Deaf children are not hearing children who can't hear. Education in general, and education for deaf learners in particular, have gone through significant changes over the past three decades. And “change” certainly will be the buzz-word in the foreseeable future. The rapid growth of information and communication technology as well as progress in educational, psychological, and allied research fields have many scholars questioning aspects of traditional school concepts. At the same time, inclusive education has changed the traditional landscape of special education and thus of deaf education in ... More

Deaf children are not hearing children who can't hear. Education in general, and education for deaf learners in particular, have gone through significant changes over the past three decades. And “change” certainly will be the buzz-word in the foreseeable future. The rapid growth of information and communication technology as well as progress in educational, psychological, and allied research fields have many scholars questioning aspects of traditional school concepts. At the same time, inclusive education has changed the traditional landscape of special education and thus of deaf education in many if not all countries, and yet deaf children continued to lag significantly behind hearing peers in academic achievement. Parents and professionals are just now coming to recognize that there are cognitive, experiential, and social-emotional differences between deaf and hearing students likely to affect academic outcomes. Understanding such differences and determining ways in which to accommodate them through global cooperation must become a top priority in educating deaf learners. Through the participation of a very diverse set of scholars coming together to focus on a specific topic, this volume will take a broad view of learning and academic achievement, considering “the whole child.” This perspective captures the complexities and commonalities in the social, emotional, cognitive, and linguistic mosaic of which the deaf child is a part. It is only through such a holistic consideration of children developing within the context of communicative-social-educational settings that we can understand their academic potential.