Deaf Epistemologies, Identity, and Learning

24 Deaf Epistemologies, Identity, and Learning

ConnECTInG In DEAF FLoURISHInG: MEETInG

THE CHALLEnGE oF PRACTICInG PARTnERSHIP

For the remainder of this introductory chapter, I explore a facet that binds together

the various above-mentioned contexts and case studies, that of connection, including

the notion of partnership in deaf education and humans as perpetual learners.

Connection and partnership have been at the forefront of international deaf de-

velopments, and “In Partnership” was in fact the theme of the opening ceremony at

the momentous 21st International Congress on the Education of the Deaf (ICED)

in vancouver, Canada, in July 2010 (Jamieson & Moores, 2011), where a milestone

statement of principle was issued. Entitled “A new Era: Deaf Participation and Col-

laboration,” it repudiated the resolutions of the now infamous 1880 ICED Congress

in Milan, which banished the use of signed languages from educational programs

around the world, much to the detriment of deaf people and their participation in

education, career planning, economic activities, politics, and other areas of society.

To counter the “disability mindset” (Jamieson & Moores, 2011, p. 26) represented

by Milan, the 2010 Congress called for eight actions:

1. Ratification and implementation of the UnCRPD;


2. Endorsement of the resolutions of the 2007 WFD Congress in Madrid regard-
   ing “equal and appropriate access to a multilingual/multicultural education”;


3. Involvement of deaf citizens in decision making relating to all aspects of their
   lives;


4. Inclusion of signed languages as equal and legitimate languages;


5. Involvement of deaf citizens in providing adequate information on sign lan-
   guage and deaf culture to parents;


6. Employment of child-centered and family-centered perspectives in educa-
   tional and support services;


7. Support of early intervention through referring all deaf children to regional
   and national deaf associations, and to specialized schools and programs; and


8. Sensitization of deaf citizens to their human rights.

Last but not least, ICED made “a call upon nations of the world to recognize and

allow all deaf citizens to be proud, confident, productive, creative, and enabling

citizens in their respective countries” (Jamieson & Moores, 2011, p. 28).

The opening ceremony of the 2010 Congress aimed to advance development part-

nerships and mutual respect among a group of participants who, though diverse in their

backgrounds and interests, shared a common goal of enhancing educational opportu-

nities and life chances for deaf people (Moores & Jamieson, 2011). In their discussion

of the Congress’s implications for the future of education, Moores and Jamieson argue

that “although the situation has improved in the past 30 years, restrictions remain, and

Deaf professionals in many areas have little opportunity to participate meaningfully in

educational decision-making or implementation” (2011, pp. 211–212).