Representations of sibling relationships in young children’s literature

Children’s conceptions of what sibling relationships can be like may be influenced, in part, by the literature they read. This study examined the degree to which positive and negative dimensions of sibling relationships were portrayed in a sample of children’s books (n = 261). We also investigated how mothers and fathers were depicted when responding to sibling conflict. Results indicated that although children’s books often represent warmth and involvement between siblings, they rarely described children engaging in conflict management or relational maintenance activities. Parents were predominantly portrayed as responding to children’s conflict using controlling methods rather than techniques that might foster negotiation and problem solving. Characters who were middle children are under-represented in children’s literature. Results are discussed in terms of how educators can select, use, and adapt books in their efforts to help strengthen children’s sibling relationships.     

艰难的啮合——从文学作品看美国华人寻求文化身份的进程

长期以来 ,华人移民在美国社会寻求自己文化身份的历程也是他们不断融入美国社会的历程 ,这个融合走过了一段漫长而艰难的路程 ,在克服文化差异上的诸多困难后 ,今天 ,终于能够以多元文化的参与者成为美国社会多样性文化的组成部分之一。通过文学作品来回顾并梳理这一文化融合过程 ,对于今天中华传统文化在 2 1世纪如何复兴 ,以及以什么样的面目复兴的问题 ,都有着不可或缺的参考意义。     

聋校语文教学如何培养聋生的审美能力

聋校语文教材中呈现了多姿多彩的审美形态和审美范畴。在教学中要引领学生感受美,启迪学生鉴赏美,鼓励学生体现美。培养和提高聋生的审美能力。     

Deaf persons of asian american, Hispanic american, and african american backgrounds: a study of intraindividual diversity and identity

This article explores the ways in which deaf college students who are members of minority racial groups think about and describe their identities. In-depth, semistructured interviews with 33 deaf students of Asian American, Hispanic American, and African American background were analyzed for themes regarding the self-reported identities of respondents. Results suggest that each person is a constellation of many parts, some of which are stronger than others but any of which can be drawn out in response to a particular set of circumstances, resulting in a contextual and interactive model of identity. Four factors are described as central to this "intraindividual" model: individual characteristics, situational conditions, social conditions, and societal conditions. Additionally, the model includes a biographical component reflected in changes in identity that occur over time. Findings are discussed as they relate to identity theory. The article is concluded with recommendations for further research, as well as considerations for educators and counselors of deaf minority students.     

Hearing, deaf, and hard-of-hearing Israeli adolescents' evaluations of deaf men and deaf women's occupational competence

This study examined 74 deaf and hard-of-hearing (D/HH) and 91 hearing high school students regarding their own occupational aspirations and their evaluations of occupational competence (EOCs) for deaf adults. In the EOC, participants rated the suitability of 25 occupations (varying according to prestige and required level of communication) for deaf men and women. The results showed that occupations requiring intensive communication levels, regardless of their prestige, were evaluated as much less suitable for deaf individuals than were those requiring less communication. D/HH adolescents did not find highly prestigious occupations as suitable for deaf adults even when communication barriers were irrelevant. Both D/HH and hearing participants expressed biased evaluations of deaf women's competence, but no further evidence emerged for stereotypic attitudes. Higher educational aspirations among hearing adolescents, especially hearing males, correlated with a higher EOC of deaf adults. No such associations emerged for D/HH participants. No gender effects emerged. Implications of these outcomes for career development, especially for females, were discussed.     

Education of the deaf in nicaragua

Nicaragua now ranks as the third poorest country in the Western Hemisphere (Interamerican Development Bank [IDB], 1995). Occasionally educational improvement has been a national priority (Arrien & Matus, 1989). Usually, however, education rests at the lower end of a long list of national needs. The history of education in Nicaragua is marked by low teacher salaries, deteriorated physical plants, and scarcities of teaching materials (Arnove, 1994). Deaf education has been no exception. Teachers have been expected to learn empirically what deafness is and how to teach deaf children, to teach pupils who have had little or no language exposure before entering school, and to manage with the barest physical resources, all the while receiving only meager compensation. This article places education of the deaf in Nicaragua in a historical perspective, reports the results of a teacher survey, and discusses national policies that, so far, have had only indirect effects, but are likely to gain importance in the future.     

