Teachers’ Practices and Ideologies On Using Sign Language with Non-Deaf Children

It has been the writer’s experience and belief that using sign language can benefit a range of individuals with speech and/or expressive language impairment (SELI), in addition to deaf children.

Many studies have examined the benefits and practice of using sign language with deaf children. In contrast, fewer studies have examined the benefits and practice of using sign language with hearing children, especially in the New Zealand context. This thesis examines teachers’ practices and ideologies on using sign language with non-deaf children within New Zealand Early Childhood Education.

This study takes an appreciative inquiry approach into documenting teachers’ practices and beliefs regarding the use of sign language with preschool children who are not deaf. Data was collected from three early childhood centres in New Zealand. One is based in Wellington, an early intervention service for preschool children with speech and language impairments, and the other two sites are mainstream early childhood centres in Palmerston North and Auckland. Fifteen participants were involved in the study, including parents of hearing children, educational experts, a speech and language therapist trainer, and professional and paraprofessional ECE teaching staff. Drawing on data from observation, fieldnotes and semi-structured interviews, this study demonstrates that teachers see benefits of using sign language with non-deaf children in terms of supporting language and social development through multimodal communication. The official language status of NZSL is a factor motivating a choice to use NZSL rather than other forms of signing commonly promoted in a special education paradigm. Teachers in this study demonstrated strong motivation to include NZSL in the communication repertoire of children in ECE; however, they need support on how to implement NZSL practically in their practice.

In highlighting the presence of NZSL in ECE language practices, the study's findings also support the `Deaf community and government efforts to revitalise and normalise the use of NZSL in broader society.