Two hundred and fifty years ago, L'Epée and Heinicke were engaged in a disagreement over the role of signs in the education of deaf students, with L'Epée supporting both natural and methodical signs and Heinicke advocating for an oral method without a manual component. This was the beginning of the oral/manual controversy. This controversy set a…

In his article in an "American Annals of the Deaf" special issue that also includes the present article, Grushkin (EJ1174123) divides his discussion of a written sign system into three basic parts. The first presents arguments against the development of a written form of American Sign Language; the second provides a rationale…

This essay is based on a keynote address, "A Tour of the Horizons," presented to the 2012 annual conference of the Association of College Educators/Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ACE/DHH), held in Atlantic Beach, Florida.

The study of Deaf epistemologies is in a nascent stage relative to, e.g., the study of feminist or African American epistemologies. It has only recently begun attracting the widespread attention it deserves. The present article addresses Deaf epistemologies as they relate to the sometimes conflicting trends in American society and education. In a…

The major concept of epistemology--or epistemologies--is discussed, as well as related terms such as "paradigm" and "science". Also covered are two broad paradigms, the clinical and the cultural, that seem to drive theorizing, research, and practice regarding individuals who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing. The two paradigms emanate from different…

Five issues regarding the introduction of interpreters to the classroom are addressed: access to interpreters; training of interpreters for educational settings; the role of educational interpreters; the interpreting code of ethics; and regular evaluation. (CL)

Code switching (between oral and manual communication ) was examined with seven prelingually deaf adults. Deaf signers with deaf parents who learned American sign language (ASL) at an early age evidenced the most code switching behavior and the most English-like signed segments. Early signers with hearing parents were least likely to vary from…

Describes the development of a sign that was understood only by certain members of a group. The stages of evolution are studied from its original gross pattern to a refined, simpler sign. The sign had only two years to develop and was influenced by phonological and social-environmental constraints. (PJM)

This article reflects on issues in educational placement, alternative communication modes, and curriculum decisions for educating deaf children. Recent trends and conflicts are viewed as interrelated challenges with implications for the future of education of the hearing impaired. (PB)

This article explores three controversial issues in the deaf community: genetic engineering, cochlear implants, and high stakes testing for students. It is argued that while some argue high stakes testing raises the expectations for students with deafness, it may leave many students with deafness without high school diplomas. (Contains…

This 3-year study, with 150 deaf children, found that 2 sets of 4 tests accounted for 64 percent of variance in both reading and writing skills for subjects with deaf parents. For subjects with hearing parents, five tests accounted for 77 percent of variance in reading, but only two tests accounted for 49 percent of variance in writing. (DB)

Responding to Johnston's projections for the future of Australian Sign Language (Auslan), I analyzed school enrollments in American educational programs and found similar trends. There are fewer deaf and hard of hearing children in school now than twenty years ago, with the largest decline, approximately 50 percent, among children with profound…

Programs in New Orleans, Louisiana, St. Paul, Minnesota, and Seattle, Washington are subjects of the report on efforts to identify components necessary for the development and maintenance of successful postsecondary vocational technical programs for hearing impaired (HI) students. Introductory materials provide a historical perspective on the…

Two groups (N=65 each) of congenitally deaf teenagers divided according to hearing/deaf parents were assessed for three measures of communicative fluency and two measures of English grammar/structure. High correlations were found between reading and the English grammar measures. Fluency in American Sign Language was not correlated with reading for…