A Demographic Overview of Teachers of the Hearing Impaired

This study provides a preliminary overview of the demographic characteristics of teachers of the deaf in the United States. An analysis of 4,887 cases indicated that the teachers tended to be young (66% were under 35 years), female (83%), married (61%), white (94%), and well-educated (75% had MA degrees). Most were regular classroom teachers (74%) who taught a variety of subjects, with language, reading, and mathematics being the most common. The Convention of American Instructors of the Deaf (CAID) was the most frequently reported professional affiliation, but there was considerable evidence of teacher participation in organizations concerned with employment and employee benefits. Nearly 14% of the teachers were hearing impaired, the majority having severe prelingual hearing loss.

The data were compared with the results of a similar study of public school teachers. The teachers of the hearing impaired differed from the public school teachers in several respects, including age, sex, marital status, education, and teaching duties.