Deaf-ining Literacy: Teacher Perspectives on Issues in Secondary Deaf Literacy Education

This study examines ways in which the beliefs, attitudes, and values of Teachers of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing shape deaf literacy education in Ontario. This qualitative study takes a phenomenology approach, highlighting perspectives of Ontario teachers working with deaf students in both the oral/aural and American Sign Language streams, in order to extract beliefs and instructional approaches that shape the deaf classrooms. Three participants were interviewed and their experiences and practices demonstrate the engagement (and disengagement) of deaf/hard-of-hearing students with reading, writing, and literacy, what roles teacher values play in the field, and the teaching strategies and resources that they implement in their classrooms. The theoretical framework of the study encompasses critical disability theory and literacy theory. Specifically, the study distinguishes between the clinical and cultural models of disability, viewing deafness as a cultural difference rather than an “impairment.” Also, the framework of New Literacy Studies is a foundation of the study, which views literacy not as a skills-based conception, but a variety of social practices which are always ideological, and only have meaning as they are taken hold of by individuals for particular purposes (Street, 1995). This study has extensive significance, as there is limited awareness of the issues in Deaf education and the need for educational reform. Findings suggest a need to eliminate the paternalism observed in the field of deaf education, as well as a need for educators to view deafness outside of the clinical-medical model. This study has implications for understanding deafness, redefining literacy and literacy practices, and finding academic supports to build learning environments that foster deaf students’ growth and success