Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education - current issue

Academic Status and Progress of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students in General Education Classrooms

Antia, S. D., Jones, P. B., Reed, S., Kreimeyer, K. H. — 2009-06-10

The study participants were 197 deaf or hard-of-hearing students with mild to profound hearing loss who attended general education classes for 2 or more hours per day. We obtained scores on standardized achievement tests of math, reading, and language/writing, and standardized teacher's ratings of academic competence annually, for 5 years, together with other demographic and communication data. Results on standardized achievement tests indicated that, over the 5-year period, 63%–79% of students scored in the average or above-average range in math, 48%–68% in reading, and 55%–76% in language/writing. The standardized test scores for the group were, on average, half an SD below hearing norms. Average student progress in each subject area was consistent with or better than that made by the norm group of hearing students, and 79%–81% of students made one or more year's progress annually. Teachers rated 69%–81% of students as average or above average in academic competence over the 5 years. The teacher's ratings also indicated that 89% of students made average or above-average progress. Students’ expressive and receptive communication, classroom participation, communication mode, and parental participation in school were significantly, but moderately, related to academic outcomes.

Toward an Equal Level of Educational Attainment Between Deaf and Hearing People in Sweden?

Rydberg, E., Gellerstedt, L. C., Danermark, B. — 2009-06-10

Various educational reforms in Sweden have resulted in a formally equivalent educational system for deaf and hearing pupils. Has this resulted in equal levels of educational attainment? This article compares 2,144 people born between 1941 and 1980 who attended a special education program for the deaf and 100,000 randomly chosen individuals from the total population born between 1941 and 1980. Data consist of registered information about the individuals in the year 2005. Results demonstrate that the deaf population has a lower level of educational attainment than the reference population. Women have a higher level of educational attainment than men, and younger people have a higher level than older people in each population. Neither sex, age category, nor immigrant background accounts for the variance in the level of educational attainment between the populations. The educational reforms have not been sufficient to reduce the unequal level of educational attainment between deaf and hearing people.

Predicting Academic Success Among Deaf College Students

Convertino, C. M., Marschark, M., Sapere, P., Sarchet, T., Zupan, M. — 2009-06-10

For both practical and theoretical reasons, educators and educational researchers seek to determine predictors of academic success for students at different levels and from different populations. Studies involving hearing students at the postsecondary level have documented significant predictors of success relating to various demographic factors, school experience, and prior academic attainment. Studies involving deaf and hard-of-hearing students have focused primarily on younger students and variables such as degree of hearing loss, use of cochlear implants, educational placement, and communication factors—although these typically are considered only one or two at a time. The present investigation utilizes data from 10 previous experiments, all using the same paradigm, in an attempt to discern significant predictors of readiness for college (utilizing college entrance examination scores) and classroom learning at the college level (utilizing scores from tests in simulated classrooms). Academic preparation was a clear and consistent predictor in both domains, but the audiological and communication variables examined were not. Communication variables that were significant reflected benefits of language flexibility over skills in either spoken language or American Sign Language.

The Nature and Efficiency of the Word Reading Strategies of Orally Raised Deaf Students

Miller, P. — 2009-06-10

The main objective of this study was to unveil similarities and differences in the word reading strategies of orally raised individuals with prelingual deafness and hearing individuals. Relevant data were gathered by a computerized research paradigm asking participants to make rapid same/different judgments for words. There were three distinct study conditions: (a) a visual condition manipulating the visual–perceptional properties of the target word pairs, (b) a phonological condition manipulating their phonological properties, and (c) a control condition. Participants were 31 high school and postgraduate students with prelingual deafness and 59 hearing students (the control group). Analysis of response latencies and accuracy in the three study conditions suggests that the word reading strategies the groups relied upon to process the stimulus materials were of the same nature. Evidence further suggests that prelingual deafness does not undermine the efficiency with which readers use these strategies. To gain a broader understanding of the obtained evidence, participants’ performance in the word processing experiment was correlated with their phonemic awareness—the hypothesized hallmark of proficient word reading—and their reading comprehension skills. Findings are discussed with reference to a reading theory that assigns phonology a central role in proficient word reading.

Suprasegmental Characteristics of Speech Produced during Simultaneous Communication by Inexperienced Signers

2009-06-10

This study investigated suprasegmental variables of syllable stress and intonation contours in contextual speech produced during simultaneous communication (SC) by inexperienced signers. Ten hearing inexperienced sign language users were recorded under SC and speech-alone (SA) conditions speaking a set of sentences containing stressed versus unstressed versions of the same syllables and a set of sentences containing interrogative versus declarative versions of the same words. Results indicated longer sentence durations for SC than SA for all speech materials. Vowel duration and fundamental frequency differences between stressed and unstressed syllables as well as intonation contour differences between declarative and interrogative sentences were essentially the same in both SC and SA conditions. The conclusion that prosodic rules were not violated by inexperienced signers in SC is consistent with previous research indicating that temporal alterations produced during SC do not involve degradation of other temporal or spectral characteristics of English speech.

Spoken Language Scores of Children Using Cochlear Implants Compared to Hearing Age-Mates at School Entry

Geers, A. E., Moog, J. S., Biedenstein, J., Brenner, C., Hayes, H. — 2009-06-10

This study investigated three questions: Is it realistic to expect age-appropriate spoken language skills in children with cochlear implants (CIs) who received auditory–oral intervention during the preschool years? What characteristics predict successful spoken language development in this population? Are children with CIs more proficient in some areas of language than others? We analyzed language skills of 153 children with CIs as measured by standardized tests. These children (mean age = 5 years and 10 months) attended programs in the United States (N = 39) that used an auditory–oral educational approach. Age-appropriate scores were observed in 50% of the children on measures of receptive vocabulary, 58% on expressive vocabulary, 46% on verbal intelligence, 47% on receptive language, and 39% on expressive language. Regression analysis indicated that, after controlling for the effects of nonverbal intelligence and parent education level, children who received their implants at young ages had higher scores on all language tests than children who were older at implantation. On average, children with CIs performed better on certain language measures than others, indicating that some areas of language may be more difficult for these children to master than others. Implications for educators of deaf children with CIs are discussed.

Telehealth and the Deaf: A Comparison Study

Wilson, J. A. B., Wells, M. G. — 2009-06-10

Within the deaf population, an extreme mental health professional shortage exists that may be alleviated with videoconferencing technology—also known as telehealth. Moreover, much needed mental health education within the deaf population remains largely inaccessible. Researchers have warned that the deaf population may remain underserved if significant changes do not take place with traditional service delivery methods. This article evaluated the efficacy of telehealth in teaching psychoeducational objectives, with special emphasis given to its application to the deaf population. Results indicate that telehealth can be regarded as an efficacious and cost-effective option in delivering health care to the deaf population. Participants also indicated satisfaction with the telehealth technology. The use of printed transcripts for educational purposes is encouraged given the significant findings in this article. The findings also have implications for the literature on single-session interventions.

Examining the Hearing Line

Searls, J. M. — 2009-06-10

Lend-Me 50 Dollar, Don't-Mind?

Poor, G. S. — 2009-06-10

In Their Own Words

Bowen, S. K. — 2009-06-10

The Unspoken Story

Hardy-Braz, S. — 2009-06-10

Erratum

2009-06-10