Exploring the Feasibility of Game-Based Tangible Resources in the Teaching of Deaf Preschoolers and their Hearing Peers

Abstract

In general, deaf education is a relatively neglected field, which needs attention, if societies want to ensure that schools are inclusive spaces, where learning is accessible. The present paper supports the development of a game-based tangible resource for deaf preschoolers, through co-creation and participatory action research, operationalized by the inclusion of teachers and educators in the process. Two case studies were developed, one quantitative survey and five focus group co-creation sessions, involving Portuguese sign language teachers, special education teachers, and teachers with only hearing students. Twenty-four teachers and educators answered the online survey and 19 participated in the focus groups. The results obtained in this study reinforce the need for more pedagogical materials, accessible for deaf children and can support the discussion around co-creation, participation, and representation as potential strategies to ensure it. The broad discussions raised by teachers and educators about the specificities of the educational needs of deaf children, while reinforcing school as still a disabling environment, can also support this and future approaches around accessibility, through proactive and digital inclusion-driven frameworks.