Overview of the contents covered in Libras (brazilian sign language) courses in science teacher preparation programs: analysis of the syllabi in undergraduate teacher certification programs in the biological sciences and chemistry

Abstract

The integration of the Deaf person into society has been marked by several historical and philosophical conflicts on the road to full rights of citizenship. In Brazil, there have been several legislative milestones in that regard, including Law n° 10.436/2002 (BRASIL, 2002), which recognizes the Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) as the official language of the Deaf people, and Decree No. 5,626/2005 (BRASIL, 2005), which regulates Libras as a first language (L1) and written Portuguese as a second language (L2). Of particular relevance for the present paper, the latter decree codified the inclusion of Libras (Brazilian sign language) as a core course in key teacher certification programs, including Speech Therapy and Education. This inclusion of Libras is, in fact, a remarkable achievement regarding the education of the Deaf in Brazil since proper teacher training may be conducive to better inclusion of deaf students (ANDRADE, 2013). Using a documentary analysis of syllabi, we thus set out to analyze how the syllabus content for Libras courses is structured concerning the content for undergraduate teaching certification degrees in Chemistry and Biological Sciences. This qualitative study draws on 139 publicly-available syllabi of Libras undergraduate teacher certification courses in Chemistry and Biological Sciences of Higher Education Institutions (HEI), restricted to those receiving the highest scores (4 and 5) in the 2017 government assessment exercise (henceforth called "Enade"). Through content analysis, five Context Units (CUs) were established to identify which syllabus contents are considered and taught in college Libras courses in Brazil. The CUs for analyzing the syllabi coverage related to the following: Conceptions about deaf people; Educational Interpreters (EI); Bilingual Education; The teaching of Chemistry or Biological Sciences for the Deaf; and Approaches to inclusion in general or conceptions about special education. Although the analysis has shown us numerous variations of the teaching of Libras, with some content such as a focus on the treatment of the deaf as a standout topic, more research is needed. In particular, there is a tendency for the subject to receive a limited number of dedicated course hours, which does not allow for a broader grasp of the theoretical and practical issues related to sign language and bilingual education for the Deaf — especially with regard to the teaching of science.