Exploring Hispanic Parents' Beliefs About Deaf Education

• In Event: Roundtable Session 25
  In Roundtable Session: Social and Affiliative Groupings in Complex Social and Educational Contexts

Abstract

Educational programs for students with disabilities differ because of underlying differences in conceptualizations of what it means to be disabled. For example, programs for deaf students differ by whether they derive from a medical orientation towards deafness emphasizing hearing restoration and assimilation with hearing students, or whether they derive from a cultural/linguistic orientation emphasizing language and culture. The current study examines the impact of culture on parental beliefs and attitudes about deaf education along these two dimensions. We present the results of a study that compares beliefs and attitudes held by Hispanic and non-Hispanic parents of deaf children. The results demonstrate that Hispanic parents are more likely to gravitate toward the medical orientation because of their cultural beliefs about disability.

Authors

• Yessica Selene Rodriguez, Gallaudet University

• Thomas E. Allen, Gallaudet University