Suchergebnisse

A commentary on Williams's (2012) invited article on the use of adapted vocabulary learning interventions focuses on three areas: (a) Vocabulary interventions with storybook reading originally designed for hearing children can be adapted for deaf children. (b) Teachers are invited to reflect on how the read-aloud process in English differs from the read-aloud process in sign. (b) Teachers are asked to consider adding drawing and writing activities to reading lessons to show young deaf readers how reading and writing are reciprocal processes. The emergent literacy theory is used, as it informs and drives instructional vocabulary teaching practices for deaf children in preschool, kindergarten, and first grade. The emergent literacy theory broadly captures cognitive, social, perceptual, and linguistic understandings of how young signing deaf children acquire both English word recognition abilities and vocabulary knowledge, among other important prereading concepts.

Ten graduates and 3 ABD (all but dissertation) students in Lamar
University's doctoral program in deaf studies/deaf education were
surveyed about their perceptions of the benefits of earning a doctorate
of education (Ed.D.) in their field. The program comprised course
work on current content information on deaf education, an educational
research component, a cognate area, and electives. As part of the
program, researchers and scholars in areas related to deaf education
were invited to campus to consult with doctoral students. Graduates
found jobs at universities, community colleges, and departments of
special education. Graduates ranked program components on the basis of
perceived value; they rank-ordered the courses on the basis of their
value to them in their current work. Graduates also commented on how
the program enhanced their professional growth.

I n the penultimate article of a two-part special issue of the American Annals of the Deaf examining the qualitative similarity hypothesis (QSH), findings of nine research teams with articles in the special issue are summarized. The teams addressed three questions: (a) For students who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing (d/Dhh), is reading qualitatively similar to the reading process of hearing students (per the QSH)? (b) Is it, rather, qualitatively different (per the qualitative difference hypothesis [QDH])? (c) Or is reading qualitatively similar and qualitatively different? All nine teams recognized that aspects of the reading acquisition process of d/Dhh children resemble those of hearing children and that the QSH is tenable if it is independent of a child's language modality. Two teams concluded that there is research supporting both the QSH and the QDH. Implications for teacher education, future research, and language policymaking are discussed.

Minority-deaf students constitute 43.5% of the deaf school-age population, yet only 11.7% of teachers and administrators in programs serving deaf students are persons of color. The ruling in Hopwood v. State of Texas (1996) banned the use of race as a major determinant in admissions to colleges and universities in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. This ruling, along with the current backlash against affirmative action policies, has hindered college administrators' efforts to recruit minorities in deaf education. We discuss Hopwood , affirmative action policies, and how both affect deaf education teacher training today. We also present an eight-step action plan for teacher-training colleges and universities to meet the need to increase the number of minority teachers and leaders and encourage state educational agencies and schools for the Deaf to do likewise.

Deafblind readers are heterogeneous in reading skill acquisition. This qualitative study uses in-depth interviews and protocol analyses and queries the three deafblind adult participants in describing their metacomprehension, metacognitive and metalinguistic strategies used when reading different types of text. Using retrospective analysis, the three adults describe and reflect on how they learned language and how they learned to read as children. The participants also describe the technology that assists them in reading print. Data suggest that deafblind adults use a variety of auditory, visual and tactilekinesthetic strategies (i.e. braille, large print, and raised print) in decoding English. Some also use ASL, Signed English and tactile ASL and tactile Signed English.

The deaf education profession faces a critical juncture. First, the 2006 leadership crisis that swept deaf education's flagship institution—Gallaudet University—will propel professionals to think deeply about promoting diversity, equity, and access in deaf education teacher and leadership preparation programs. Second, personnel shortages require attention: Teacher and leadership voids in university and K–12 programs loom if training efforts are not increased. Teaching and leadership needs center on three challenges: (a) understanding the changing demographic composition of the student, teacher, and leadership populations; (b) developing an evolving curriculum founded on research-based practices; (c) continuing to enlarge the knowledge base through applied research in the social sciences. Two case studies examine teacher training and leadership programs at universities that address these challenges. The importance of workplace deaf-hearing bicultural teams is examined. Implications for the preparation of teacher and leadership personnel in deaf education are discussed.