Education & Deafness, by Peter Paul, Stephen Quigley (review)

REVIEW: Education & Deafness, by Peter Paul & Stephen Quigley, New York: Longman. 1990. Paperback. ISBN 0-8013-0026-6. Paul and Quigley's new work, Education & Deafness, is a volume that will be valued by both educators and teacher educators, as well as by many who are involved professionally in carrying out research and education with deaf learners. These two authors, who have collaborated on numerous important works in the past in the field of deafness and linguistics, are both experienced and highly respected in the field of educating deaf learners; this work will continue their successful record of cooperative contribution to this field. Intended primarily for those wishing to have an introduction to the field, either as professionals or as future professionals, this work should provide an excellent source, in particular for professors of education in course work in deafness. Each chapter begins with a highlighted list of "Major Points" to be covered and ends with a "Comprehension Section." The latter provides questions that the instructor can use to assess student understanding, a summary of the chapter, a list of "Suggested Activities" to extend the ideas in the chapter, and a list of references. In addition, an Instructor's Manual is provided, which contains answers to questions in the comprehension section in each chapter. This reviewer would have preferred that more of the comprehension questions be on levels other than recall or basic understanding, but some higher level questions are also presented. A reader also might have some reservations about provision of answers, as one could normally assume that the knowledge of the instructor using the text would not only encompass but exceed the material in any text. However, the need for these "answers" is understandable when the text may be used by instructors without extensive knowledge of the field of deafness, or instructors who may use the text as one of several in a more general course on special-needs learners. The Instructor's Manual might be used to encourage students to verify or even critique the @1990 by Linstok Press, Inc. See note inside front cover. ISSN-0302-1475 85 Review: DSM answers given-some alternative answers are to be expected--or even to write such a manual as one of their learning experiences. The scope of the book is properly comprehensive for a basic text in the field of education and deafness, with much up-to-date material (citations into 1989). Beginning with a chapter on historical perspectives on the field, the book continues with audiological information and the high points of research findings on the achievement of deaf and hard of hearing learners. Other chapters analyze psychosocial issues, and the cognitive and language development of such learners, and include material on the various points of view about the use of oral English, American Sign Language, and signed systems based on English. Critical issues in the assessment and placement of deaf and hard of hearing learners and a summary of information on the deaf student with additional handicapping conditions complete the presentation; a short final chapter summarizes the foregoing and states future research needs. With the current high level of interest in and debate on the most appropriate modes of communication to use in the classroom with the deaf learner, the chapters on language will be of particular interest to the readers of this journal; the chapter on American Sign language is up-to-date in view of both prior research and current discussions and controversies. A more detailed commentary on individual chapters follows. The first chapter, on historical perspectives in education of the deaf, also provides a historical context within the field of general education. All terminology that may be new to a reader is introduced in boldface type, a feature of the entire volume that will be appreciated by everyone. The frequent reference in this chapter, as well as later, to the influential 1988 Report of the Commission on Education of the Deaf is important in making this work current. The summaries of the psychological perspectives on educating deaf students through the years are accurate, though necessarily general in a book of this introductory sort. The authors have been careful to capitalize the word Deaf...