Academic, linguistic, social and identity development in hard of hearing adolescents educated within an ASL/English Bilingual/Bicultural educational setting for deaf and hard of hearing students

Abstract

Hard-of-hearing individuals currently possess an ambiguous status in the Deaf and Hearing worlds. Neither Hearing nor Deaf themselves, they often exhibit characteristics of both groups. Current educational policy maintains that the public school environment represents the best placement option for hard-of-hearing children. Yet, there is a large body of research which points to academic, linguistic and social difficulties in the mainstream. In addition, there is some evidence that hard-of-hearing individuals often experience confusion in their sense of personal identity in mainstreamed environments, upon recognition that they often cannot fully present themselves as a "Hearing" person, which is what is often expected of them. However, the literature suggests that hard-of-hearing people often gain an enhanced sense of self-identity and esteem upon learning of, meeting, and interacting with Deaf people. The placement of hard-of-hearing children in a school for the deaf, especially one offering an ASL/English Bilingual/Bicultural program, is one possible means of resolving the academic, linguistic, social and identity conflicts of hard-of-hearing individuals. However, this placement option is met with resistance by some who fear that advances in education, speech skills, or identification with Hearing people will be lost. The results of an ethnographic study of four hard-of-hearing adolescents educated within an ASL/English Bilingual/Bicultural program for deaf and hard-of-hearing children are presented. Aspects of the academic achievement, linguistic, social and identity development of these students are introduced and compared to both within-group and previous research findings. Implications of this research are discussed and strategies for further educational and personal growth of these students will be offered.