SIGN BILINGUAL EDUCATION PRACTICE AS A STRATEGY FOR INCLUSION OF DEAF CHILDREN IN ZIMBABWE By PATRICK SIBANDA Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the subject Inclusive Education at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA Supervisor: PROF LDN TLALE November 2017 DECLARATION Name: Patrick Sibanda Student Number: 3202-576-9 Degree: Doctor of Philosophy of Education I declare that ‘SIGN BILINGUAL EDUCATION PRACTICE AS A STRATEGY FOR INCLUSION OF DEAF CHILDREN IN ZIMBABWE’ is my own original work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. November 2017 SIGNATURE DATE (Mr. P. Sibanda) UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA i DEDICATION To my mother Maria Sibanda, wife Grace Sibanda, my late brother Timothy Sibanda and all my sons and daughters. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My heartfelt thanks go to the following people who contributed immensely and variously towards my ability to accomplish this project: My supervisor, Professor Lloyd Daniel Nkoli Tlale, for his patience, outstanding scholarly advisement and warmly encouragement and dedication. The editor of this work, Doctor Isaac Mhute, for his linguistic and technical expertise. My nephew Gideon for his material and spiritual support. My immediate family for the social support and encouragement they rendered throughout my engagement with this project. My workmates, colleagues and friends in the fold of Printah, Thuli, Edmore, Nozi and Onias who kept urging me on even when my spirit was at its lowest ebb. Above all, the Almighty who gave me the life, the prayerful spirit, the urge, the power and the encouragement to venture into this thesis and to sustain up to its fruition. iii ABSTRACT Literature indicates that inclusion of deaf children in mainstream schools is a complex process and that it has eluded many deaf practitioners and education systems for a very long time. New research is, however, pointing to the potential for sign bilingual education as a viable strategy for improving inclusivity of deaf children in mainstream settings. The purpose of the current study was, therefore, to interrogate how sign bilingual education was used as a strategy for inclusion of deaf children in Zimbabwe. The study was premised on Cummins Linguistic Interdependence theory and adopted the mixed methods paradigm which is informed by the philosophy of pragmatism. The sequential explanatory design was utilized and participants were selected using random sampling for the quantitative phase and purposive sampling for the qualitative phase. Questionnaires, face-to-face and focus group interviews (FGIs) were used to elicit data from participants. These data were presented on SPSS generated graphs and analysed using frequency counts, percentages and inferential statistics based on the analysis of Spearman’s Rank Order Correlation Coefficient at 5% level of significance (p=0.005). Consequently, qualitative data were presented as summaries and direct quotes and analysed using thematic and content analyses. The results revealed that the conception, hence the practice of sign bilingual was limited and had challenges, but that it had the greatest potential benefits for inclusion of deaf children in mainstream schools in Zimbabwe. On these bases, the study recommended training of teachers and parents as well as staff development of the teachers and school administrators. The study also recommended adoption of best practices such as early exposure, co-teaching, co-enrolment, multi- stakeholder participation, turning special schools into resource centers for sign bilingual education and inclusion and embracing ICT. A further recommendation pointed to review of policy in line with best practices. Ultimately, the study proposed a framework for sign bilingual education as a strategy for inclusion of deaf children in mainstream schools in Zimbabwe. Key Words: Sign bilingual education, sign bilingualism, strategy, inclusion, deaf children, Deaf culture, Sign Language, co-teaching, co-enrolment, bimodal bilingual education, bilingual bicultural education iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION .......................................................................................................................................... i DEDICATION………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................................................... xii LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES .............................................................................................................. xiv LIST OF APPENDICES ............................................................................................................................. xv CHAPTER ONE ......................................................................................................................................... 1 THE STUDY AND ITS SETTING .................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY .................................................................................................... 1 1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ................................................................................................... 9 1.4 MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDY ................................................................................................. 10 1.5 RESEARCH QUESTION ............................................................................................................... 11 1.5.1 Sub-questions........................................................................................................................ 12 1.6.1 Aim ........................................................................................................................................ 12 1.6.2 Objectives .............................................................................................................................. 12 1.7 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ................................................................................................... 13 1.8 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................................. 13 1.8.1 Exploring the Conception of Sign Bilingual Education as a Strategy for Inclusion ............... 14 1.8.2 Rationale for Sign Bilingual Education as a Strategy for Inclusion ........................................ 15 1.8.3 International Best Practices of Sign Bilingual Education ...................................................... 18 1.8.4 The Theoretical Framework of Sign Bilingual Education as a Strategy for Inclusion ............ 20 1.8.5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND DESIGN ............................................................................. 24 1.8.5.1 The Research Paradigm............................................................................................................. 24 v 1.8.5.2 Research Design ................................................................................................................... 26 1.8.5.3 Population and Sample ........................................................................................................ 26 1.8.5.4 Instrumentation ................................................................................................................... 27 1.8.5.5 Data Collection Procedures, Presentation and Analysis ...................................................... 27 1.9 VALIDITY, TRUSTWORTHINESS AND RELIABILITY ..................................................................... 28 1.10 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS ...................................................................................................... 29 1.11 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY .................................................................................................... 29 1.11.1 Strategies for Overcoming the Limitations .......................................................................... 30 1.12 DELIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY ................................................................................................ 31 1.13 DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS ................................................................................................... 31 1.14 PRELIMINARY CHAPTER OUTLINE ......................................................................................... 33 1.15 CHAPTER SUMMARY ................................................................................................................ 35 CHAPTER TWO ...................................................................................................................................... 36 FOUNDATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES OF SIGN BILINGUAL .......................................... 36 EDUCATION AS A STRATEGY FOR INCLUSION ....................................................................................... 36 2.1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................