Preparing educators to address the needs of diverse deaf students and their families: A U.S. perspective

FEADPA Congress 2005October 14-16

Geneva, Switzerland

Dr. Barbara Gerner de GarcíaGallaudet University

Goals of the presentation are to describe the following:

Demographics of deaf children, and teachers of the deaf.Obstacles to diversifying the teaching force.Teacher accreditation (licensing) in the U.S.A brief overview of efforts to diversify the teaching force, and teacher training. What teachers of the deaf need to know and

efforts to prepare U.S. teachers of the deaf to teach diverse deaf students.

The need…

I graduated with a MA (Master’s of Arts) in elementary deaf … in 1982. I was interested in trilingual (English,Spanish,ASL) deaf ed. then and almost 20 years later, I am still interested. I am now Program Monitor of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing programs in … Florida. The high school teachers especially are begging me for information on resources and strategies to use with students who are coming here with no oral or signing skills in their native language (i.e. Spanish, Creole, etc.). The high school teachers are so frustrated. They want to do the right thing, but do not know what to do.

The need…

We have located a child in … Public Schools that is in Kindergarten and is profoundly deaf.  This student is from a family that uses almost exclusively Spanish, they are from a small village in Mexico and just recently moved to the states.  The student doesn't appear to have any other "disabilities."  Their classroom is an English emersion program because there is a large Latin(o) population in that area.

The need : A cross-national issue

I am a teacher of the deaf teaching preschool deaf children in Zimbabwe. I am interested in your research on deaf children who have a different spoken language at home to the language of instruction at school I.e. those from Hispanic homes etc. Our children have spoken Shona at home, and yet the language of schools is English. We are using Zimsign as well, but it is not very well documented as yet. We want to know what research shows is the best language in which to learn early literacy skills - the home spoken language and then change to English, or English from the beginning.

Terminology

Pre-service teachers : also called teacher candidates :those studying to become teachers.In-service teachers : working teachersAccreditation: the process carried out by a recognized national body that determines a university meets standards of academic quality.Licensing or certification - state recognition that a person is prepared to teach in a specific area or specialization.

Student demographics in U.S. schools

D/HH students

• White 51.5%• Black 15.4%• Latino 24.2%• American Indian

0.9%• Asian 4.1%• Other 1.8%• Multi-ethnic 2.1%

(Gallaudet Research Institute, Jan. 2005)

All K-12 students

• White 61.0% • Black 16.8 %• Hispanic

17.0%• American Indian/

Alaskan Natives 1.2%

• Asian 4.0%

(U.S. Dept. of Education, 1999-2000)

The Changing demographics of D/HH students 1977-2003

Decline in White students:71% to 51 %

Increase in Latino students: 9% to 24.5%

Increase in Asian students:1% to 4.3%

African American students have remained at 15-17%.

Demographics of in-service teachers

There are no current statistics on the demographics of in-service teachers of the deaf. Overall in the U.S., the teaching force in 14% minority (National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, 2003).

Pre-service Teacher Diversity: Deaf Ed

Race/EthnicityWhite 87%Black 7%Asian 2%Latino 3%American Indian0.1%Multi-ethnic 0.7%

From: S. Baker & J. Daguaard, Join Together Project Survey, 2004.

Hearing status

Hearing 89%

Hard of Hearing 4%

Deaf 7%

Diversity of faculty in deaf education teacher training programs

Ethnic Composition of Hearing Faculty

Asian1%

Native-American/Indian1%Latino

3%Other

1%

White 87%

African-American7%

Gerner de García, 2002

Dilemmas teachers of the deaf face

• What to do when the language(s) of the home and the language(s) of the school do not match

• What teaching approaches to use with deaf and hard of hearing students from diverse language backgrounds, or with limited formal education.

• What are the implications programmatically whether a school has a single child or many students from language diverse families?

Dilemmas for teacher preparation

Complexities of preparing new teachers for deaf and hard of hearing children: meeting new state and national standards, inclusion, family services, cochlear implants, etc.

The sheer impossibility of adding anything else to the preparation program curriculum.

The lack of research, models of best practice, curriculum materials, etc. that are available to help meet the needs of language diverse deaf and hard of hearing students.

Why it is important to have diverse teachers?

To serve as cultural and language translators and bridge home and school.To act as role models of academic success responsibility, and leadership.Help to prepare children to live and work in a multiethnic society.

(National Teacher Recruitment Clearinghouse)

Dilemmas in teacher preparation

The complexity of preparing new teachers for deaf and hard of hearing children: meeting new state and national testing and graduation standards, inclusion, family services, cochlear implants, etc.

The sheer impossibility of adding anything else to the preparation program curriculum.

The lack of research, models of best practice, curriculum materials, etc. that are available to help meet the needs of language diverse deaf and hard of hearing students.

Obstacles to increasing the number of minority teachers

Inadequate schooling leaves some minority students ill-prepared and unmotivated for higher education. Standardized tests and licensure tests disproportionately screen out minorities.Salaries are low for teachers compared to salaries for other professionals.Minority students find more career opportunities outside of teaching.Minority teachers leave teaching at higher rates than White teachers do.

(National Education Association)

The Impact of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)

NCLB is another obstacle to increasing the number of deaf and minority teachers.

Under the No Child Left Behind Act, by the end of this school year, 2005-2006, all teachers must be “highly qualified” meaning they must be fully certified in their state and have passed teacher exams.New teachers of grades 6-12 (Middle and High School) must complete an academic major or coursework equivalent to a major, or a graduate degree in each of the academic areas in which the teacher teaches.

