MESHGuides

International law and the right to adequate language provision, quality teacher education and full access to learning

The Salamanca Statement

The education experience of deaf children varies greatly in the Global South. Many deaf children are likely to start primary school with no language or limited language skills. Deaf children who attend mainstream settings may have very limited access to signed communication and/or methods that support optimal use of hearing aids. Deaf learners  who can attend a specialist setting may be more likely to access learning through sign language, regardless of their level of deafness, due to the lack of access to hearing aid provision.

Pillay, M., Tiwari, R., Kathard, H. et al. Sustainable workforce: South African Audiologists and Speech Therapists. Hum Resour Health 18, 47 (2020). 

Murray J. J., Snoddon, K., De Meulder, M. & Underwood, K.  (2020) Intersectional inclusion for deaf learners: moving beyond General Comment no. 4 on Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 24:7, 691-705, DOI: 10.1080/13603116.2018.1482013 

Featured in Publications 

Deaf Education Beyond the Western World

• Bailey M & Owen A (2004) Deaf Education Abroad. Talk With Sign Books Ltd.
• Datuin G, Garcia W (1976) People of the Silent World.  Philippine Association of the Deaf. 
• De Meulder M, Murray J, McKee R (2019)  The Legal Recognition of Sign Languages, Advocacy and Outcomes Around the World,   MultiLingual Matters.
• Knoors H, Brons M, Marschark M (2019) Deaf Education Beyond the Western World. Oxford Press University.

2017 Supporting literacy, numeracy and well-being for deaf children in low-resource environments poster at Positive Future in Deaf Education: Optimising Outcomes conference in 2017.  

• Akram B, Bashir R  Special Education and Deaf Children in Pakistan: An Overview. Journal of Elementary Education Vol.22, No. 2 pp.33-44
•  Amoako S (2019) Sixty Years of Deaf Education in Ghana (1957-2017). Commun Disord Deaf Stud Hearing Aids 2019, 7:1. DOI: 10.4172/2375-4427.1000191
• Asonye E, Asonye, E-A, Edward M (2018) Deaf in Nigeria: A Preliminary Survey of Isolated Deaf Communities. Sage Open.  

There is a dearth of academic research in many low-and-middle income countries. However, there is a number of publications that reflect the grassroots practice of professionals involved in deaf education.