Upending the Exclusion of Deaf Students in Brazilian Public Schools

• In Event: Cultivating Equitable and Racially Just Teaching and Learning: An Imperative in Brazilian Public Schools

Abstract

Within the context of Brazilian public schools, where the presence of bilingual (Brazilian Sign Language/Portuguese) and bicultural practices is sparse, this multi-site case study (Mills et al., 2010) sought to understand and document tools, practices, and approaches used to include Deaf students in monolingual public school classrooms: as planned and perceived by teachers; experienced by Deaf students; and documented by researchers (via ethnographic tools) in two rural communities in Southeastern Brazil. Through a multi-site case study, we conducted teacher and Deaf student interviews (Seidman, 2019), classroom observations, and analyses of artifacts (e.g., lesson plans, teaching materials, student work). The case study we constructed offers insights into the kinds of teaching tools, practices, and approaches that support the inclusion and learning of Deaf students—from their perspective. It sheds light onto the need to attend to multiple and interconnected layers of exclusion—based on race, socioeconomics, dis/ability, etc.—and offer pathways for the inclusion and learning of Deaf students in Brazilian public schools, sites where they have long been intersectionally-excluded (Annamma et al., 2018). Implications shed light onto the fracturing of identities as obstacles to the full inclusion of racially-minoritized Deaf students.

Authors

• Ana Luisa Borba Gediel, Universidade Federal de Viçosa

• Ana Carolina Carmo Leonor, Universidade Estadual de Londrina