Debbie B. Golos

Representations of Deaf Characters in Children's Picture Books.

Picture books can influence how children perceive people of different backgrounds, including people with disabilities whose cultures differ from their own. Researchers have examined the portrayal of multicultural characters with disabilities in childrens literature. However, few have specifically considered the portrayal of deaf characters, despite increased inclusion of deaf characters in childrens literature over the past two decades. The present study analyzed the portrayal of deaf characters in picture books for children ages 4-8 years. A content analysis of 20 childrens picture books was conducted in which the books were analyzed for messages linked to pathological and cultural categories. Results indicated that these books did not portray Deaf characters from a cultural perspective but, rather, highlighted aspects of deafness as a medical condition, one that requires fixing and that perpetuates stereotypes of deafness as a disability.

Deaf Children's Engagement in an Educational Video in American Sign Language.

Over time, childrens educational television has successfully modified programming to incorporate research-based strategies to facilitate learning and engagement during viewing. However, research has been limited on whether these same strategies would work with preschool deaf children viewing videos in American Sign Language. In a descriptive study, engagement behaviors of 25 preschool deaf children during multiple viewings of an educational video in ASL were examined. The video incorporated research-based interactive strategies to facilitate engagement while targeting vocabulary through ASL, fingerspelling, and English print. Each of 3 viewing sessions was recorded; videos were transcribed and coded for frequency of childrens movements, pointing, fingerspelling, and signing. Behaviors were analyzed for frequency within and across multiple viewings and by level of signing skills. It was found that each of these engagement behaviors occurred frequently throughout viewings and increased across multiple viewings regardless of a childs age or signing skills.

How Teacher Mediation during Video Viewing Facilitates Literacy Behaviors.

There is increasing support for using media products as early intervention tools for deaf children. Because deaf children are visual learners, products such as interactive DVDs and videos can be an effective supplement in the teaching of ASL and literacy skills to deaf children. While adult mediation during literacy activities has been shown to have a positive impact on deaf children’s early literacy skills, little is known about the effects of adult mediation of preschool deaf children’s interactions with educational media. The current study investigated whether preschool teachers (n = 3) fostered deaf children’s (n = 9) engagement during their repeated viewing of a literacy-focused educational video (in ASL). Descriptive statistics and t-tests were conducted to examine teachers’ and students’ literacy-related engagement behaviors during each day of viewing. In addition, students’ behaviors in the current study were compared to those of students in a previous study to determine whether children’s literacy-related behaviors differed according to the presence or absence of teacher mediation during video viewing. Results indicate that while children’s engagement behaviors increased without adult mediation, viewings with teacher mediation elicited even greater literacy engagement behaviors. These findings support the use of research-based educational media in ASL that provide strong literacy and language exposure for young deaf children.

Literacy Behaviors of Deaf Preschoolers during Video Viewing

A pressing concern in the education of deaf children is their lack of academic success as measured by literacy rates. Most deaf children finish high school reading below a fourth-grade level. Educational television programs have successfully fostered preschool hearing childrens emergent literacy skills. As for preschool deaf children, however, there has been only limited research on whether this medium can be effective. This study uses descriptive analyses to determine the type and frequency of literacy behaviors that preschool deaf children engage in while viewing an educational video in American Sign Language. Children were videotaped during three such sessions, and the videos were coded for literacy-related engagement behaviors. The results of this study indicate that preschool deaf children engaged in a variety of such behaviors regardless of age and ASL exposure and that these behaviors increased after multiple video viewings.

Developing Preschool Deaf Children's Language and Literacy Learning from an Educational Media Series

With the Increase in research on multiliteracies comes greater interest in exploring multiple pathways of learning for deaf children. Educational media have been increasingly examined as a tool for facilitating the development of deaf children’s language and literacy skills. The authors investigated whether preschool deaf children (N = 31) acquired targeted American Sign Language and literacy skills after viewing one video from an educational video series in ASL. Descriptive statistics were gathered and a split-plot ANOVA was conducted to determine whether targeted literacy scores increased from pretest to posttest and whether scores varied by baseline ASL skills. A significant improvement was found in the skills targeted in the video, which occurred regardless of the level of baseline ASL skills. The findings support the claim that learning ASL and literacy skills through educational media may benefit deaf children with varied levels of exposure to ASL.

Rethinking the portrayal of deaf characters in children's picture books.

Childrens literature provides the opportunity for children to see both representations of themselves and of others in print and in pictures. Not only can engaging with picture books develop key literacy and language skills and a love of reading, but reading (and/or being read) high quality books also has the potential to foster an appreciation and respect for oneself and others. However, sometimes the diversity that exists in the real world is not represented well—or at all—in books created for young children (Mendoza and Reese, 2001; Kama, 2004). In this article we will discuss the lack of, and critical need for, childrens books that portray Deaf1 characters from a cultural perspective. We will also provide examples, from a sampling of childrens picture books, of messages about deafness and deaf characters in text and illustrations (e.g., Golos and Moses, 2011; Golos et al., 2012). Finally, we will highlight the implications for both hearing and d/Deaf children as well as parents and educators. Typically, when people think about deafness, they think about a person with a disability, that is, someone who is unable to do something (i.e., hear). This represents a pathological perspective of deafness, which entails viewing deafness as a disability or as a condition that needs to be fixed with medical intervention (i.e., cochlear implants or hearing aids; e.g., Lane, 1992; Lane et al., 1996; Padden and Humphries, 2006). Deaf studies scholars suggest an alternative view of deafness from a cultural perspective, in which the deaf person is seen a member of a minority population, the Deaf community, rich with their own language (i.e., American Sign Language or ASL) and culture (i.e., Deaf culture) (e.g., Lane et al., 1996).

Supplementing an Educational Video Series with Video-Related Classroom Activities and Materials

Teachers of deaf children express concern over a lack of curricular materials appropriate for and beneficial to the deaf population, particularly for language and literacy development and in early childhood classrooms. In addition, more and more deaf children are attending classrooms in which their teachers may not be fluent in ASL. This, too, indicates a need for curricular resources that support and extend language and literacy instruction for deaf children. The current study examines the potential of classroom activities designed to supplement an educational video series in ASL. The participants included one teacher, six deaf children, and one child of a Deaf adult (Coda) in an early childhood classroom. Over the course of two weeks, the teacher showed the participants an educational video and implemented six supplemental activities, all of which were designed to promote a set of early literacy skills (e.g., vocabulary, knowledge of story elements, sequencing ability). Each activity was video-recorded and transcribed for children’s displays of literacy-related behaviors. The teacher also filled out a survey in order to provide feedback on the usability and effectiveness of the activities. The findings suggest that the children displayed many of the targeted skills during the classroom activities, and the descriptive statistics show higher mean scores in targeted skills following the classroom activities. Although they are exploratory, these findings suggest the potential benefit of incorporating such activities into early childhood classrooms.