ERIC Number: EJ1039074
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1360-3116
EISSN: N/A
Teachers' Attitudes to Signing for Children with Severe Learning Disabilities in Indonesia
Sheehy, Kieron; Budiyanto
International Journal of Inclusive Education, v18 n11 p1143-1161 2014
The Indonesian education system is striving for an inclusive approach and techniques are needed which can support children with severe learning disabilities and their peers in this context. Manually signed language has proved useful both in supporting the development and empowerment of children with severe learning disabilities and supporting inclusive educational practices. The development of an Indonesian signed language approach for this purpose is therefore argued to be an appropriate goal. There is evidence that the use of signed language within classrooms is significantly influenced by teacher attitudes and beliefs. This paper examines the attitudes towards such an approach based on semi-structured interviews with 20 teachers in 7 schools in East Java and questionnaire responses from 69 teachers and educational professionals more widely located across Indonesia. The results suggest that teachers hold broadly positive attitudes to the possibility of signing. There is a complex relationship between social stigmatisation, the nature of signing and a possible classroom pedagogy. These issues need to be considered if the development of an Indonesian signed language approach for inclusive classrooms is to proceed successfully.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Severe Disabilities, Sign Language, Teacher Attitudes, Inclusion, Mainstreaming, Semi Structured Interviews, Questionnaires, Professional Personnel, Positive Attitudes, Social Bias, Classroom Communication, Mental Retardation, Mixed Methods Research, Communication Strategies, Factor Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Indonesia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A