Peer-to-peer Deaf Multiliteracies, 2017-2020

Zeshan, Ulrike (2021). Peer-to-peer Deaf Multiliteracies, 2017-2020. [Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Service. 10.5255/UKDA-SN-854728

The exclusion of deaf children and young adults from access to school systems in the developing world results in individuals and communities being denied quality education; this not only leads to unemployment, underemployment, low income, and a high risk of poverty, but also represents a needless waste of human talent and potential. To target this problem, this project extends work conducted under a pilot project addressing issues of literacy education with young deaf people in the Global South. Creating, implementing and evaluating our innovative intervention based on the peer teaching of English literacy through sign language-based tutoring, everyday real life texts such as job application forms, and the use of a bespoke online resource, enabled us to generate a sustainable, cost-effective and learner-directed way to foster literacy learning amongst deaf individuals. To reach further target groups and conduct more in-depth research, the present project extends our work to new groups of learners in India, Uganda, Ghana, Rwanda and Nepal, both in primary schools (ca 60 children in India, Ghana, and Uganda) and with young adult learners (ca 100 learners in interventions, plus ca 60 young adults in scoping workshops in Nepal and Rwanda).
In the targeted countries, marginalisation begins in schools, since many have no resources for teaching through sign language, even though this is the only fully accessible language to a deaf child. This project intends to examine how we can change some of the dynamics that contribute to this, by involving deaf individuals in the design of new teaching approaches, and by using children and young people's everyday experiences and existing literacy practices as the basis for their learning. Participants in such a programme not only develop English literacy, but "multiliteracies", i.e. skills in sign languages, technology, written English, gesture, mouthing, and other forms of multimodal communication. Developing a multilingual toolkit is an essential element of multiliteracies. Being 'literate' in the modern world involves a complex set of practices and competencies and engagement with various modes (e.g. face-to-face, digital, remote), increasing one's abilities to act independently. Our emphases on active learning, contextualised assessments and building portfolios to document progress increases the benefit to deaf learners in terms of their on-going educational and employment capacity.
Apart from the actual teaching and interventions, the research also investigates factors in existing systems of educational provisions for deaf learners and how these may systematically undermine and isolate deaf communities and their sign languages. Our analyses identify the local dynamics of cultural contexts that our programmes and future initiatives need to address and evaluate in order to be sustainable. One challenge we encountered in the pilot was the lack of trained deaf peer tutors. There is a need for investment in local capacity building and for the creation of opportunities and pathways for deaf people to obtain formal qualifications. Therefore, we develop training in literacy teaching and in research methods for all deaf project staff.
We also develop and adapt appropriate assessment tools and metrics to confirm what learning has taken place and how, with both children and young adults. This includes adapting the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) for young deaf adult learners and the 'Language Ladder' for deaf children so that we use locally-valid test criteria. To document progress in more detail and in relation to authentic, real life literacy demands we need to create our own metrics, which we do by using portfolio based assessments that are learner-centred and closely linked to the local curricula.

Data description (abstract)

This project on multiliteracies involved groups of deaf learners in India, Uganda, and Ghana, both in primary schools and with young adult learners. The Peer-to-Peer Deaf Multiliteracies project examined how some of the dynamics that contribute to learners’ marginalisation can be changed by involving deaf individuals in the design of new teaching approaches, and by using children and young people's lived experiences and existing multilingual-multimodal skills as the starting point for theme-based learning. The aim was for participants to develop not only English literacy, but "multiliteracies", i.e. skills in sign languages, ICT, written English, creative expression through drawing and acting, and other forms of multimodal communication. The data collection includes reports from classroom settings compiled by tutors and by research assistants, pre-and post-tests on language and literacy abilities with learners, samples from an online learning platform, and multimedia portfolios collected from learners. A total of 124 young deaf adults and 79 deaf primary school children took part in the research

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