Teachers' perspectives on support for under-fives in families of ethnic minority origin

Abstract

Following the initial survey into provision for young deaf children in families of ethnic minority origin (Turner, 1996), teachers of the deaf in eight different areas of England were interviewed. Most of the families served by these teachers were of South Asian origin. Developing mutual respect and partnership was believed by teachers to be a primary aim when working with families of pre-school children. Yet, where cultural difference and language barriers undermined two-way communication, establishing a close, trusting relationship was perceived to be a challenge. The teachers interviewed believed that problems could be alleviated by more generous resourcing of specialist interpreters and printed and video material in several minority languages. More sensitive and flexible funding arrangements which allowed for the pooling of resources across LEAs was seen by teachers as a step in the right direction of providing a high quality service and of ensuring equality of opportunity for deaf children and families of minority ethnic origin.