Successful Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing and Culturally and/or Linguistically Diverse in Inclusive Settings

Abstract

The population of students who are deaf or hard of hearing is becoming more culturally and/or linguistically diverse. However, there is a paucity of practitioner literature and research available to professionals and families to guide decision making about daily practices with these students and their families. The study identified factors that contribute to the success of students who are deaf or hard of hearing and from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds who receive the majority of their education in inclusive settings. Students were recruited from two schools in two school districts in a western state. Students, educators, interpreters, and parents participated in individual in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Observations of the students were also done. Analysis of the data included coding the transcribed interviews and the field notes to identify common themes. Seven themes emerged and are reported. Recommendations for future research are provided.

Factors Related to the Quality of Life in the Context of Deaf Sign Language Users in Brazil

“…Background ne of the societal challenges in the 21st century is interacting with the diversity and assuring the right to equality to all shares of the population. It certainly must include the interaction with disabled people, including deaf people which are sign language users (Ayantoye & Luckner, 2016).…”

A practice-based intervention to prepare preservice teachers for inclusion using universal design for learning

“…With the movement towards inclusion, general education teachers are expected to teach in classrooms that are increasing in diversity, especially in regards to meaningfully including students with disabilities into the classroom (NAEP, 2018;Martin, 2018). Yet, many pre-service general education teachers report feeling unprepared and lacking the self-efficacy to meet the needs of all the learners in their classrooms (Ayantoye & Luckner, 2016;Condoni, 2016). Beyond feeling unprepared, findings from research suggest that these preservice teachers also lack the knowledge and skills to effectively teach all students (Washburn, Joshi, & Cantrell, 2011;Schumm & Vaughn, 2009).…”

“…Currently, research on what and how to teach pre-service teachers resulting in the more meaningful inclusion all students in the classrooms is sparse. While it is clear that general education pre-service teachers need to learn more about disabilities as well as practices that help the success of all students (Ayantoye & Luckner, 2016;Leuszler, 2015;Tirado, 2016;Vaughn, Bos & Schumm &, 2009), little research is available validating what should be taught in teacher education programs (e.g., Brownell, 2005;Brownell et al, 2016). It is highly recommended that a practicebased learning approach is used as a way to provide pre-service teachers the time and space to apply new knowledge and deepen their understanding about complex issues within the safety of a course without the added pressure of students (Benedict et al, 2016).…”

“…There are grounds to suggest that there are ways to thoroughly and systematically develop pre-service teacher knowledge of UDL through setting. Yet, when surveyed, pre-service teachers often report feeling unprepared to meet the needs of all students (Ayantoye & Luckner, 2016;Leuszler, 2015;Tirado, 2016). This may be due to the fact that preservice teachers are not adequately prepared to teach in the diverse classrooms they are given once they enter the workforce (Forlin & Chambers 2011, Scruggs & Mastropieri, 1996.…”

“…for years (Ayantoye & Luckner, 2016;Leuszler, 2015;Tirado, 2016). In a metasynthesis of 28 surveys about general educators' perceptions of inclusion sent to mostly elementary general education teachers, Scruggs and Mastropieri (1996) discovered that two-thirds of general educators supported the idea of inclusion and half believed that inclusion is indeed beneficial for students with disabilities.…”