Abstract

This study was an investigation into three preschool teachers' theoretical and pedagogical stances on the language and literacy development of deaf and hard-of-hearing children. Transcripts from formal, audiotaped interviews provided the primary data source for the investigation of the teachers' theoretical orientations toward language and literacy learning. The primary data sources used in examining the teachers' instructional practices were videotape recordings, handwritten field notes, and photographs of the teachers and their students participating in classroom language and literacy events over a six-month period. Data were analyzed inductively using the procedures and techniques related to grounded theory analysis. Results of the study indicated that the teachers held differing theories and that these theories influenced the teachers' instruction in significant ways. The study highlights the growth in one teacher's perspectives and the resulting changes in her classroom practice.

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