Abstract a Deaf Way of Education
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ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: A DEAF WAY OF EDUCATION: INTERACTION AMONG CHILDREN IN A THAI BOARDING SCHOOL Charles Banks Reilly, Doctor of Philosophy, 1995 Dissertation directed by: Richard L. Hopkins, Associate Professor Department of Education Policy, Planning, and Administration, University of Maryland This is an ethnographic study of peer society in a boarding school for deaf children in the Kingdom of Thailand. The aim is to describe the students' after-hours interaction together and its function in their intellectual and social development. Deaf children tend to be institutionalized because they are unable to fully participate in the process of socialization conveyed by speech. Deafness is perceived as an inevitable loss to intellectual and social capacity. Considered to be uneducable in ordinary settings, they are sent to residential schools, which remain the predominant placement worldwide. The informal interaction among deaf students has largely been ignored or decried as impeding educational goals. Yet as their first opportunity for unhindered communication, the interaction among deaf students reveals their learning capacity and preferences. Aged six to nineteen years, the youth created educational activities to learn the sign language, in-group and societal norms, and worldly knowledge. They devised a complex social organization via a sign language that is little used or appreciated by teachers. They regulated their modes of interaction with each other according to relative skill in the sign language and mental acuity (a "social hierarchy of the mind"). This provided a pathway of gradually diversifying learning activities. The C confinement to a given status group fostered teaching and learning among youth of similar skill levels ( and provided an example of Vygotsky's "zone of proximal development.") Student leadership was split into elders who wielded authority and those few youth who were skilled and creative masters of signs. These "signmasters" were generators of new ideas, storytellers and interpreters. This honored role was aspired to by youngsters, and the skills had been consciously passed down. At the same time there was pressure, by some students and teachers, to supplant creative activities with regimentation. The study recommends that educators examine the overall school environment to assure that there is a "normal" balance of activity that is similar to other children in the society, and to consider the value of deaf students' interactions and sign language as resources in the classroom. A DEAF WAY OF EDUCATION: INTERACTION AMONG CHILDREN IN A THAI BOARDING SCHOOL ~n ~ru~6l!Eh'lA 11&Jri&Ja;r'j,{id~vi 11-J1'.'.(m~ !'.J'1,{f1'1,{ ~'V1'1,{ 1n 666'1: ~'YlTI'l"rnl 'i-m1d 6'1 u 1,-h; ' by Charles Banks Reilly Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Maryland in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 1995 C ,( -Po (:c '} Advisory Committee Associate Professor Richard Hopkins, Chairman/ Advisor Professor Carol Erring (Gallaudet University) Professor Barbara Finkelstein Associate Professor Daniel Huden Associate Professor Linda Valli '~ I © Copyright by Charles Banks Reilly 1995 Acknowledgments The Fulbright-Hays Foundation supported data collection in Thailand. I am graceful for the support of Mr. Kamol Thickamol, former Director of the Special Education Division of the Royal Thai Government. The National Association of the Deaf allowed the use of signs from the Thai Sign Language Dictionaries. My work in Thailand was sponsored by Oberlin Shansi Association from 1978-81 and by International Human Assistance Programs from 1981-85. Nipapon Wannuwin Reilly was an invaluable collaborator and showed how essential it is to enlist the insights of a person who has lived the experience being studied. As Chair of the research committee, Richard Hopkins was steadfast in helping me do justice to my own conception. Daniel Huden pointed out key literature. Barbara Finkelstein assisted with the proposal. Carol Erring supported my transition to a working researcher. Remi Clignet was extremely helpful in the research design and later revisions. Dr. Clignec's ongoing commitment to the improvement of chis study is deeply appreciated. Owen Wrigley helped me re-think my observations in light of the political aspects of Thai society. He broadened my chinking in many ways during our joint work with the Thai Deaf community. Paddy Ladd urged me to broaden my inquiry into the residential school experience. Sathaporn Suvunnus was my mentor during my stint in Thai schools. Lloyd Anderson urged me to find a constructive angle on the problem, and awakened my analytic powers through challenging conversation. Ray Rist was generous in his advice. Harry Wolcott shared his wisdom about writing up the study at a critical juncture in Bangkok. William Stokoe never wavered in his faith in my efforts from 1976 onwards. 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS Section Page Chapter I Background of the Problem ............................ 1 Educational response to deafness ................................................................ 7 The research problem ..................................................................................... 15 Chapter II Design of the Study .............................................. 19 Statement of the research questions .......................................................... 19 Review of Literature ...................................................................................... 20 Accounts of life in residential schools for the deaf..................... 20 The work of Evans and Falk ............................................................. 42 Socio-linguistic research in schools for deaf children ................ .46 Selection of the case ........................................................................................ 49 Significance of the study ............................................................................... 53 Limitations of the study................................................................................ 5 5 Researcher qualifications and resources ..................................................... 57 Data collection and sampling ...................................................................... 59 Chapter III The Thai Educational Milieu ................. 68 The school as a vehicle for teaching social values .................................... 70 Education for the deaf in Thailand ........................................................... 79 Expectations for the deaf Thai .................................................................... 82 C h a p t e r I V I n t e r a c t i o n a m o n g the S t u d e n t s ................ 8 8 Sent away and shut in: The isolation of boarding pupils ...................... 88 Physical containment. ........................................................................ 89 Detachment fron1 fan1ily ................................................................. 91 Limited access to information ......................................................... 93 Alienation from teachers .................................................................. 98 School structure and openings to interact ................................................ 108 "Toe the line in the morning" ........................................................ 109 After-hours activities .......................................................................... 113 Ill ~··· Educational activities created by students ................................................. 118 Negotiating the boundaries ............................................................. 123 A social hierarchy of the mind ..................................................................... 129 "Know-nothing" ................................................................................. 133 Becoming "mindful" ......................................................................... 140 Being "Smart" ..................................................................................... 144 "Numbskull" ........................................................................................ 148 Free-time Activities ........................................................................................ 150 Creative narratives .............................................................................. 152 Broadcasting ............................................................................. 166 Interpreting.............................................................................. 170 Participatory gatherings .................................................................... 173 Conversational circles ............................................................ 17 4 Verbal dueling .......................................................................... 179 Games and sports ..................................................................... 182 Patterns of Authority by Students .............................................................. 187 The relation of authority to creative initiative ....................................... 198 Chapter V Summary of Findings & Re comm endations ....................................................................................... 205 Summary of Findings .................................................................................... 205 Recommendations for education of deaf children ................................. 224 Justification of recommendations .............................................................