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Humanities
- ISSN: 2155-7993
- Journal of Modern Education Review
Ethnographic Study of a Co-enrollment Program for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Pupils in the USA: Focusing on Classroom Activities
Takashi Torigoe
(Hyogo University of Teacher Education, Japan)
Abstract: The number of deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children who enroll in mainstream schools has increased in recent years. In the present paper, we discuss with the co-enrollment program for inclusive DHH pupils in the United States. Through observation of classroom activities, I attempt to ethnographically clarify what happens in co-enrollment classrooms. In particular, I focus on DHH pupil’s participation in classroom’s activities, describing the interaction between hearing and DHH pupils, the collaboration between regular teachers and teachers for DHH, and the relationships between signed and spoken languages. Two types of information flow were found in classroom discourses: (i) formal, single-track flow, such as the teacher talking to the whole class, and the teacher asking questions and the pupils responding to it; (ii) informal, multiple-track flow, such as the pupils murmuring spontaneously and simultaneously, and talking with each other locally. While the sign language interpreters mainly supported the first type of flow of discourse, the direct interactions between DHH and hearing pupils were found to necessary for the second type of information flow. Finally, I discuss how the learning would be constructed for DHH pupils in inclusive classrooms from a socio-cultural point of view.
Key words: education for deaf and hard-of-hearing, co-enrollment, inclusive education, signed language, classroom observation