Egocentric language in deaf children

Egocentric language is a generalization of Piaget's egocentric speech concept (1926/1969) investigated by Vygotsky (1962). Behaviors of eight children ages 2 to 5 years with profound congenital deafness were analyzed using six classes of egocentric language: motor reaction activity, silent lips articulation, murmur, oral-facial mimics, body expression, and vocalization. No child had received oral or sign language training. All attended videotaped play sessions. Events in which children engaged in "dialogue" with themselves or a toy, while pursuing a specific solution, were observed. Such extralinguistic behavior moves the thinking process toward problem solving like that of hearing children. Consequently, teachers should not interrupt when a deaf child is playing with or signing or vocalizing to a toy, because this behavior may be the manifestation of a reflexive moment and the generator of a decision process fundamental for cognitive development. Vocalization by a deaf child does not indicate willingness to speak; it merely manifests symbolic reasoning. Silent lips articulation and oral-facial mimics have the same effect and can also be interpreted.     

Seeing the deaf in deafness

This article draws on some of the existing literature on the politics of identity and representation as related to minority group formation. It applies this to constructions of Deaf2 identity from a cultural and linguistic perspective and contrasts this with dominant constructions of Deaf people as disabled. It highlights a number of ways in which Deaf identity differs from disabled identity, demonstrating that the cultural and linguistic construction of Deaf people is a more useful tool for analysis. It raises questions aimed to examine the discourse on deafness and seeks further debate on how best the discourse can be progressed. The article raises issues related to the use of terminology and labeling in the field of deafness. It contends that the continued use of the word deafness is unworkable and should be more widely recognized as a social construct, which has current usage beyond the paradigm in which it was originally intended. The article concludes by recognizing the importance of diversity in identity formation, while simultaneously calling for an appreciation of the need to incorporate this diversity within wider theorizing, focused on commonality and cohesion in identity as a source of collective expression and political mobilization.     

Diversity of deaf identities

Social Identity Theory (Tajfel, 1981) posits that members of minority groups achieve positive social identity by (a) attempting to gain access to the mainstream through individual mobility or (b) working with other group members to bring about social change. Some people may use a combination of both strategies. Through the use of cluster analysis, the existence of three identities associated with these strategies was discerned in a sample of 267 deaf adults: culturally hearing identity, culturally deaf identity, and bicultural identity, each comprising about a third of the sample. A subset of 56 people were interviewed in depth; excerpts are presented to illustrate the identity types. Qualified support was found for the prediction that people with culturally deaf and bicultural identities would have higher self-esteem.     

建构主义理论在聋校课堂教学中的应用

近年来,源于西方的建构主义理论愈发被我国专家、学及教育界人士所注重。建构主义理论的提出,可以说是对传统认识论的一次挑战,它对我们转变教育观念、深化教学改革和开展课堂教学研究都有重要的借鉴和启示作用。特殊教育作为基础教育的有机组成部分,同样也要借鉴国外先进的教育理念和经验,并尝试应用到课堂教学实践之中,使之为教学改革服务。本对建构主义理论及其在课堂教学中的应用,试作初步的探讨。     

The feeling of knowing in deaf adolescents

Forty prelingually deaf high school students were asked to define words from the 1981 Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT). The students then ranked the words they had missed in terms of the difficulty they would expect to have in picking out a picture of the word; that is, they were asked to judge their "feeling of knowing" for the missed words. The PPVT was then given to the students and served as a measure of accuracy for their rank-order judgments. Two comparison groups were established: one was a group of hearing adolescents of the same age as the deaf students, and the second was a group of hearing students of the same reading level as the deaf students. The deaf students were unable to judge their feeling of knowing, but both hearing groups were able to do so.     

Studies of neural processing in deaf signers: toward a neurocognitive model of language processing in the deaf

The ability to comprehend and produce language stands as a defining characteristic of human cognition and enables the transfer of knowledge and culture within human society. A proper characterization of the human capacity for language is required for the development of interventions that may be used to assist those individuals who have failed to achieve, or who have lost competence in, language behaviors. For signed languages, models of competent language use are lacking. This lack of knowledge hampers the development of effective assessment measures for deaf children who may be experiencing learning problems beyond those confronting the normal deaf child. I discuss two research avenues that have begun to provide a window into the neural systems involved in sign language processing: studies of language disruptions in adult deaf signers who have suffered brain injury, and studies of functional brain imaging in normal deaf signers. This research provides a basis for the development of a comprehensive neurocognitive model of sign language processing.