Deaf Education Beyond the Western World

Abstract

This volume disseminates academically informed knowledge about deaf education constructed by scholars and practitioners in countries in Central and Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America in order to identify the strengths and needs of deaf learners and deaf educators in those countries and to help move deaf education forward. It includes chapters about best practices and challenges from nineteen countries across the world, countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe. The chapters are written by scholars and practitioners who live and work in these countries, sometimes co-authored by colleagues from Western countries. The volume thus offers a picture of deaf education beyond the Western world from the perspective of local scholars associated with educating deaf and hard-of-hearing learners, the people who live it and know it best. The picture that emerges about deaf education in mostly vast countries is one that often reflects considerable regional and local variation. The chapters in this volume are embedded in discourses about international knowledge exchange, international development support, and the ambition to realize Goal 4 of the worldwide Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations: to ensure by 2030 inclusive and equitable education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all, including deaf and hard-of-hearing children and adults.