Administrators Perspective on Hearing Loss
The administration has an important job in all schools and especially when it comes to students with special needs like students with hearing loss. Below is a excerpt from Issues in Education of Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing by John L. Luckner, Ed.D that includes some of the challenges that face the administration side of things. It includes other challenges if you would like to continue reading.
Quantity and Quality of Personnel – A necessary prerequisite for the provision of quality educational services for students who are deaf or hard of hearing is to have an appropriate number of qualified teachers available to serve them. A variety of sources indicate that the current and projected demand for teachers of students who are deaf or hard of hearing exceeds the available supply. The need for properly trained and licensed teachers of students who are deaf or hard of hearing exists in all geographical regions of the United States (American Association for Employment in Education, 2002).
Administrative Support – Support from principals and special education administrators for teachers and families has strong direct and indirect effects on the quality of education that a child receives (Gersten, Keating, Yovanoff, & Harniss, 2001). Administrators set the tone of a school’s culture, influence how services for students with a hearing loss are provided, mediate disputes, shape attitudes about family involvement in a child’s education, and determine the types of professional development that are provided for teachers.
Well Functioning Teams – The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 1997) mandates team decision making for assessment, placement and transition planning processes. Yet, researchers suggest that true collaboration and consultation among professionals and families is rare (Fuchs & Fuchs, 1996; Turnbull & Turnbull, 2001). For increased collaborative decision making and problem solving to occur, greater attention needs to be provided to help professionals and families learn to communicate and develop reliable partnerships. As principal, it is your job to identify key resource people in your district to help out your teachers.
Transition Services – The transition from school to postsecondary education or the world of work, as well as managing adult responsibilities and living independently, represent a major challenge for many individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing (Danek & Busby, 1999). Students are required to leave a relatively supportive educational system, which usually includes trained special education professionals and specialized services, for the dynamic and unsheltered world of adult living, which typically does
not provide the same level of services or support. To better meet the challenges of everyday adult living, professionals, and families along with adult service providers, state agency representatives, community members, and faculty at postsecondary institutions need to work together to develop, implement, monitor and evaluate transition plans that help individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing lead personally fulfilling lives (Luckner, 2002).
Technology – Technology changes daily. As such, so does the manner in which technology can enhance the lives of individuals who are hearing as well as individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. The types of technology that are of specific interest to professionals, families, and individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing include hearing aids, telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD), closed captioning, realtime captioning, soundfields, FM systems, speech and speech reading computer programs, computer assisted notetaking, cochlear implants, and the Internet. In May of 2000 a grant from the federal government was awarded to the Association of College Educators – Deaf/HardofHearing (ACED/HH) (Johnson & Dilka, 2000). One product of that grant has been the development of the Deaf Education Web site (www.deafed.net), which has more than 4,500 individuals (i.e., preservice and existing teachers, parents, adults who are deaf or hard of hearing, administrators, and university faculty) who have become registered users of the site and as such have access to a nationwide database of instructional resources and collaborative opportunities.
Quantity and Quality of Personnel – A necessary prerequisite for the provision of quality educational services for students who are deaf or hard of hearing is to have an appropriate number of qualified teachers available to serve them. A variety of sources indicate that the current and projected demand for teachers of students who are deaf or hard of hearing exceeds the available supply. The need for properly trained and licensed teachers of students who are deaf or hard of hearing exists in all geographical regions of the United States (American Association for Employment in Education, 2002).
Administrative Support – Support from principals and special education administrators for teachers and families has strong direct and indirect effects on the quality of education that a child receives (Gersten, Keating, Yovanoff, & Harniss, 2001). Administrators set the tone of a school’s culture, influence how services for students with a hearing loss are provided, mediate disputes, shape attitudes about family involvement in a child’s education, and determine the types of professional development that are provided for teachers.
Well Functioning Teams – The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 1997) mandates team decision making for assessment, placement and transition planning processes. Yet, researchers suggest that true collaboration and consultation among professionals and families is rare (Fuchs & Fuchs, 1996; Turnbull & Turnbull, 2001). For increased collaborative decision making and problem solving to occur, greater attention needs to be provided to help professionals and families learn to communicate and develop reliable partnerships. As principal, it is your job to identify key resource people in your district to help out your teachers.
Transition Services – The transition from school to postsecondary education or the world of work, as well as managing adult responsibilities and living independently, represent a major challenge for many individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing (Danek & Busby, 1999). Students are required to leave a relatively supportive educational system, which usually includes trained special education professionals and specialized services, for the dynamic and unsheltered world of adult living, which typically does
not provide the same level of services or support. To better meet the challenges of everyday adult living, professionals, and families along with adult service providers, state agency representatives, community members, and faculty at postsecondary institutions need to work together to develop, implement, monitor and evaluate transition plans that help individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing lead personally fulfilling lives (Luckner, 2002).
Technology – Technology changes daily. As such, so does the manner in which technology can enhance the lives of individuals who are hearing as well as individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. The types of technology that are of specific interest to professionals, families, and individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing include hearing aids, telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD), closed captioning, realtime captioning, soundfields, FM systems, speech and speech reading computer programs, computer assisted notetaking, cochlear implants, and the Internet. In May of 2000 a grant from the federal government was awarded to the Association of College Educators – Deaf/HardofHearing (ACED/HH) (Johnson & Dilka, 2000). One product of that grant has been the development of the Deaf Education Web site (www.deafed.net), which has more than 4,500 individuals (i.e., preservice and existing teachers, parents, adults who are deaf or hard of hearing, administrators, and university faculty) who have become registered users of the site and as such have access to a nationwide database of instructional resources and collaborative opportunities.