American Annals of the Deaf

Feature Articles

Special Section

The Educational Context

With an overview of South Africa and the birth and early history of Deaf education there having been provided, the following two contributions by Deaf South African leaders within the education sector provide a comprehensive overview of the current educational context for Deaf children needing access to education.—The Editors.

Views of Educators and Learners

Now that the educational context has been presented, this first exploration of the Deaf education system will focus on the schooling sector, where both an educator and a learner will have the opportunity to present their personal views. Although both are very specific examples and thus cannot be seen as a generalization of the Deaf education experience in South Africa, the qualitative insight that is gained is invaluable.—The Editors.

Postgraduate Education and Employment

Now that school-level education has been discussed, the following section will address the postschool path, which includes postgraduate education and employment for Deaf South Africans. The contributions come from education providers (both academic and vocational) as well as a Deaf learner who has been through the process. This section ends with a contribution from the employment sector, which addresses the needs of the Deaf community in gaining employment.—The Editors.

Vocational and Occupational Training

Employment

Perspectives of Children and Parents

Other Educational Dimensions: Sports and the Arts

In addition to the academic endeavors of the educational journey from schooling to tertiary education and finally employment, the arts and sport have also played key roles in the South African Deaf community. The following pieces give a brief overview of South African sport and one aspect of the arts: the dramatic arts.—The Editors.

Spiritual Life and Mental Health

Finally, because we have presented an overview of the educational pathways for Deaf learners in South Africa and after-school activities including the arts and sport, we conclude with a treatment of the spiritual lives and mental health development of Deaf South Africans.

The first and second contributions in this section focus on the spiritual lives of Deaf people in South Africa, using the majority of the input from the Christian denominations (in keeping with South Africa’s historical context, because traditionally schools for the Deaf have been largely Christian based). An intensifying trend is seen toward Deaf empowerment in South Africa; soon, access to all areas of spiritual life for the Deaf community will become a reality.

Note: The editors also attempted to obtain information on the spiritual experiences of the Deaf Hindu, Muslim, and Jewish communities; however, all the Deaf community members shared that their faith was still very much personal and reliant on family support, because very little, if any, access to their faiths was provided through SASL.—The Editors.

Conclusion

South Africa, often referred to as the “rainbow nation” because of its rich diversity and multicultural/multilingual composition, is a country that has developed significantly in the last decade in its offerings and support for Deaf South Africans. We hope that through this edited section we were able to provide an overview of the variety of opportunities available to Deaf people, as well as a glimpse into the lives of a group of Deaf adults. Rather than fill this special section of the American Annals of the Deaf with breathtaking photographs of this beautiful country, we prefer to hope that readers will consider very seriously visiting South Africa personally, either as participants in the 2011 conference of the World Federation of the Deaf there or through some other planned experience.—The Editors.

Errata

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