Teachers’ experiences in teaching deaf students at the Ashanti school for the deaf, Jamasi

Abstract

Teachers serve a very crucial role to every educational development. Their experiences can influence right educational policies for the entire educational system. This study aimed to explore teachers’ experiences in teaching the deaf at the Ashanti School for the Deaf. Following the principle of saturation data was gathered from 14 teachers through a face-to-face interview. The collected data were analysed thematically. The study found that not all teachers posted to the school for the deaf had training on how to teach the deaf. Inservice trainings which could have served as an alternate means to offer teachers with missing skills for deaf education was again found missing or out of focus. Further findings indicates that teachers found the teaching of deaf students to be very difficult, exhausting, and time-consuming, again since GhSL is limited in terms of vocabulary using it to teach every topic to the deaf become a hurdle for teachers of the deaf. Despite the stressful experiences in deaf education, teachers do not get any form of external motivation. Furthermore, the findings from the study revealed that teachers found various strategies including; first winning the attention of the deaf student before lesson commence, using activitybased method, collaborating with both teachers and students to be much effective in deaf education. Moreso, the study indicates that teachers for the deaf encounter some challenges in their endeavors to educate the deaf among these noted by teachers were rigid curriculum, inattentiveness among the deaf students and lack of teaching and learning materials. The findings from the study shows that most teachers for the deaf do not support inclusive education for the deaf base on their experiences. The findings clearly suggest that deaf education is less prioritized on government agendas. The long-term effect might be that the already insufficient professionals for deaf education might leave the field. Therefore, the study recommend that Special Education Divion under the Ministry of Education should develop a policy on deaf education. The policy should be clear on who qualifies to teach in the school for the deaf school. incentives to retain teachers in the school for the deaf should be outline in the policy. Also, the government as well as the public should be educated on the dynamics in deaf education. This should be done by SPED together with GNAD. In doing so the government should be made to understand that deaf education is different from general education. Hence, allocations of resources including teaching and learning materials should be done to reflect such understanding.