Deaf Education in
South AfricaClaudine StorbeckFulbright ScholarUniversity of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
South Africa - Facts
• Southern tip of Africa• 9 Provinces• Size – > than France,
Italy & Germany combined
• 35° south latitude (CT = distance from equator as Sydney and Los Angeles)
• Leading producer of gold, platinum, chromium and much of world’s diamond market
South Africa – The people
• 45 Million people• > 20 ethnic groups• 11 Official Languages• Predominantly
Christian• National Anthem has 5
languages
Africans78%
Whites10%
Coloureds9%
Asians3%
South African - Politics• South African Democracy is born in
1994• South Africa's national anthem
Nksi sikelel' iAfrikaMaluphakanyisw' uphondo lwayo,
Yizwa imithandazo yethu,Nkosi sikelela, thina lusapho
lwayo. Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso,
O fedise dintwa la matshwenyeho,
O se boloke, O se boloke setjhaba sa heso,
Setjhaba sa South Afrika - South Afrika.
Uit die blou van onse hemel,Uit die diepte van ons see,Oor ons ewige gebergtes,
Waar die kranse antwoord gee, Sounds the call to come together,
And united we shall stand,Let us live and strive for
freedom,In South Africa our land.
South African History
• Brief Timeline
Early Times
Colonisa- tion from Europe
Slavery abolished
Union Of SA
Apartheid State
Bannings & unrest
Tumultuous early 90’s
Decade of Democracy
1400 1652 1834 1910 1948-59 1960-89 1990-93 1994-2004
Various black peoples settle in South Africa
Hugenote Settlers arriveImporting Slaves from East Indies & Madagasc
.
Slavery abolished and The Great Trek
Union founded, after which the ANC is founded
Apartheid initiated in various forms
SA leaves commonwealth-republic, ANC armed struggle
ANC unbanned, Mandela released, armed struggle suspended,UN lifts sanctions
ANCwins 1st non-racial elections,Mandela 1st president of democracy, TRC, New Constitution, Thabo Mbeki, AU
South African Laws• 1996 - South African Constitution
• promote, & create conditions for the development & use of ... sign language
• 1996 - South African Schools Act• South African Schools Act, 1996
Chapter 2.6 No 4A recognised Sign Language has the status of an officiallanguage for purposes of learning at a public school.
• 1997 – Integrated National Disability Strategy
• 1997 - Language in Education Act• 2001 – White Paper 6
• Building an Inclusive Education System
Education in South Africa
Mainstream Education• Recently adopted an
Outcomes Based Education system (OBE)
→ Curriculum 2005
• Inclusion – broad philosophy as a reaction against apartheid and oppressive education
• Education for all• Equal Education for all• + Human rights
approach says – equal outcomes for all
Deaf Education• Teachers battle to
implement Outcomes Based Education system (OBE)
→ Curriculum 2005
• Inclusion: there is a false assumption that inclusion is bad or that all schools will close down
South African Deaf Community
1st school
The great debate begins
1st Deaf Clubs
National Association
SASL dictionaries
Deaf Leadership Conference
New directions
1863 1881 1923/4 1928/9 1980+92 1995 1998 2004
1st school for the Deaf in Cape Town, started by Irish nuns
Oralism formally adopted in SA due to the Milan conference
.
The 1st two Deaf Clubs initiated in Cape Town and Pretoria respectively
1st conference for workers in deafness, which was the precursor to the birth of the National Council for the Deaf
1980 “Talking to the Deaf” published and in 1990 the “South African Sign Language Dictionary” (6 volumes and hotly contested)
SANCD becomes DEAFSA (which is allowed membership of WFD), 1st Deaf director of DEAFSA elected
1st International Conference on Deaf Education
1st National DEAFSA Indaba
DEAFSA relaunches with new vibrant logo1st Deaf women elected as the Chair of DEAFSA
Deaf Education in South Africa
• 1.6 million Deaf people in SA
• 200 – 300 000 users of SASL
• 43 Schools for the Deaf• Religious roots• Historically racially
established• Residential schools • Language policies vary• 1/3 functionally
illiterate• 70% unemployed
How do we challenge the status quo…?
• Train Teachers of the Deaf (not yet compulsory)• Honours and Advanced Certificate level• Teachers reflect our population
Preparing our Teachers …
• Content Knowledge• Skills• Challenge their
philosophy, their paradigm …
• We acknowledge plural identities
• Deaf• hearing• Racial• Language• Gender• Religious• other
Research
• Train Deaf researchers to do research into SASL• Provide opportunities for training, sharing, growing• Empower
• Yet…. despite all we are doing as a Country and as a Deaf Community
• Decade of democracy leading to true transformation
• Policies and legislation are in place• Inclusive philosophy prevails• Lobbying has gone well
……. it seems as if we are not doing enough
What are the issues of concern?
• Why such high levels of illiteracy?• Why are most Deaf learners vocationally/skills
oriented?• Why do we allow our kids to be chanelled so
soon• Why is the distribution of success (h vs D) so
different?• Why are educational outcomes so different
(content and level)• Why is employment still a problem?
Why aren’t progressive policies implemented
• Perhaps we have not thought through the implications…?
• Perhaps we have not thought through the strategies (short, medium and long term)
• Perhaps we don’t have the resources and need an interim plan
• Perhaps we are just not implementing them…?
What does it mean to be a good teacher of the Deaf?
• Teacher efficacy• Communication skills• Effective and appropriate discourse• The correct knowledge, skills & attitudes
The unasked questions …
• Is Sign Language enough…?• Is Deaf Culture enough…?• Is Bilingualism enough…?• Why reject inclusion in favour of the status
quo?• Do we need a new theory…?• Is there a Deaf Pedagogy…?