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allAfrica.com: Sierra Leone: Improving Access to Basic Education for Deaf Children Through Family Communication (Page 1 of 2)
About a fortnight ago I was at Hill Station with the Sawyerr's on my usual rounds as a sign language facilitator for Master Victor Onishegun Sawyerr and by coincidence I witnessed an unusual brouhaha between the young master and his mother over a lost hearing aid.
Narrating his own version about the matter to me in sign language, Victor recounted how on that fateful day his little hearing aid feel off his ear while playing football with his friends at school and though they searched for it they could not find it. He had just reported the incident to his mother and was worried because it had provoked so much anger from her. I tried to say something to calm Mrs. Sawyerr, but the lady could not be put off.
Taking a piece of paper and a pen from the pockets of her kitchen overalls, she wrote with a visibly trembling hand and explained about how Victor's father had to wait for several months for a loan at his office and travelled all the way to Ghana to buy the hearing aid for nine million Leones so that Victor can use it to follow oral instructions at school. The child, however, denied that the particular hearing aid was lost and went to fetch it right away from his room.
As soon as Mrs. Sawyerr saw the nine million Leones hearing aid with her son, she heaved a heavy sigh of relief and literally ran up the stairs to her room with smiles. That was how the matter ended peacefully. Victor confirmed that his parents had bought three kinds of hearing aids for him over the years. So we concluded that his mother probably thought that it was the nine million Leones hearing aid that got missing. As I looked up at the stairs after the lady, I mused over the apparent struggle of families in providing their deaf children with access to basic education in Sierra Leone due to lack of awareness about the communication needs of a deaf child.
The birth of a deaf child often creates emotional tensions in the family, due to fear and anxiety about their deafness and inability to speak. It is believed that if a child cannot hear or speak, he or she does not command any language at all. Deaf children are therefore taught to speak through the use of hearing aids and speech therapy. Speech therapy takes a long time and the amount of information that a deaf child can receive or convey through therapy is always small.
Similarly, hearing aids may boost the 'residual' hearing of a deaf child, but the bottom line is that hearing aids unlike glasses, do not correct hearing.
Taken together, hearing aid and speech therapy focus on the disability rather than the ability of a deaf child. Consequently, the child is not able to experience success and satisfaction as quickly as is possible; instead he develops lack of self confidence, self worth and a negative attitude to learning. It may also instil in him a sense of failure particularly if he does not achieve intelligible speech. That besides, the wearing of hearing aid accentuates the stigma of being deaf. This makes it difficult for a deaf child to accept and adjust positively to his identity as a deaf person. On the other hand, the use of sign language with a deaf child results in instant communication. The ability of a deaf child to make himself understood in sign language releases a lot of tensions in him so that he is able to use his voice naturally and freely as he signs.
The question of whether to use hearing aid technology or sign language as a communication tool in the education of deaf children provokes perennial controversy characterised by medical and socio-cultural schools of thought.
The medical school of thought defines deafness in terms of varying degrees or decibels and the possible consequences of lack of hearing. It sees a deaf person as lacking something who needs treatment and rehabilitation with the help of hearing aids and speech therapy.
On the other hand, the socio-cultural school of thought defines deafness in terms of social, cultural and linguistic aspects. It sees a deaf person as a member of the deaf community who together with other deaf people form a linguistic minority. The divergence in the medical and socio-cultural schools of thought has led to the question of whether deafness is a defect to be corrected or a difference to be accepted.
The medical approach to deafness assumes that language is equivalent to speech and has therefore preferred the oral method in the education of deaf children. In contrast, the socio-cultural approach to deafness is based on the assumption that deaf people constitute a social and cultural group and members of this group use sign language as a primary means of communication.
It therefore prefers the visual method in the education of deaf children.
At the heart of the medical and socio-cultural controversy lie the twin issues of communication and speech. In order to appreciate the significance of these issues in the education of deaf children in Sierra Leone, there is need to examine the extent to which oral and visual methods of education contribute to the realisation of the goals of our national basic education programme.
The National Conference on Education for all by the year 2000 which was convened in Freetown in July 1989, defined basic education as a composite of literacy, numeracy, knowledge of basic science and social institutions, mental skills, occupational skills and a set of healthy values and attitudes. It comprises pre, primary and junior secondary education. The main goals of the programme are: To eliminate the source of illiteracy and lack of basic education by increasing enrolment and stemming regression and dropout rates; provide opportunities for those who did not receive basic education as well as for those who dropped out of the formal system to achieve basic education including; children in primary schools, out of school youths, women, rural population and illiterates in public and private sectors; and to help those who achieve basic education to retain it and continue to use it in their personal, social and national lives for further development of themselves, their communities and their country.