• Math teachers must have a math degree or equivalent coursework, History teachers a history degree, etc.

Certification for teachers of the deaf

Teachers of the deaf must have state certification for the state in which they will teach. Each of the 50 states has its own licensing requirements,Reciprocity exists between many states.The Council on Education of the Deaf (CED) has developed standards for teacher preparation and licensure in conjunction with the Council of Exceptional Children (CEC).

CEC has developed performance-based standards for the preparation and licensure of special educators.

The Council of Education of the Deaf certifies deaf education professionals according to established guidelines. CED certification is optional for teachers of the deaf.

Accreditation of Deaf Education Teacher Preparation Programs

There are 72 deaf education teacher training programs in the U.S. Of these, 37 grant Council on Education of the Deaf (CED) certification, 2 are pending, and 33 do not.National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education accredits 602 colleges of education, 100 more are awaiting accreditation.

Fifty-two of the 72 deaf ed teacher preparation programs have NCATE accreditation.

NCATE has a strong commitment to preparing teachers to teach diverse students.

A program must have diverse faculty, diverse student bodies, experiences with diverse K-12 students, and curriculum that develops knowledge, skills and dispositions for working with diverse students.

CED/CEC Deaf Education Teacher Preparation Programs Standards:Knowledge (of diverse students)

In order to work effectively with diverse deaf and hard of hearing students and their families, pre-service teachers’ preparation must include training in: Cross cultural perspectives & their impact upon atypical children, their families & schools;Cultural, linguistic, academic & social-emotional impact of educational placement options for d/hh children; Influence of diversity on assessment, eligibility, programming and educational placement of atypical children;Techniques for modifying instructional methods & techniques that reflect learner needs, diversity, and family dynamics;

CED/CEC Deaf Education Teacher Preparation Programs Standards: Knowledge (of diverse students)

(Awareness of ) one's own cultural biases and differences that affect one's teaching; and(Knowledge of) strategies needed to instruct the development and use of the social skills that are needed for educational and functional living environments and for preparing students to live harmoniously and productively in ethnically diverse settings.

CED/CEC Deaf Education Teacher Preparation Programs Standards: Skills (teaching diverse students)

Develop/select assessment tools, interpret and use assessment data to design instructional programming (including appropriate technologies) that meet individual learning needs, cultural, linguistic and gender differences and to monitor children progress.Create a safe, positive and supporting learning environment in which diversities are valued, active participation is encouraged & self advocacy and independence is facilitated. Demonstrate a commitment to developing the highest educational and quality of life potential of atypical children and a positive regard for the cultures, religion, gender and sexuality of students.

Efforts to address issues of diversity in the education of teachers of the deaf

Efforts have been limited over the past 25 years. Only now, as deaf children from ethnic and racial minorities are close to being half of the population, is there more awareness of the need to prepare teachers to work more effectively with these children and their families.Resolutions calling for more minority teachers

Toward Equality: Education of the Deaf (Bowe, 1988).Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf (1981) Hispanic teachers of the deaf.

CED adds a requirement for multicultural education content (1990).

Federally funded projects from U.S. Dept. of Ed, Office of Special Education & Rehabilitation: Pre-service teachers

Federal government grants to increase teacher diversity:Lamar University : Hispanic Teacher of the Deaf program, since early 1990’s. Current grant 2002-2007.University of Minnesota: “Preparation of Special Educators to Serve Children and Youth Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing from Different Cultural and Language Backgrounds”, 2001-2006.Gallaudet University Project Achieve: allows school personnel in partner schools to get MA in Deaf Education. Targets underrepresented groups (Deaf and/or minority). Join Together grant to the Association of College Educators of the Deaf addresses the reform of teacher preparation and teaching competence of pre-service teachers, including helping to recruit and retain more diverse pre-service teachers.

Federally funded projects from U.S. Dept. of Ed, Office of Special Education & Rehabilitation: In-service teachers

Federal grants to improve in-service teachers’ skills and knowledge with diverse d/hh students are not common:

Project THREADS, 1995-1998 - Gallaudet University - trained 21 teacher leaders for multicultural change in 10 schools for the deaf (U.S. Dept of Education grant).Project LISTO, early 1980’s, Rhode Island State Education Dept., and New York State Education Dept. - provided training to selected schools for the deaf in the Northeast for improvement of service delivery to Latino deaf students and their families.

Efforts to address issues of diversity in teacher education: Gallaudet University

Diversify faculty in the Education Dept. 3 new minority deaf faculty.

Increase in the diversity of the pre-service teacher candidates including deaf/hh and minority candidates.Improvement of curriculum in all departments preparing personnel to work in educational settings.

Curriculum Transformation Project

Online course: Teaching Latino Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students (new Fall 2005).

Targeting in-service teachers of the deaf.

Lessons from the U.S. experience

Although the diversity of d/hh students has been growing for years, limited efforts have been made to systematically address the issue.Grants are short-term and impact may not endure without institutionalization.Teacher educators cannot prepare pre-service teachers to work with diverse students if they don’t have the knowledge themselves.We need to move outside of our field to learn from and collaborate with other educators who are facing the same issues.

Barbara Gerner de García, Ed.D.Gallaudet UniversityDepartment of Educational Foundations and Research800 Florida Ave. NEWashington, DC 20002-3695 USA

barbara.gerner.de.garcia@gallaudet.edu