Challenge of “Serious” Scholarship 123
regard to deaf interests in Sub-Saharan Africa (with constitutional recognition of
UgSL, publication of a UgSL dictionary, and the presence of a deaf studies diploma
course and deaf staff at Kyambogo University in the capital, Kampala) seems to have
had an impact on the Cameroonian deaf community. This is discussed further in
Chapter 8. CANAD has expressed a strong need for research on CSL (in its regional
variations and with involvement of the Cameroonian deaf community) and a wish
for a CSL diction ary.
The recognition of Cameroonian deaf people’s multilingual background (most
deaf Cameroonians have some knowledge of one or more tribal languages, gestural
communication, and/or sign languages, as well as French or English) has validated
the feelings of alienation that deaf adults experienced in their childhood when they
entered deaf school. Emotions were quite intense when people reflected on this
tabula rasa experience, in which the learning process neither acknowledged nor
connected with the local knowledge and communication skills they had acquired
before entering the deaf school. This devalued background included indigenous
skills and experiences such as working on the farm, cooking, and participating in
traditional forms of dance^14 (for further discussion of dancing in the Cameroonian
deaf community, see Chapter 8). These concerns should be placed in the broader
context of the failure of formal deaf education and standardized tests in Cameroon,
which has its origins in colonial history and the exclusion of indigenous languages
and knowledge (Ngwabineh, 2010).
Another factor that stimulated discussion was the presence of a deaf leader
from the country’s Extreme North region (see footnote 5; also see Chapter 8).
He provided alternative views on deaf indigenous knowledge, transmission of sign
language, social inclusion of deaf people, and the existence of strong networks
of informal education in both the deaf and mainstream hearing communities.
Conditions in the Extreme North region had equipped this man with adequate
knowledge to deal with different aspects of life. He did not experience his limited
literacy skills as a barrier to being an equal participant in society. His dignity and
alternative perspective challenged common ideological notions of the superiority of
“educated” deaf people, and the limits of formal education, which does not always
provide deaf Cameroonians with the tools to develop the critical thinking skills that
this leader is bringing to the fore in the discussion.
For deaf educational programs to be successful, there is a need to reflect on an inte-
grative epistemological framework (Dei, 2010; Higgs, 2008, 2010) and on how Af rican
(deaf) indigenous knowledge, local languages, and local cultural patterns (Lutalo-Kiingi,
2010b) can be incorporated into the teaching of deaf children and adults. Changing
societal views of deaf people will be a challenge and a condition for educa tional success,
and this is experienced as such by young deaf people in Cameroon.
Reflecting upon the Cameroonian and African contexts, Nsamenang (1992) argues
that new conceptions of family and community are needed, as well as agency-based
forms of social service. Nsamenang also emphasizes that development cannot succeed- These skills are currently included in the educational programs of some deaf schools led by deaf
directors.