An Exploration of Minnesota Novice Interpreters’ Decision to Start Their Careers in Elementary School Settings

In the state of Minnesota, the number of Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) students in mainstream educational settings has slowly increased every year. With more students being educated in a setting using indirect methods of communication (ie interpreters), the need for more qualified sign language interpreters has grown. In the state of Minnesota, educational sign language interpreter qualifications allow many young, recently graduated interpreters a place to begin their careers and improve their skills as professionals. Through this qualitative research, not only were participants asked why they started their careers in education, but what factors inhibit interpreters, not only novice interpreters, to be successful in their work. Most participants felt drawn to the educational setting because of a steady paycheck and consistent schedule, as well as a passion for supporting DHH students\u27 education. The barriers to providing this crucial service effectively were the ill-defined roles and responsibilities of interpreters, how The System and DHH programs affect their work, and what improvements can be made for incoming interpreters. By interpreters learning what they need and how to advocate for resources, they begin to set a standard for current and future educational interpreters consequently providing better service to DHH students