Muñoz Baell, Irma María, Álvarez-Dardet, Carlos, Ruiz-Cantero, María Teresa, Ferreiro Lago, Emilio, Aroca Fernández, Eva
Looking inside for good practice in Deaf bilingual education: a participatory SWOT analysis
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10045/25583
DOI: 
ISSN: 
Abstract: 
Inclusive education may be defined as a process of identifying any barriers within
and around the school that hinder learning, and reducing or removing these barriers
as part of a wider strategy to promote an inclusive society. Deaf bilingual practices
are consistent with more inclusive and equitable practices in the education of Deaf
children; however, the practice of Deaf bilingual programmes varies across the
countries and within societies and it seems that there remain gross imbalances
throughout the regions of the world. Spain has historically played a very active role
in the provision of education for Deaf people, and has also been one of the first
countries to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN,
2006) and develop a National Action Plan of Human Rights (2008) within the
European context. This paper presents a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities and Threats) analysis undertaken to identify, from the point of view
and participation of insiders, those internal and external factors around current
existing Deaf bilingual practices in Spain which promote or prevent the processes
through which more inclusive educational provision for Deaf children can be
successfully implemented and good practice promoted. 11 schools with leading Deaf
bilingual initiatives for Deaf children and a regional department of education were
selected to conduct the SWOT analysis facilitated through the nominal group
technique. A Facilitation Team – comprising three university researchers and two
members (one of them Deaf) of the Spanish National Confederation of Deaf People –
worked together throughout all the phases of the study using a participatory
approach to research. 17 Deaf and hearing professionals participated in the analysis.
To enable full access and on-going participation of Deaf participants, Spanish Sign
Language translations and interpreting were used throughout the whole process.
Our main conclusion is that awareness and understanding of these four internal and
external inter-related factors are essential to assist educational communities to
understand, practice and review ways of developing more inclusive practices within
the current Deaf bilingual education school experiences in Spain, and can provide the
starting point upon which policy-making and further research could be built. The
study also highlights the importance of moving to a more participatory approach to
research in the area of education of d/Deaf children and explores ways in which
strategic planning can provide a practical and pragmatic tool for understanding and
decision-making in Deaf bilingual education.
Keywords:Deaf children, Inclusive bilingual education, Health promotion, Language policy, Community participation, Strategic planning, SWOT analysis, Health, Human rights, Disability, Accesibility, Communication, School, Sign language
info:eu-repo/semantics/conferenceObject