Building bridges: Case studies in literacy and deafness

Abstract

Reading is an area that has concerned educators who work with students who are deaf or hard of hearing for many years. Studies from the 1960s to the present have concluded that students who are deaf read at lower levels than their hearing counterparts. The purpose of this study is to investigate the reading strategies used by students who are deaf, as they comprehend the written text. This study focuses on the strengths of individual students who are deaf, as they realize their potential as efficient readers and writers of a language they cannot hear. Qualitative case study research design initiated and guided this investigation. Through observations, interviews, and miscue analysis, I investigated two students' reading strategies. I was interested in the students' perspectives of their reading strategies, reading strengths, and thoughts about the reading process. Using constant comparative method of reading, organizing, and coding the data, an understanding of the students' reading strategies developed. A significant implication from this study is that students who are deaf use similar reading strategies as students with normal hearing in each of the three reading comprehension categories, predicting, sampling, and confirming. However, findings also and translation of the text from English to ASL, to assist their comprehension. Further research into each of these areas is warranted.