Technology support for the inclusion of deaf students in mainstream schools: a summary of research from 2007 to 2017

Vaso Constantinou,Constantine Stephanidis,Margherita Antona,Iosif Klironomos,Andri Ioannou

doi:10.1007/s10209-018-0630-8

Abstract

The paper examines the use of technology as a means for the inclusion of Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) students in mainstream K-12 schools, covering the publications of the last decade. A systematic search of databases was carried out to locate theoretical and empirical studies investigating technologies as auxiliary or supporting tools for the inclusion of DHH students. Results are presented in two categories: (1) review/survey or theoretical papers and (2) studies of technology design and evaluation. Based on our findings, there is only preliminary evidence on how technology can support the inclusion of DHH students in mainstream schools. We argue that there is less need for research on technologies specialized on the disability, aiming to accommodate hearing loss, such as technologies to support the acquisition of sign language or speech-to-text translation of the teacher’s talk. There is a major need for technology integration and research on its real-world use and utility, towards the inclusion of all students in the mainstream classroom, serving the needs of both DHH students and the general student population.

Highlights

In recent years, inclusive education has developed into a global policy movement which advocates the rights of disabled students to receive access and quality participation in Mainstreaming Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) students affords challenges for all stakeholders, including teachers, DHH students, hearing peers, parents, and policy makers
The study tested the recognition of phrases by the children and demonstrated benefits in terms of real-time American Sign Language (ASL) phrase recognition [33]. This summary of research examined the use of technology as a means for the inclusion of DHH students in mainstream K-12 schools, covering publications of the last decade
After careful examination in a number of online bibliographic databases, only few empirical studies appear to address the use of technology to support the inclusion of DHH students in mainstream schools

Summary

Introduction

Inclusive education has developed into a global policy movement which advocates the rights of disabled students to receive access and quality participation in Mainstreaming DHH students affords challenges for all stakeholders, including teachers, DHH students, hearing peers, parents, and policy makers. Considering that verbal interaction amongst students and their teacher is the most important aspect of a classroom environment, it becomes apparent that DHH students miss out on this learning opportunity in the typical mainstream classroom. Along this line, a survey of the educational needs of DHH children in mainstream education in New Zealand, by Fitzgerald (2000), elaborated that mainstream services in schools do not work effectively for all DHH students [12]. They argued that there is a need for learning environments that make effective use of visual learning material, adaptive technology such as FM systems, and speech-to-text captioning, to accommodate hearing loss

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Conclusion