The oral method of education emphasizes the use of spoken language as a medium of instruction for deaf children at school. However to be deaf means not to hear. By implication deaf children cannot access information through spoken language. Lack of access to information excludes the deaf child from the education process. This explains why deaf children in Sierra Leone do not have access to basic education beyond the primary school level. The visual method of education on the other hand emphasizes the use of sign language as a medium of instruction for deaf children at school. Sign language is the mother tongue of deaf children. Through the use of this language, the deaf child increases his vocabulary, self awareness and the capacity to communicate in a spoken language. Such capacitating leads to active participation of deaf children in the education process. Increasing enrolment and stemming regression and dropout rates can only be achieved through active participation in the basic education process.
Exclusion and participation characterizes oral and visual methods in the education of deaf children. This suggests that in the struggle of families to provide deaf children with access to basic education in Sierra Leone, it is communication and not speech that should matter most.
Given that the medical approach to deafness has dominated the policies of governments concerning the education of deaf children, the question then arise: How does family communication improve deaf children's access to basic education in Sierra Leone?
The strategies for achieving the goals of our national basic education programme focuses on three main areas: Strengthening institutions; identification and consolidation of basic education programmes; and creation of learning environment. This assumes that government support is translated into a strong policy on basic education and its language or languages of instruction; availability of relevant statistics on basic education through needs assessment surveys; a national basic education commission, rural urban education disparities is narrowed; the educational base is strong; trained and qualified education personnel; and reading materials and audio-visual media.
There is congruence between the basic education hypothesis and family communication. Parents with deaf children in Sierra Leone belong to different groups; the members of the groups lack awareness about the deafness and linguistic identity of their deaf children; they have limited access to sign language training opportunities; they also lack fellowship among themselves; and they do not associate with the groups of deaf youths and adults. Consequently, the groups of parents with deaf children in Sierra Leone are not united; they also find it difficult to advocate for the right of their deaf children to have access to sign language as a medium of instruction at school; similarly they find it difficult to communicate with their deaf children at home; they also do not meet together to share experiences and exchange ideas about the early childhood education of the deaf; and they find it difficult to cooperate and work together with deaf youths and adults to advocate for the recognition of deaf children as a linguistic minority group.
In view of this family communication should focus on: establishment of committee; identification and visits to relevant parents and families; group meetings; and discussions on alternative options for early childhood education of the deaf.
More specifically it should involve: appointment of a facilitator and procurement and of training materials and logistics; community awareness raising and survey; parents training and joint workshops between parents, teachers, and deaf youths and adults.
Through these activities, families with deaf children in Sierra Leone will be able to recognise and accept the rights of their deaf child to communicate in the language of his or her own choice organise resources and support the development of services that ensure deaf children's equal access to basic education.
About a fortnight ago I was at Hill Station with the Sawyerr's on my usual rounds as a sign language facilitator for Master Victor Onishegun Sawyerr and by coincidence I witnessed an unusual brouhaha between the young master and his mother over a lost hearing aid.
Narrating his own version about the matter to me in sign language, Victor recounted how on that fateful day his little hearing aid feel off his ear while playing football with his friends at school and though they searched for it they could not find it. He had just reported the incident to his mother and was worried because it had provoked so much anger from her. I tried to say something to calm Mrs. Sawyerr, but the lady could not be put off.
Taking a piece of paper and a pen from the pockets of her kitchen overalls, she wrote with a visibly trembling hand and explained about how Victor's father had to wait for several months for a loan at his office and travelled all the way to Ghana to buy the hearing aid for nine million Leones so that Victor can use it to follow oral instructions at school. The child, however, denied that the particular hearing aid was lost and went to fetch it right away from his room.
As soon as Mrs. Sawyerr saw the nine million Leones hearing aid with her son, she heaved a heavy sigh of relief and literally ran up the stairs to her room with smiles. That was how the matter ended peacefully. Victor confirmed that his parents had bought three kinds of hearing aids for him over the years. So we concluded that his mother probably thought that it was the nine million Leones hearing aid that got missing. As I looked up at the stairs after the lady, I mused over the apparent struggle of families in providing their deaf children with access to basic education in Sierra Leone due to lack of awareness about the communication needs of a deaf child.
The birth of a deaf child often creates emotional tensions in the family, due to fear and anxiety about their deafness and inability to speak. It is believed that if a child cannot hear or speak, he or she does not command any language at all. Deaf children are therefore taught to speak through the use of hearing aids and speech therapy. Speech therapy takes a long time and the amount of information that a deaf child can receive or convey through therapy is always small.
Similarly, hearing aids may boost the 'residual' hearing of a deaf child, but the bottom line is that hearing aids unlike glasses, do not correct hearing.
Taken together, hearing aid and speech therapy focus on the disability rather than the ability of a deaf child. Consequently, the child is not able to experience success and satisfaction as quickly as is possible; instead he develops lack of self confidence, self worth and a negative attitude to learning. It may also instil in him a sense of failure particularly if he does not achieve intelligible speech. That besides, the wearing of hearing aid accentuates the stigma of being deaf. This makes it difficult for a deaf child to accept and adjust positively to his identity as a deaf person. On the other hand, the use of sign language with a deaf child results in instant communication. The ability of a deaf child to make himself understood in sign language releases a lot of tensions in him so that he is able to use his voice naturally and freely as he signs.
