Educating Deaf Students: Global Perspectives

Developing Deaf Children or Deaf Children Developing?

Developing Deaf Children or Deaf Children Developing? MARC MARSCHARK
This chapter discusses the education of deaf children, with education defined not just in terms of teachers and classrooms, but including all of the implicit and explicit teaching and learning that goes on throughout a child’s life. In this sense, the chapter simultaneously is about the development of deaf children, with development meant in the broad sense of promoting the development of deaf children (“developing deaf children ”) as they naturally grow and learn (“deaf children developing”). Unfortunately, scientists often are content to document how deaf children develop under different conditions with less concern about the broader implications of what they find, whereas teachers and parents focus on fostering development along particular lines with less concern about the whys of development. As a result, we often miss opportunities for effective interactions among parents, teachers, and researchers. This has to change. We need make use of information that is available—and often obvious—to others so as to optimize educational opportunities for each deaf child. The goal here is not to blame anyone for what may seem like a lack of progress in educating deaf children. Rather, it is to identify and thus be able to eliminate some of the barriers to greater progress, to point out some directions for educational reform and investigation, and try to get beyond the political/philosophical arguments that often hurt deaf children . Simply put, there are a number of such situations in deaf education, where beliefs and desires—rather than fact—govern educational decisions (Marschark, Lang, & Albertini, 2002; Marschark & Lukomski, 2001). 13 Establishing a Foundation for Educational Progress The suggestion that educators, parents, and researchers need to work more closely might seem intuitively obvious, but for a variety of reasons, it is easier said than done. Too often, teachers and parents focus so much on teaching particular facts or skills that they ignore the larger issues in development and education and thus deprive deaf children of opportunities to learn. In part, this situation is the result of concerns that deaf children need more support relative to hearing children so that they will acquire the skills and abilities needed for educational and personal success. Perhaps they do. But, at the same time, they need the opportunity to learn to learn for themselves, develop strategies for dealing with the world on their own terms, and build a “fund” of knowledge (both facts and strategies) that allow them to go about their own lives as independent learners. As Marschark et al. (2002) argued, deaf children may not need anything different from hearing peers, but they may need more of it to ensure that what they do acquire is functionally equivalent to that which is acquired, perhaps more easily, by hearing children. Before tackling the potentially controversial issue implicit in that suggestion—that deaf children in some sense need to have abilities comparable to hearing children—we have to understand the challenges to a level playing field. Perspectives and Evidence on Educational Issues It is important to keep in mind that science works through incremental discovery , and what we think is true today may be questioned when contradictory findings or improved methodologies come along tomorrow (Cole, 1998). Similarly, familiarity with one body of evidence might lead to one set of conclusions, despite research findings to the contrary that may be unknown to others responsible for the deaf child’s development. Problems also arise when reporting conclusions from secondary sources or conference presentations of research that have not been through rigorous peer review . In either case, there may be nuances, limitations, or confounds that have been overlooked. Using such research for educational purposes can result in the squandering of time and resources, no matter how “comfortable” they feel. Descriptions of several continuing challenges in deaf education will help to make this point more clearly. 14 Marc Marschark Language and Literacy Perhaps nowhere in deaf education are the above issues more obvious than in reading. With recent advances in understanding reading, we are in a better position than ever before to improve the reading skills of deaf students. “Recent” advances in understanding reading by deaf students, however, are often many years behind the rest of the field of reading. Relevant findings may be overgeneralized, misunderstood, or simply ignored when they do not conform to the zeitgeist of a particular program or the experience of a particular educator. Importantly, the issue...