Global Trends in Education and Literacy for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

We seek a world in which all children can read and have full access to education. Research shows that children experience greater reading success when learning in their local spoken or signed language. According to UNESCO, children taught in a language they understand are more likely to enroll and succeed in school, and their parents are more likely to communicate with teachers and participate in their children’s learning.

And yet, of the estimated 32 million deaf children globally, 80% do not have access to education and only 2% receive education in sign language. Without early access to language, children fail to develop social and cognitive skills at the same rate as their peers, hindering their ability to learn to read and write and isolating them from society over the course of their lives. Research shows that early exposure to sign language and multilingualism, combined with strong family support for sign languages, best prepares children who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) for effective participation in society. However, approximately 95% of deaf children are born in primarily spoken-language households, and often to parents that do not have sign language knowledge. Additionally, in low-resource contexts, many childrens’ hearing levels remain unidentified throughout the early language acquisition period. Furthering the challenge is the scarcity of materials available in accessible formats to support language acquisition for DHH children and their families.

In this panel we will look at some of the ongoing work to support the growth of foundational literacy and early grade reading skills for DHH children and their families globally. We will provide a retrospective on some of the EdTech solutions developed under All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development to support DHH children and their families. An overview of deaf education will be provided, including some of the current challenges facing deaf education professionals, and some of the existing work to create accessible and culturally relevant sign language tools, materials and resources in Asian and African contexts. Additionally, we will present on existing work to create foundational literacy skills for DHH children and their families using Sign Language Rhyme and Rhythm, and Shared Bilingual Reading Strategies. There have been studies which show evidence that parental participation in sign language play and socialization will increase DHH children’s receptive and expressive vocabulary, especially around literacy activities, and we look forward to presenting on progress being made in this area in Fiji, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines.

Sub Unit

• Inclusive Education SIG

Chairs

• Valerie Siwotso, World Vision Inc.

• Sergio RamirezMena, World Vision Us

Individual Presentations

• Can EdTech Help the Learning Needs of Children with Disabilities: A Grand Challenge Retrospective of Solutions that Work and Why - Valerie Siwotso, World Vision Inc.; Sergio RamirezMena, World Vision Us

• Trends of Education Systems and Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community - Christopher Kurz, MSSE/NTID; Michael Tirazona Vea, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde

• Supporting Foundational Literacy with Sign Language Play and Shared Reading - Leala Holcomb, University of Tennesee, Knoxville; Krishneer Sen, Deaf Consultancy Pacific

• Supporting Foundational Literacy for Deaf Learners in Africa through Utilization of Digital Sign Language Storybooks - GEORGINE AUMA OBURA, eKitabu; susan thuo

Discussant

• Joshua Josa