Music education for the deaf: Characteristics, barriers and successful practices

Abstract

This work aimed at mapping the international scientific production concerning music education for the deaf, or musical notation for the deaf, in the ISI Web of Knowledge/Web of ScienceTM, one of the main databases there is. Its temporal cut encompassed the years from 1956 to 2017. The study tried to identify the main articles concerning the topic with a focus on the analysis of the characteristics, barriers and successful practices of such type of education. A bibliometric study was used and it identified 217 articles whose data were processed through the HistCiteTM software. The results pointed to the identification of the main journals, the most cited articles and the main authors in the area. Among the main characteristics in music education for the deaf, it was possible to see that it must be centered on melodic repetition, and that the presence of the family is essential in this process. The lack of listening skills and communication difficulties are the main barriers. The realization of interviews for the definition of criteria for the milestone of music education for the deaf, the creation of development inventories and the cognitive and auditory assessment are the main practices developed in the area. Thus, it was possible to imply that, along the period studied, a focus on the researches led the studies concerning the deafness issue in itself to the role of music education in the acquisition of basic skills by the deaf, as well as to studies on diversity and prejudice related to the deaf person. Likewise, it was possible to see that, concerning the role of the school, of the teacher and of the pedagogical infrastructure around music learning, the studies that were developed addressed deaf parents, children and adults as the main actors.