Review & Synthesis
As a parent with a child who is hard of hearing or deaf, it is difficult to decide whether or not your child should attend a school for the deaf, or a mainstream school. Numerous research and discussions have gone into integrating children who have trouble hearing, or cannot hear at all, into a classroom with typical developing children. There are negative and positive affects, as well as agreements and disagreements for the different viewpoints. These four main articles will view the various opinions and studies that support or oppose integrating a child with hearing impairments in a typical classroom.
“Evidence-based practice in educating deaf and hard of hearing children: teaching to their cognitive strengths and needs” by Marc Marschark, Patricia Elizabeth Spencer, Jennifer Adams & Patricia Sapere.
Placing a child who is deaf in a typical hearing classroom, has a negative impact due to the lack of communication. The “teachers in mainstream classrooms direct less communication to DHH than hearing students and ask them yes/no rather than open-ended questions. Such limitations are a frequent consequence of mainstream teachers’ lack of familiarity with DHH children and sign language interpreters” (Marschark, 2011, p.9). The main teacher in the room is responsible for treating every child equally, and needs to give every child a fair chance to respond to questions, and excel in assignments. If an assistant teacher who can sign is assigned to the room, it still creates a barrier between the homeroom teacher and the child. Even if “teachers recognize the difference in the communicative patterns and ideas of their students, the anxiety of teaching children with special educational needs and of having another adult in the classroom frequently overshadows their desire to treat their students equally” (Marschark, 2011, p.10). Once there is another teacher in play who is able to communicate fully with the child, it becomes more of a one on one setting, instead of the child being a part of the classroom conversation and environment. Due to the lack of communication between the teacher and child, the student is left feeling isolated.
“Changing Schools for the Deaf: Updating the Educational Setting for Our Deaf Children in the 21st Century, a Big Challenge” by Leo De Raeve, Johan Baerts, Evelyne Colleye and Edith Croux.
In addition to having trouble communicating with the teacher, mixing a hearing impaired or deaf child with a mainstream class also creates a language barrier between classmates. On the playground, some students have trouble communicating and playing with that child. This leaves the child to feel left out, “studies of deaf pupils’ self-perception suggest that they may be at risk for negative self-perceptions in the social domains when placed in mainstream schools” (De Raeve, 2012, p.124). The child might blame and get upset with themselves, and often think every avoidance is their fault, when in reality it is not. In comparison to an all deaf school, where every child is able to connect and get along, the “integration may not automatically result in the development of positive attitudes by hearing pupils towards their deaf peers” (De Raeve, 2012, p.125). Although there might be more people in the class, it does not necessarily mean they will be able to welcome and accept the individual fully.
Mainstreaming versus
Segregation with Children who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing within the Classroom
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Disagree
“Considerations in educating deaf and hard-of-hearing students in inclusive settings” by MS Stinson, SD Antia.
The goal with placing a child who is deaf into a mainstream school is to not adapt the child to the classroom, it is to adapt the environment to the individual. Having an inclusive space makes the child feel welcomed, and respected. This means “that the D/HH students have access to all teacher and student communication and also that discussions and other activities are structured in a manner that allows the students to patriciate” (Stinson, 1999, p. 168). Having more small group discussions, and hands on activities increases the confidence level for the child who is hearing impaired, and opens up more comfortable communication. Examining “both the students access to classroom communication (through hearing aids, optimal acoustic environment, real time captioning, or interpreters) and how the means of access affects participation in learning activities and classroom discussions” (Stinson, 1999, p. 168) results in a more inclusive environment. As a parent, sending your hard of hearing child to a hearing classroom, you want to make sure the setting fits the child. Knowing that the teachers are working towards making your child feel relaxed and confident in their environment, by adapting their lessons and discussions, is a very encouraging feeling.
“Deaf children's social relationships in mainstream schools” by Terezinha Nunes, Ursula Pretzlik, Jenny Olsson.
In regards to the communication between the child and their peers, we know it is fairly difficult. There has been a lot of research regarding the social interaction and how it can be fixed. Usually, “the deaf child in the mainstream is the only child with a hearing loss in the classroom or even in the school, which increases the risk for problems in their social– emotional development. For this reason, the mainstream support service promotes group integration” (Nunes, 2001, p. 55). Group integration is a positive act which includes placing and pairing up another child who is deaf, with that individual. This way, they are able to always have a friend to communicate with. There are also other ways of group integration which involves spending the time to teach the typical hearing children in the class how to communicate. Whether it is through sign language, pencil and paper, iPads, or more, they are able to socialize with those students.