Debates about methods of supporting language development and academic skills of deaf or hard-of-hearing children have waxed and waned for more than 100 years: Will using sign language interfere with learning to use spoken language or does it offer optimal access to communication for deaf children? Does placement in classrooms with mostly hearing children enhance or impede academic and social-emotional development? Will cochlear implants or other assistive listening devices provide deaf children with sufficient input for age-appropriate reading abilities? Are traditional methods of classroom teaching effective for deaf and hard-of-hearing students?
Although there is a wealth of evidence with regard to each of these issues, too often, decisions on how to best support deaf and hard-of-hearing children in developing language and academic skills are made based on incorrect or incomplete information. No matter how well-intentioned, decisions grounded in opinions, beliefs, or value judgments are insufficient to guide practice. Instead, we need to take advantage of relevant, emerging research concerning best practices and outcomes in educating deaf and hard-of-hearing learners.
In this critical evaluation of what we know and what we do not know about educating deaf and hard-of-hearing students, the authors examine a wide range of educational settings and research methods that have guided deaf education in recent years--or should. The book provides a focus for future educational and research efforts, and aims to promote optimal support for deaf and hard-of-hearing learners of all ages. Co-authored by two of the most respected leaders in the field, this book summarizes and evaluates research findings across multiple disciplines pertaining to the raising and educating of deaf children, providing a comprehensive but concise record of the successes, failures, and unanswered questions in deaf education. A readily accessible and invaluable source for teachers, university students, and other professionals, Evidence-Based Practice in Educating Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students encourages readers to reconsider assumptions and delve more deeply into what we really know
about deaf and hard-of-hearing children, their patterns of development, and their lifelong learning.
Industry Reviews
"One of the greatest challenges in educating deaf and hard-of-hearing students today is the need for evidence-based practice to replace decades if not centuries of intuitive teaching. Parents, teachers, and other professionals through the years have acquired or developed for themselves strategies and materials that help deaf students to succeed academically and, eventually, in the workplace. All too often, however, this has required trial-and-error methods just
as frustrating to the adults involved as the students who struggle to meet course demands and satisfy their own thirst for knowledge. This volume has been long in coming, now that it is here it will
help to move the field of deaf education forward. In it, the authors carefully evaluate the existing literature with regard to deaf education, separating wheat from chaff and knowledge from belief. It points the way forward for teachers and learners of all ages." --T. Alan Hurwitz, President, Gallaudet University
"This is an excellent book for both the experienced practitioner or academic and those new to the field of deaf education. It is very timely given the current emphasis on the need to base practice on evidence in many different and diverse areas.
The book is comprehensive and considers not only the evidence we have about education of deaf pupils but, as importantly, those areas in which our knowledge is less secure. In this respect there may well be a number of surprises for the reader. As well as addressing the findings of research it also discusses the research procedures necessary for studies to contribute towards an adequate evidence base. As such it is an important book, likely to influence practice, and is recommended to all with
an interest in the education of deaf children and young people."--Sue Gregory, Former Reader in Deaf Education, University of Birmingham, U.K.
