2.6 DEVELOPMENT OF THE DEAF CHILD
2.6.1 An ecosystemic perspective
2.6.1.3 The deaf child and the school
The importance of collaboration between families, schools and communities as partners with a mutual interest in the learning, welfare and development of children cannot be sufficiently emphasised. Several researchers, namely, Christenson and Sheridan, Hornby, Seligman, Simon and Epstein, and Wall (in Swart & Phasha, 2005:
213), concur that the active involvement of families and communities is, without doubt, of utmost importance for the effective education and development of children.
The idea of the school, families, and communities being equal partners with the common goal of enhancing the learning and development of every child is similar to the idea of an entire village taking responsibility for raising a child. It also reflects the broad principles of inclusive education, and provides challenges to all stakeholders involved. The international research literature on partnerships between schools, families and communities shows evidence of positive spin-offs of such collaboration for learners’ education and development. Such links promote positive attitudes and self-concepts, good behaviour, better attendance and scholastic achievement (Swart &
Phasha, 2005: 213).
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According to Storbeck (2005: 353) the decision with regard to communication and related method of education is the biggest decision that parents of deaf children have to make. The oral approach and the sign language approach (also known as the manual approach) are two approaches to communication and education in South Africa. An informed decision here can have particular influences on the lives of deaf children and their families.
The oral approach includes auditory training (to tap into residual hearing) as well as speech and lip reading. This approach prohibits gesturing or signing, as the primary goal is to make deaf children communicate orally with the aid of assistive devices, so that they could participate in a hearing world. Deaf children who are orally educated are said to develop better spoken language than those who are educated through sign language. However, researchers agree that research findings appear to be inconsistent in this regard (Storbeck, 2005: 354).
The sign language approach, which the majority of the Deaf community support, is argued to be the natural language of the Deaf as it is barrier-free. Sign language is regarded as the first language of the deaf learner, while spoken language is the second language (DeafSA, 2006). The Department of Education (2002: 139), in its draft guidelines for the implementation of inclusive education, supports sign language as the approach to communication and education of deaf learners since it acknowledges that language barriers can be a hindrance to their progress.
The emergence of Total Communication was an attempt to combine the advantages of both the oral and manual approaches. As an educational approach it draws primarily from whatever means are available to reach the deaf learner. In practice, this approach has come to mean Simultaneous Communication, or as Signed Supported English (Storbeck, 2005: 355). However, deaf people experience difficulties with Total Communication as its grammatical structure is similar to the oral method of communication, unlike the manual approach. The move away from educating deaf people solely through the oral mode, and the acknowledgement that sign language is as important as spoken language can be regarded as “a breakthrough in Deaf education”
(Storbeck, 2005: 356).
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According to Muthukrishna (2001: 155), in recent years, internationally, the nature of education for the Deaf has undergone significant changes as a result of research findings, advances in technology and policy changes. For instance, in South Africa there is a strong emphasis on human rights in educational policy and legislation as evidenced in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996. The Constitution also provides for the right to receive education in an official language of choice. This right is set out in Section 29 (2) of the Constitution which states:
Everyone has the right to receive education in the official language or language of their choice in public educational institutions where that education is reasonably practicable.
The basis for the recognition of Sign Language as the first language of choice for Deaf learners is laid out in the Constitution, which recommends that the Pan South African Language Board “must promote and create conditions for the development and use of Sign Language….” (Muthukrishna, 2001: 156).
There are two educational options for deaf learners, namely, education in a mainstream setting within an inclusive environment, or education in a specialised school for the deaf, where sign language is the chief mode of communication and education. In either case, parents have to understand fully the educational options available in order to make informed decisions for the education of their deaf children.
In South Africa the Department of Education (2001; 1997) conceptualises inclusive education as quality education for all. The inclusive education movement clearly points out that diversity includes disability, and highlights the rights of learners who fall into this category (Green, 2001: 3). Knight (in Muthukrishna, 2001: 161) explains why the Deaf are not in favour of inclusion of deaf learners into mainstream schools.
The Deaf see themselves as a linguistic minority with a unique cultural identity that must be nurtured. As such, they hold the view that schools for the Deaf socialise learners into the Deaf culture and sign language. However, Miles (in Muthukrishna, 2001: 161) argues that in developing countries it is not possible to provide special schools for all deaf learners because of the cost factor. It then becomes necessary to
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develop the capacity of mainstream schools to cater for the needs of deaf learners, especially those who have no access to any form of specialised education.
The implications of inclusion of deaf learners into mainstream schools should be looked at as a whole, and should take into consideration inclusion at family, school, community and policy level, since education does not take place in a vacuum (Muthukrishna, 2001: 161). The Report of the National Commission on Special Needs in Education and Training and the National Committee on Education Support Services (DoE, 1997) recommends that special educational needs be understood from a systemic perspective, since learning difficulties are not to be perceived as residing only within the learners, but also within the system itself. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory helps one to understand the interaction between the individual and the complex influences apparent in education, schools and classrooms (Green, 2001: 7).
The importance of educators playing a supporting role and relating to deaf learners and their parents in a way that makes them feel included and valued, cannot be sufficiently emphasized. Educators play a vital role in facilitating learning and development through the provision of a stimulating and safe environment that is conducive to learning. Through collaboration with the deaf child’s parents a strong partnership can be forged between the home and the school, and this will augur well for the deaf child’s development, especially his scholastic progress.