Communication Challenges in Inclusive Education Faced by Deaf and Non-deaf People

Abstract

This is a consolidated report on the work done in Intellectual Output One: Communication Challenges for the Advancing Inclusive Education Through International Sign - InSign project. This report combines and summarises the results obtained in national reports done by project partners from Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Portugal, and Slovenia. This document includes information on national sign languages, support for deaf people and their learning possibilities in different countries. In one section, we will review the status of International Sign in all the partner countries. We have also performed surveys done primarily with students to measure how they perceive deaf people, how they understand sign language and the difficulties deaf face in the education system. In this document, we analyse the data collected across the project partners. Each partner has also performed a guided interview with those most familiar with the deaf community (deaf themselves, educators, interpreters etc.) to help better understand the circumstances and answer some of the questions difficult to find in literature. The Consolidated Report summarises interview findings from national reports with the main takeaways.

Implementation of UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in public and private schools in three districts of Uganda

“…These mainstream schools had more restrictive environments and were not quite inclusive for deaf learners because they struggled with developing and sustaining social relationships, academic content and lacked a working language for communication. Kompara, Hölbl and Welzer (2021) advocated for the provision of education inclusion in practice and not on paper for traditional minorities like deaf learners in terms of language for communication. In Uganda, like in some developing countries, deaf children begin primary education without a language, and although inclusion would eliminate the discrimination of these children, the reality remains that they lack the language (Khairuddin 2018).…”

Enhancing interaction and learning experience for deaf students through sign language translator

“…Communication between teachers and deaf students faces challenges due to limited access to spoken language and the lack of sign language proficiency among both parties [1], [2]. This impacts comprehension of verbal instructions, participation in group discussions, and understanding of visual aids.…”