Rethinking deaf learners' education: A human rights issue

Abstract

How can deaf children's health be promoted through education in schools? To what extent does deaf children's education benefit their state of health? Why is a broad-based approach bringing together Health for All, Education for All and Millennium Development Goals preferable to a single intervention strategy? Health and basic education are fundamental human rights. Though they are essential in sustainable human and social development, a majority-perhaps as many as 90%-of the 70 million deaf people in the world have never attended school and are therefore functionally illiterate. Only a few countries provide bilingual education in sign language(s) and oral language(s) for deaf children, and only in some schools. Why is this so? These excluded persons can only be reached through innovative approaches in which society as a whole and deaf community members in particular can fully and effectively participate and a wide range of different sectors can work together. Unless there is a radical change of perspective, the health and education will not be available to ALL, and therefore social inequalities will increase rather than decrease. This chapter is concerned with this and other topics related to health, education, bilingualism, sign languages, and the cultural identity of deaf communities.