Martin Atherton

A feeling as much as a place: leisure, deaf clubs and the British deaf community

A distinct and identifiable ‘deaf community’, comprised of people who view themselves as members of a social, cultural and linguistic minority, has been recognised for many years. One of the main ways in which deaf people joined together was as members of their local deaf clubs, where they shared their leisure time with others with similar experiences, interests and outlooks. These deaf clubs served as the social and cultural hubs for the deaf community, allowing deaf people to form personal and communal attachments that extended far beyond the physical spaces the clubs inhabited. The clubs allowed the transmission of shared culture, language, tradition and history amongst deaf people, and in doing so provided their members with emotional rewards that exceeded those of merely filling leisure time. A brief analysis of the activities and motivations of deaf club members will be offered to support the contention that engagement in the leisure opportunities provided by deaf clubs provided emotional and psychological attachment to a community as well as a physical space for these activities to take place. The term ‘deaf club’ was as important for the sense of community and belonging it engendered as it was as a place to spend leisure time.

Sport in the British Deaf Community

Deaf people are widely perceived as being disabled and consequently socially disadvantaged, particularly those who rely on sign language for communication. Profoundly deaf people in mainstream sport are a rarity, and at the highest levels only a few examples can be found throughout the history of professional sport. This apparent lack of participation only serves to reinforce the idea that deaf people are in some way incapable of taking part in little more than perfunctory sporting activity. However, this is not the case. Deaf people have been involved in a variety of sporting endeavours since the dawn of organized sport. In this article, the extent and diversity of deaf peoples involvement in sport will be outlined, drawing on a longitudinal study of the activities of deaf club members from across north-west England. The different sports their members engaged in, the extent of such activity and the importance of such involvement in bonding and maintaining communal identity among deaf people will all be demonstrated. In doing so, it is intended that the general perception of deaf people as being socially isolated, particularly in relation to sport, will be shown to be false.

Playing to the Flag: A History of Deaf Football and Deaf Footballers in Britain

deaf is used in two contexts: firstly, when referring to all deaf people in general (hence, deaf football); and secondly, when writing specifically about those deaf people for whom deafness means being unable to hear, rather than having any linguistic or cultural connotations. This group includes those people who refer to themselves as ‘deafened’, ‘hard of hearing’, ‘hearing impaired’ and other such labels.

Deaf People as British Sign Language Teachers: Experiences and Aspirations

Abstract Little research has been undertaken into the profession of British Sign Language (BSL) teaching, despite a huge increase in the number of BSL classes offered over the past twenty years. Following the introduction of Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills standards in 2007, BSL teachers working in ‘further education’ (FE) colleges were required to hold formal teaching qualifications for the first time. Therefore, it is timely to investigate the impact of these changes on the teaching of BSL in the five years since their introduction. This new framework offered the opportunity to greatly enhance BSL teaching through the development of professional skills among BSL teachers but the stark reality is that this has not occurred. This article draws on two research projects that investigated the teaching qualifications held by BSL teachers, their career and professional development aspirations and their views on the training opportunities currently available to deaf sign language users. The research highlighted that there is a need to improve access to relevant information, establish and strengthen peer support networks as well as to establish a designated career path for BSL teachers. Although there are a number of training programmes by which teachers can achieve these new minimum core requirements, very few are specifically tailored to the pedagogic needs of deaf people wishing to gain these qualifications. The potential impact of recent government proposals for teacher qualifications in the FE sector will also be addressed, together with the likely consequences for those wishing to train as BSL teachers.

‘What’s the sign for “Catch 22”?’: barriers to professional formation for deaf teachers of British Sign Language in the Further Education sector

In 2007, Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills standards (QTLS) were introduced for all teachers working in UK further education institutions, with the expressed aim of improving professional standards within the sector. British Sign Language (BSL) teaching is largely delivered by deaf native signers through evening classes at local FE colleges, but the majority hold no formal teaching qualifications. Therefore this initiative provided BSL teachers with an opportunity to enhance their skills and practice, but also presented a formidable barrier to achieving Qualified Teacher status. Two research projects undertaken by the University of Central Lancashire in 2009 and 2010 assessed the suitability of training courses designed to help FE teachers achieve these new qualifications, with particular emphasis on whether these courses meet the specific pedagogic needs of deaf learners. The shortcomings in training provision that were found illustrate the invidious position deaf learners find themselves in, on the one hand wanting to enhance their skills and qualifications whilst at the same time being effectively barred from doing so by a lack of adequate and appropriate training opportunities. This article highlights some of the experiences of deaf BSL teachers seeking to gain these awards and illustrates the ways in which the delivery of training courses fails on virtually every level to respond to the different learning requirements of sign language users.

Worth Saving: Disabled Children During the Second World War

abroad. Still no other country (including Britain, France, Poland or Japan) enacted a Great Terror on its own territory, with the exception of the Mongolian People’s Republic, where a Great Terror did take place by Stalin’s orders. Goldman states that the ‘Soviet Union in the late 1930s was a society threatened by external enemies. Fascism was ascendant in Germany, Austria, Italy, Hungary, and Spain, and Hitler’s armies were moving East’ and that therefore ‘the majority of Soviet citizens’ were convinced that ‘strong government action was necessary’ (314, emphasis added). Of course at the time of the Great Terror Hitler moved his armies west (to the Rhineland and Spain), not east (to Czechoslovakia, Poland and the Soviet Union). It was well after the beginning of the Great Terror that Hitler absorbed Austria. Stalin did send his military forces east (to the People’s Republic of Mongolia and Xinjiang). Moreover, it was not just the Soviet Union that was threatened by Hitler. France, Belgium, the Netherlands and other countries felt the danger as well. In particular, Poland was threatened by both Hitler and Stalin. YetWarsaw did not resort to a Great Terror. While Goldman’s book discusses interesting and illuminating case studies, unfortunately, the singularity of Stalin’s Great Terror is obscured in this book.

The Other Jules Rimet Trophy

The theft of the Jules Rimet Trophy in 1966 was just one of a number of stories to emerge from the competitions only appearance in England. Whist certain aspects of the story are well known, such as the trophys recovery from under a south London hedge by a dog, there was also a trail of subterfuge and clandestine negotiations that have never reached the public gaze. In this article, the full actions of the Football Association in arranging the manufacture of an illegal and unacknowledged replica will be outlined. The theft of the Jules Rimet Trophy serves as a starting point, but even after the trophy was safely returned, the FA continued the production of the replica, without the knowledge of permission of its owners, FIFA. Based on official records of all the various parties involved, this article reconstructs a part of football history for the first time and raises several questions concerning the motives and actions of those involved.