Teacher Reports of Secondary Writing Instruction with Deaf Students

Abstract

Since students’ writing skills are largely shaped by the quality of instruction they receive, we can learn from what teachers report about their beliefs and approaches to the teaching and learning of writing. This study explores the state of writing instruction at secondary levels with deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students through a mixed-methods approach using a sequential explanatory design. Two hundred and twenty-two teachers responded to a survey about writing instruction, and 10 teachers participated in follow-up focus groups. The findings indicate that the primary difference between the hearing middle and high school student population and the DHH population is experiences of language deprivation, which impact the preparedness of teachers of DHH students, as well as the time and focus of their writing instruction. Teachers reported that American Sign Language/English bilingual instruction was the greatest area of need in research.