Deafness, discourse and identity:: critical issues in deaf education

Abstract

It has long been acknowledged that the main problem associated with deaf education is one of language. To remedy this issue, education polices and methods have focused on the children's inability to communicate effectively in the majority language and have imposed strict regimes within schools aimed at enabling deaf children to talk. This thesis offers a critical examination of such methods and also of the relevant discourses influencing deaf children within education. This thesis argues that the problems associated with deaf children’s experience within education starts, not at their point of entry into formal education, but at birth. My research highlights the fact that deafness is not primarily the deprivation of sound; it is the deprivation of a functional language. The arbitrary imposition of particular language policies within schools be it sign or spoken languages do not really address the underlying issues. This thesis is primarily a critique of the relevant discourses which are complemented by the experiences of the deaf children highlighted in my sample. This thesis show that without the consideration of deaf children’s views and experiences the problems inherent within deaf education will not be addressed adequately