Gallaudet University Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center Creating a Multicultural School Climate for Deaf Children and Their Families Introduction

About the Authors Introduction Responding to Changing Needs Instructional Approaches Choosing Materials Leadership Issues Resources for a Multicultural School Climate Sharing Ideas Home Page

How well do you know your students? Most teachers can probably describe their students' academic and linguistic strengths and needs, but how much do we really know about their families, their backgrounds, traditions and values? As schools become more and more ethnically diverse, educators are likely to be less and less familiar with the experiences their students bring to the classroom. Rapid demographic changes are altering the face of education in the United States. There are indications that students who are deaf may be even more diverse than the general school-age population. An annual survey from the Center for Assessment and Demographic Studies at Gallaudet University in 1992-1993 indicated that approximately 40 percent of youngsters in programs for deaf students were from racial, linguistic, and ethnic backgrounds that differed from the majority white, English-speaking culture (Schildroth & Hotto, 1994). Given the growing diversity found in schools and programs for youngsters who are deaf, the term “minority deaf” is no longer useful (Jordan, 1990). “Multicultural deaf” better reflects the new reality. Multicultural deaf children and adults face the challenge of coping with at least three different cultures—their own ethnic or racial groups, the Deaf community, and the mainstream—still predominantly white, middle-class, and hearing.

Contact Ken Kurlychek with comments or suggestions about this web page. Last modified July 22, 1997 Copyright © 1997 All Rights Reserved Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center Gallaudet University 800 Florida Ave. NE Washington, DC 20002-3695