Swedish Educators Visit PCNMP

By Shawn Mahshie

Distinguished Swedish educators Gunilla Christersson and Siv Dahlen visited Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center in September as part of a national tour of U.S. schools. Their aim was to learn more about findings and strategies at selected schools where the focus of research and teaching are compatible with Sweden's goal of graduating literate, high-achieving, bilingual adults who are full participants in both deaf and hearing societies, as well as in their own families.
Christersson and Dahlen discussed issues in literacy, language assessment, and technology with Lynne Erting, lead teacher for Parent Infant/Preschool, , literacy teacher/specialist, , ASL/Deaf Culture/Multicultural coordinator, Shawn Mahshie, managing editor, and David Schleper , literacy coordinator from Pre-College; and Cynthia Bailes, assistant professor in the Department of Education, Dr. Judith Mounty, Powrie V. Doctor Chair of Deaf Studies, and Dr. Cynthia King, chair of Educational Foundations and Research, from the University.
The Swedish educators' visit ended with a discussion with Dr. Katherine Jankowski, director of the demonstration schools, concerning teaching methods and results for deaf students in Sweden. "Their perspectives on literacy development in deaf and hard of hearing children and their years of experience approaching these children from a bilingual perspective adds fresh insight to our understanding," Jankowski said.
Christersson and Dahlen have team-taught for many years and developed the successful Adam's Bok series, which has had a significant impact on the implementation of bilingual education in Sweden. The series is comprised of a text, video, and teachers' manual designed to introduce written Swedish to young deaf children through weekly stories about a deaf child and his classmates and family. The stories are presented in both Swedish and Swedish Sign Language, with guidance for teachers about how to utilize the lessons to promote literacy.
Sweden passed a law in 1981 recognizing Swedish Sign Language and supporting the goal of bilingualism for all deaf children. However, the widespread acceptance bilingual education enjoys among teachers and administrators, according to Christersson, has been gained gradually as teachers have reached their own conclusions through opportunities for in-depth study of sign language grammar. Educators in Sweden have also discovered that an understanding of the grammar of their own language, analyzed and explained from the perspective of a person who is learning it as a second language rather than as a native language from infancy, is a critical ingredient for success.
The visitors explained to Jankowski that they are still working to improve results with certain groups of children, especially those from other cultures whose families recently immigrated to Sweden (now comprising 35 percent of the population.) They were particularly impressed with the support provided to minority families through Pre-College's new Shared Reading and Family Math programs. Finally, they discussed Sweden's success with larger class sizes and teams of teachers who also focus on research. An important goal is to decrease dependence on adults in the classroom and to promote self-directed thinking and cooperative interaction among students.

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Last modified February 24, 1998
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Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center

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