- Connections Between Best Practice in
General Education and Deaf Education.
Effective teachers of young children who are deaf and hard
of hearing and their families have a strong foundation in
principles of child growth and development (1) and family
system’s and family functioning (2). Admission to the
program requires coursework in early childhood education
covering birth through eight years of age. The
family-centered early education program design is grounded
in the practice guidelines endorsed by the National
Association for the Education of Young Children (3) (4) ,
DEC Recommended Practices in early intervention/early
childhood special education of the Council for Exceptional
Children – Division for Early Childhood (5), and
legislative guidelines outlined by IDEA, PL – 105-17 Part
C and Part B (1997). A Joint Committee of the American
Speech-Hearing and Language Association and the Council on
Education of the Deaf (6) provides guidelines for best
practice addressing the unique needs of infants and toddlers
who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families.
Guidelines developed by the National Association of State
Directors of Special Education in collaboration with
organizations promoting the education of deaf and hard of
hearing children (7), standards established by the Council
on Education of the Deaf in the parent infant and preschool
area (8), and Family-School Relationships: Concepts and
Premises (9), a document developed for the National Dialogue
on Family Involvement, greatly influence the philosophy and
direction of the family-centered early education
specialization.
- Connecting Local, National, and
Global Perspectives.
Local,
national and global perspectives provide an essential
context for preparing students for work with an increasingly
diverse population of families with young deaf and hard of
hearing children (10)(11). Effective professionals develop
interactions with families that reflect an understanding and
sensitivity to individual family and child characteristics,
community and cultural perspectives (12). Learning to build
relationships with families is an essential component of
preparation of family-centered early educators. These
connections with families promote both parent-professional
and parent-child relationships that in turn affect the child’s
overall development (13). Effective professionals are
advocates for families and young children by shaping public
policy and ensuring access to high quality services for
families and their children around the world. Awareness of
local, national, and international developments that affect
the provision of services to families with young children
who have special needs is essential to this leadership and
advocacy role.
- Connections to Tradition and
Innovation.
The
importance of early communication for children with hearing
loss and the essential role of their parents was recognized
as early as the mid seventeenth century (14). This tradition
of family involvement remains a cornerstone of the
preparation of family-centered early education specialists
today. New technologies and developments have made possible
the identification of hearing loss soon after birth,
enhanced opportunities to utilize hearing, and given new
insights into the language acquisition process. These
technologies have stimulated the development of innovative
approaches for working with families and infants with
hearing loss (15)(16)(17).
- Connecting Theories and Practice.
The Family-Centered Early Education specialization reflects
principles of a family-centered approach to early
intervention and early education and recognizes an
ecological model of learning and development in which the
processes that influence early learning and development are
a function of the interaction and interdependence of the
child, the child’s environment and the significant people
in the child’s life (18)(19). Developmental theories that
emphasize the importance of adults in the child’s
environment are integral to learning experiences throughout
the program. Program and practicum experiences support
principles and practices that promote the child’s
language, cognitive and social-emotional growth through
adult communicative and linguistic input and scaffolded
interactions (20)(21).
- Connecting Curriculum to Continuous
Learning Through Reflection and Inquiry.
Family-professional partnerships and interdisciplinary
collaboration are hallmarks of a family-centered early
education program. Together, families and professionals
share information and perspectives gained through team-based
assessment, observation and interactions that call for
reflection and continuous learning (22). Early education is
process-oriented and professionals must be responsive to the
changing needs of children and families (23).
1. Trawick-Smith, J. (1999).
Early childhood development: A multicultural perspective.
Saddle Ridge, NJ: Prentice Hall.
2. Turnbull, A., &
Turnbull, H.R. Third edition. (1997). Families, professionals,
and exceptionality. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice
Hall.
3. Bredekamp, S., & Copple,
C. (Eds.). (1997). Revised edition. Developmentally
appropriate practice in early childhood programs, Washington,
DC : NAEYC
4. Gestwicki, C. (1999).
(Second edition). Developmentally appropriate practice:
Curriculum and development in early education. Albany, NY:
Delmar Publishers
5. Sandall, S., McLean, M.,
Smith, B., (2000). DEC Recommended Practices in Early
Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education. Longmont, CO:
Sopris West.
6. ASHA-CED Joint Committee
(August, 1994). Service provision under the individuals with
disabilities education act-Part H, as Amended (IDEA-Part H) to
children who are deaf and hard of hearing ages birth through
36 months. ASHA, 117-121.
7. Easterbrooks, S., &
Baker-Hawkins, S. Eds. (1994. Deaf and hard of hearing
students: Educational service guidelines. Alexandria, VA:
National Association of State Directors of Special Education.
.
8. Comission on Education of
the Deaf (1988). Toward equality: Education of the deaf. DC:
U.S. Government Printing Office.
9. Bodner-Johnson, B. &
Sass-Lehrer, M. (1999). Concepts and premises in family-school
relationships. In Sharing Ideas. Pre-College National Mission
Programs, Gallaudet University, Washington, DC.
10. Christensen, K. (2000).
Deaf plus: A multicultural perspective. San Diego, CA: Dawn
Sign Press.
11. Gallaudet Research
Institute (January, 2001). Regional and National Summary
Report of Data from the 1999-2000 Annual Survey of Deaf and
Hard of Hearing Children and Younth. Washington, DC: Gallaudet
University.
12. Lynch, E., & Hanson, M,
Second edition. (1998). Developing cross-cultural competence.
Baltimore, MD: Brookes.
13. Kelly, J. & Barnard, K.
(1999). Parent education within a relationship-focused model.
Topics in early childhood special education, 19, (9), 151-157.
14. Moores, D.F. (2001). (Fifth
edition). Educating the deaf: Psychology, principles, and
practices. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
15. Yoshinaga-Itano, C. &
Sedey, A. (Eds.). (2000). Language, speech, and
social-emotional development of children who are deaf or hard
of hearing: The early years. The Volta Review, 100, (5).
Washington, DC: Alexander Graham Bell Association.
16. Spencer, P., Erting, C.,
& Marschark, M. Eds. (2000) The deaf child in the family
and at school. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
17. Bodner-Johnson, B. &
Sass-Lehrer, M. Eds. In preparation. Early education for deaf
and hard of hearing infants, toddlers and their families:
Integrating best practices and future perspectives. Baltimore,
MD: Brookes.
18. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979).
The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and
design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
19. Winton, P., McCollum, J.,
& Catlett, C. (1997). Reforming personnel preparation in
early intervention. Baltimore, MD: Brookes.
20. Bruner, J. (1990). Acts of
meaning. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
21. Vygotsky, L., (1978). Mind
in society: The development of higher order psychological
processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
22. Bredekamp, S., & Copple,
C. (Eds.). (1997). Revised edition. Developmentally
appropriate practice in early childhood programs, Washington,
DC : NAEYC
23. Sandall, S., McLean, M.,
Smith, B., (2000). DEC Recommended Practices in Early
Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education. Longmont, CO:
Sopris West. |
