Teaching Profession, Preparation for

Deaf Education Teacher Preparation Programs

Deaf education teacher preparation (DETP) programs exist in 37 of the 50 U.S. states as of 2014. Largely housed within university settings, DETP programs are often part of a college, school, or program for education, but are sometimes found within departments of psychology and/or counseling, encompassing communication disorders, linguistics, or other related fields.

DETP programs may specifically embrace a bilingual-bicultural or a listening–spoken language approach to Deaf education, but most belong to a category of “comprehensive programs” that vary coursework in order to prepare teachers who can work in a range of school settings. Comprehensive programs may include coursework in speech pathology as well as American Sign Language (ASL) and even some synthetic communication systems (e.g., cued speech or Signing Exact English). In 2002, Jones and Ewing noted that 2% of Deaf education programs reported an oral-aural approach, 10% reported a bilingual-bicultural approach, and 93% reported a total communication or comprehensive philosophy. Programs that specify their approach to instruction align the content and focus of their coursework to prepare teachers to conceptualize deafness and its implications for teaching and learning in specific ways.

University programs with a listening–spoken language orientation emphasize coursework in audiology, aural rehabilitation, and speech development in order to prepare teachers to work in schools for the deaf with an oral philosophy, in public school settings with oral policies, and/or in therapeutic settings with children who have cochlear implants. They specialize in instruction that takes hearing levels and speech development into consideration.

On the other hand, bilingual-bicultural programs emphasize ASL, Deaf Studies, and Deaf culture, and often require an indication or specific level of sign language proficiency. Bilingual-bicultural programs prepare educators to work in schools for the deaf with a bilingual-bicultural or total communication philosophy, as well as public school settings where students use sign language to communicate. The emphasis in these programs is on (second) language acquisition and taking both [Page 947]language experience and cultural experiences into account when designing instruction.

The majority of DETP programs advertise a comprehensive approach, as changing demographics, as well as recent research, have demonstrated the need for teachers to be prepared to work in a range of settings and with an increasingly diverse range of learners. For example, the inclusion of more ASL courses within DETP programs was prompted by a range of studies that have demonstrated associations between fluency in ASL and reading achievement. On the other hand, the emergence of cochlear implant technology, and the concurrent rise in its use, has prompted a focus on the mechanics of speech and hearing, as well as instructional considerations for children using cochlear implants, within DETP programs.

The Content of Preparation Programs

Most DETP programs claim a focus on language and literacy, yet there is evidence from within and outside of Deaf education settings that teacher content knowledge, as well as the number of postsecondary science and mathematics courses taken by the teacher, has been correlated with higher student achievement in the sciences. In the late 1990s, Pagliaro surveyed preservice and inservice deaf educators to examine their preparation to teach mathematics. She concluded that there was an reveal insufficient level of mathematics preparation among Deaf education teachers, especially at the high school level.

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