Educating Deaf Students: From Research to Practice

Over the past decade there has been a significant increase in interest from educators and the general public about deafness, special education, and the development of children with special needs. The education of deaf children in the United States has been seen as a remarkable success story around the world, even while it continues to engender domestic debate. In this book the authors set aside the politics, rhetoric, and confusion that often accompany discussions of deaf education. Instead they offer an accessible evaluation of the research literature on the needs and strengths of deaf children and on the methods that have been used; successfully and unsuccessfully; to teach both deaf and hearing children.

The authors lay out the common assumptions that have driven deaf education for many years, revealing some of them to be based on questionable methods, conclusions, or interpretations, while others have been lost in the cacophony of alternative educational philosophies. They accompany their historical consideration of how this came to pass with an evaluation of the legal and social conditions surrounding deaf education today. By evaluating what we know, what we do not know, and what we thought we knew about learning among deaf children, the authors provide parents, teachers, and administrators valuable new insights into educating deaf students and others with special needs.

Table of Contents

Part 1: Educational Basics

1. Educating Deaf Students: An Introduction
2. Lessons from History
3. Characteristics of Deaf Learners
4. Education Begins at Home

Part 2: Educational Processes and Programs

5. Language Development and Deaf Children
6. Cognitive Development and Deaf Children
7. Educational Programs and Philosophies
8. Reading, Writing, and Literacy
9. Teaching and Curriculum

Part 3: Conclusion

10. Looking Ahead While Glancing Back

Notes

References

Author Index

Subject Index