The question of whether to use hearing aid technology or sign language as a communication tool in the education of deaf children provokes perennial controversy characterised by medical and socio-cultural schools of thought.
The medical school of thought defines deafness in terms of varying degrees or decibels and the possible consequences of lack of hearing. It sees a deaf person as lacking something who needs treatment and rehabilitation with the help of hearing aids and speech therapy.
On the other hand, the socio-cultural school of thought defines deafness in terms of social, cultural and linguistic aspects. It sees a deaf person as a member of the deaf community who together with other deaf people form a linguistic minority. The divergence in the medical and socio-cultural schools of thought has led to the question of whether deafness is a defect to be corrected or a difference to be accepted.
The medical approach to deafness assumes that language is equivalent to speech and has therefore preferred the oral method in the education of deaf children. In contrast, the socio-cultural approach to deafness is based on the assumption that deaf people constitute a social and cultural group and members of this group use sign language as a primary means of communication.
It therefore prefers the visual method in the education of deaf children.
At the heart of the medical and socio-cultural controversy lie the twin issues of communication and speech. In order to appreciate the significance of these issues in the education of deaf children in Sierra Leone, there is need to examine the extent to which oral and visual methods of education contribute to the realisation of the goals of our national basic education programme.
The National Conference on Education for all by the year 2000 which was convened in Freetown in July 1989, defined basic education as a composite of literacy, numeracy, knowledge of basic science and social institutions, mental skills, occupational skills and a set of healthy values and attitudes. It comprises pre, primary and junior secondary education. The main goals of the programme are: To eliminate the source of illiteracy and lack of basic education by increasing enrolment and stemming regression and dropout rates; provide opportunities for those who did not receive basic education as well as for those who dropped out of the formal system to achieve basic education including; children in primary schools, out of school youths, women, rural population and illiterates in public and private sectors; and to help those who achieve basic education to retain it and continue to use it in their personal, social and national lives for further development of themselves, their communities and their country.
The oral method of education emphasizes the use of spoken language as a medium of instruction for deaf children at school. However to be deaf means not to hear. By implication deaf children cannot access information through spoken language. Lack of access to information excludes the deaf child from the education process. This explains why deaf children in Sierra Leone do not have access to basic education beyond the primary school level. The visual method of education on the other hand emphasizes the use of sign language as a medium of instruction for deaf children at school. Sign language is the mother tongue of deaf children. Through the use of this language, the deaf child increases his vocabulary, self awareness and the capacity to communicate in a spoken language. Such capacitating leads to active participation of deaf children in the education process. Increasing enrolment and stemming regression and dropout rates can only be achieved through active participation in the basic education process.
Exclusion and participation characterizes oral and visual methods in the education of deaf children. This suggests that in the struggle of families to provide deaf children with access to basic education in Sierra Leone, it is communication and not speech that should matter most.
Given that the medical approach to deafness has dominated the policies of governments concerning the education of deaf children, the question then arise: How does family communication improve deaf children's access to basic education in Sierra Leone?
The strategies for achieving the goals of our national basic education programme focuses on three main areas: Strengthening institutions; identification and consolidation of basic education programmes; and creation of learning environment. This assumes that government support is translated into a strong policy on basic education and its language or languages of instruction; availability of relevant statistics on basic education through needs assessment surveys; a national basic education commission, rural urban education disparities is narrowed; the educational base is strong; trained and qualified education personnel; and reading materials and audio-visual media.
There is congruence between the basic education hypothesis and family communication. Parents with deaf children in Sierra Leone belong to different groups; the members of the groups lack awareness about the deafness and linguistic identity of their deaf children; they have limited access to sign language training opportunities; they also lack fellowship among themselves; and they do not associate with the groups of deaf youths and adults. Consequently, the groups of parents with deaf children in Sierra Leone are not united; they also find it difficult to advocate for the right of their deaf children to have access to sign language as a medium of instruction at school; similarly they find it difficult to communicate with their deaf children at home; they also do not meet together to share experiences and exchange ideas about the early childhood education of the deaf; and they find it difficult to cooperate and work together with deaf youths and adults to advocate for the recognition of deaf children as a linguistic minority group.
In view of this family communication should focus on: establishment of committee; identification and visits to relevant parents and families; group meetings; and discussions on alternative options for early childhood education of the deaf.
More specifically it should involve: appointment of a facilitator and procurement and of training materials and logistics; community awareness raising and survey; parents training and joint workshops between parents, teachers, and deaf youths and adults.
Through these activities, families with deaf children in Sierra Leone will be able to recognise and accept the rights of their deaf child to communicate in the language of his or her own choice organise resources and support the development of services that ensure deaf children's equal access to basic education.