanding the ToD education process are communicative rationality and interactionism. </p><p>It is further argued that, at societal level, the dominance of different rationalities implies different meanings of the ToD socialisation process, mediated through different historical and cultural contexts.</p><p><i>Keywords:</i> Teacher of the Deaf, educational history, research on teacher education, rationalities, symbolic interactionism.</p><p><i>Lars-Åke Domfors, Department of Education, Örebro University,</i></p><p><i>SE-701 82 Örebro, Sweden</i></p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Antioch University, 2006. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Mar. 29, 2007). Advisor: Carolyn B. Kenny. Keywords: performance ethnography, drama, Deaf theater, leadership, cultural identity, ethnographic research. Includes bibliographical references (p. 278-285 ).

The current study sought to examine predictors of language acquisition for deaf children who received cochlear implants in a large, multi-center trial. General maternal sensitivity as well as two specific types of maternal sensitivity, cognitive and linguistic stimulation, were all evaluated in relation to speech production. Characteristics of the family and child (e.g. maternal education, family income, age at implantation, etc.) were also evaluated. The hypotheses tested were: 1) child age at implantation and gender, maternal education, and family income were expected to predict speech production across 6 and 12 months post-implantation, 2) both Cognitive and Linguistic Stimulation were expected to predict the growth of speech production at 6 and 12 months post-implantation, and 3) Cognitive and Linguistic Stimulation were expected to predict speech production above and beyond that predicted by general Maternal Sensitivity. Results indicated that, of the demographic variables, only child age at implantation was a significant predictor of speech production. Cognitive and linguistic stimulation were significantly associated with the development of speech production in the first year following activation of the implant. Furthermore, these important maternal behaviors accounted for gains in speech production beyond that accounted for by general maternal sensitivity. These findings have several clinical implications, including the development of formalized training for parents of children who receive cochlear implants.

Deaf and hard of hearing (d/hh) children often acquire an L1 after age 3, thus are arguably more diverse than that of the general bilingual population. A unique problem therefore exists among d/hh late language learners—they often do not have an L1 to later develop an L2. This study investigated the impact of an English writing intervention (Strategic and Interactive Writing Instruction, SIWI) that incorporates support for the development of American Sign Language in an effort to illustrate the necessity of explicitly addressing the proposed interdependence of language learning. The research involved providing 23 upper elementary and middle school d/hh students with SIWI. SIWI has been shown to have a significant impact on student outcomes in language and literacy. The study was conducted in five classrooms—one fourth, two fifth, and two sixth grade classrooms—over a twelve-week period at a state residential school for the deaf. This allowed for two weeks of pre-test, mid-test and post-test administration, five weeks of regular instruction, and five weeks of intervention. The students received SIWI for four forty-five minute sessions and one thirty-minute session each week for a total of five weeks. The intervention replaced their regular 45 minutes of writing instruction. In order to measure expressive language growth in ASL, language samples for each student participant were collected. These samples were analyzed to chart expressive language growth during the time period with no SIWI intervention and while engaged in SIWI by reviewing them for students’ mean length of utterance (MLU), use of unintelligible utterances, and specific grammatical features of ASL, and individually for patterns of ASL expressive language growth. Repeated measures ANOVAs (within and between subjects) conducted for students’ MLU and unintelligible utterances revealed statistically significant growth after five weeks of SIWI. This study demonstrates the reciprocity of language learning. The foregrounding of written English supported the development of a more nuanced understanding of the use and features of ASL.

Executive Summary During 2010-2012, a Leonardo da Vinci-funded EU project focused on enhancing the language skills of Deaf people, interpreters and Health Care Professionals. Project partners from Cyprus, Ireland, Poland, Scotland and Sweden reviewed current knowledge of policy and practice, and embedded the resulting analysis into a programme of materials to support reflection, knowledge and skills development internationally. This report presents the project's initial 'state-of-the-art' review, with particular reference to the partner countries. Sign languages are now widely recognised, for theoretical and practical purposes, as full, natural languages, and sign language interpreting has consequently been established as a respected profession. Sign language interpreters mediate between hearing and deaf people: this entails a complex transfer of meaning between languages, cultural domains and linguistic modalities, and between members of highly literate communities and those whose languages have no written form. Decades of development in understanding of the most effective part to be played by interpreters in small-group dialogue have concluded that communication is best facilitated with recognition of the interpreter as a linguistic partner, and an active participant in the joint creation of meaning. Good practice in interpreting rarely entails a passive role whereby the interpreter acts as a mere conduit for others' words.   In respect of healthcare interpreting, the situation in the partner countries (and beyond) varies widely, from minimal recognition of the need for dedicated provision for deaf patients, to relatively explicit and well-resourced entitlement to services. In none of the partner countries do services address all identified requirements, despite recognition that inadequate provision can lead to damaging and indeed life-threatening consequences. Training and associated resources for all three key groups – interpreters, healthcare staff and deaf people – are insufficient or non-existent across the board. No-one has a stable, clear set of expectations about how communication can most effectively proceed in these situations. In this context, it is predictable that regulation of quality can be highly problematic. Comparison with North America and Australia highlights a range of adoptable best practices, requiring investment over time in order to generate and implement more effective approaches. It must be recognised that the mere provision of sign language interpreters is only the beginning of true access to healthcare for deaf people. In order to maximise positive outcomes, members of all three key groups must become familiar with a common set of assumptions and practices to reinforce the need to operate as a collaborating triad in the co-constructing of effective interaction. Consistent, high-quality outcomes need to be assured through empowered regulatory mechanisms, for which models exist internationally. / MEDISIGNS

Information systems project management has historically been a problematic area. One of the reasons for this has been the issue of escalation where resources continue to be committed to a failing course of action. While many causes of escalation have been proposed, this dissertation investigates one possible cause: that the project manager may not hear, ignores or overrules a report of bad news to continue a failing course of action: the Deaf Effect response to bad news reporting. This effect has not been previously studied within the information systems literature. In this dissertation, the Deaf Effect is examined through a series of three laboratory experiments and a case study. It finds that in a conducive environment, where the bad news reporter is not seen as credible, and the risk of project failure is seen as low, decision makers tend to view the report of bad news as irrelevant and thus ignore or overrule the report of bad news and continue the current course of action. Role Prescription of the bad news reporter, illusion of control and a perception of a highly politicized environment are factors that also increase the occurrence of the Deaf Effect.