Itinerant Teachers of Students who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing:: Their Beliefs and Practices for Developing Literacy

This qualitative study examines the beliefs about and the teaching practices used by itinerant teachers of deaf and hard of hearing students (DHH) attending general education classrooms in public schools. There is little information on the teaching practices used with this group of students, though it is a population that teachers of DHH will likely serve. Since 1977, there has been an increase in the number of DHH students served in general education classrooms in public schools. The 1999 Annual Survey of DHH Children and Youth (2000) reported that 73% of DHH students were served by their home schools. This has resulted in a paradigm shift for educators of DHH and programs educating teachers. This book will benefit educators of students who are DHH, parents, administrators, and qualitative researchers as it provides an overview of what itinerant teachers of students who are DHH believe about literacy development, the practices they use to develop literacy in their students, and the match between the teachers¿ beliefs and actual practices. It is the story of 1 itinerant researcher, and 5 itinerant teaches and 15 of their DHH students.