Reflections of a Group of Deaf Adults on Their Experiences in Mainstream and Residential School Programs in the United States

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to learn about mainstream and residential school programs for deaf students in the United States from the perspective of the deaf person, and to present the experiences of clients of educational services in their own words . Data for this paper were collected through open-ended, in-depth interviews with 25 graduates from the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology (NTID at RIT) . The comments of informants suggest that there are advantages and disadvantages inherent in each educational model. For example, the selection of one model over another may involve `trading' academic for social opportunity. In particular, it is suggested that both kinds of school experiences play a critical role in the socialization of deaf people and the development of deaf community. It is recommended that further research be conducted to learn more about the perspectives of deaf people on educational services and to explore with them the long term as well as the immediate impact of different kinds of school environments .

Your Case Will Now Be Heard: Sign Language Interpreters as Problematic Accommodations in Legal Interactions

“…To date, few studies have examined the quality of the accommodations deaf persons achieve in the context of legal proceedings from the perspective of the deaf individual, although some studies have looked at accommodations in medical (Schwartz, 2006) and educational settings (Foster, 1989;Best, Lieberman, & Arndt, 2002). In this paper, I address this gap in the literature.…”

A Secondary Guy: Physically Disabled Teenagers in Secondary Schools

“…In spite of this, studies of the schooi experiences of students with disabilities have tended to focus on the attitudes and perspectives of other people, for example education staff or nondisabled peers (Bowd, 1992;Foster, 1989;Home, 1987;Lord et ai., 1990;Murray-Seegert, 1989;Stainback & Stainback, 1984). There seems to be little investigation of the experiences of students with disabilities and their attitudes towards thei r peers, professionais, environment or themselves (Home, 1985;Morris, 1997;Mulcahey , 1992).…”

“…Theorists in this area have recomrnended phenomenological studies to detennine the nature and variety of factors that affect the participation of children with disabilities in their communities (Law & Dunn, 1993). Severai authors have suggested that a qualitative approach is particularly appropriate for studying school social integration from the perspective of the student with a disability (Ballard, 1993;Foster, 1989;Mulcahey. 1992;Murray-Seegert, 1989;Resnick, 1984b;Stainback & Stainback, 1984).…”

“…Understanding the reality of peoples' lives demands consideration of their perceptions, feelings, beliefs and experiences and provides useful information for developing social policy and service delivery (Foster, 1989;Lord, Schnarr, & Hutchison, 1989). However, theorkts and researchen have suggested that the perspective of the student with a disability has been neglected in research, policy development and senice delivery in schools (Ballard, 1993: Foster, 1989; Law, 199 1 ; Mulcahey, 1992;Murray-Seegert, 1989). …”

Perceived competence and school adjustment of hearing impaired children in mainstream primary school settings

“…Although more stimulating, responsive and supportive features of mainstreaming setting as compared with a specialized programme can translate into improved peer‐related social competence on the part of young handicapped children (Guralnick 1990), there are indications in some countries that hearing impaired children may have some difficulties in regular classes. For example (Elser 1959; Antia 1985) reported low acceptance and interaction rates in mainstream settings and in studies exploring the perspectives of deaf students, (Foster 1988, 1989) reported feeling of social isolation in deaf students who attended mainstream education programmes as well as a sense of having to give up social opportunity for academic opportunity. Tvingstedt (1995) who studied the educational and social conditions of mainstreamed hard of hearing students (grades 1–11) in Sweden, found that usually many hearing impaired pupils in regular classes had an unsatisfactory social situation.…”