Policy and practice in deaf education: views and experiences of teachers, and of young people who are deaf in Northern Ireland and Sweden

Abstract

Due to the fact that the outcomes of education for most school leavers who are deaf in Northern Ireland are weak literacy skills and below average reading ages, a study was undertaken to investigate this situation. The views and experiences of teachers of children who are deaf, and of young people who are deaf in Northern Ireland, where oral and total communication forms of instruction are employed in their education were compared with those of Sweden where a sign bilingual is used in education, in the context of current policy and practice. The aim of the study was to find out if there are elements of Swedish policy and practice that could help resolve the situation for Northern Irish learners who are deaf. A qualitative approach was adopted via interviews with teachers of deaf and young people who were deaf in both countries. Findings are reported in relation to policy and practice in education, attitudes to deafness, status of sign language and other factors.