Introducing inclusive bimodal bilingual mainstream education in the Netherlands using best practices from Australia

• Autor(a) principal: Ormel, Ellen
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Outros Autores: Kerkhoff, Annemarie, Baker, Michelle, van der Aa, Belinda
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por; eng
• Título da fonte: Signo (Santa Cruz do Sul. Online)
• Texto Completo: https://online.unisc.br/seer/index.php/signo/article/view/18809
• topic: Bimodal Bilingual (BiBi) school; Inclusive mainstream education; Co-enrolment; Primary education; Sign Language of The Netherlands (NGT); Escola bilíngue bimodal (BiBi); Educação regular inclusiva; Co-matrícula; Ensino Fundamental; . Língua de sinais de Holanda (NGT)

In the Netherlands, the majority of deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children follow mainstream education, without direct instruction in sign language. While schools for the deaf may offer bimodal bilingual education, there is a general move towards more inclusive education. Internationally, bimodal bilingual (BiBi) mainstream schools have been set up to provide direct instruction in sign language to both deaf and hearing children, access to deaf peers and teachers who are specialised in educating DHH children. We present our plans for introducing a BiBi program in two mainstream schools in the Netherlands, drawing on the experiences and best practices of the Toowong State School in Brisbane, Australia. We will discuss remaining questions and challenges, such as how to get started, how to inform and inspire staff, what roles teaching assistants and interpreters should have, and how to introduce the use of sign language in the school for both deaf and hearing students. While practices and regulations may differ between countries, sharing challenges and best practices is both informative and inspiring. We aim to contribute to the discussion around inclusive education, and how to achieve barrier-free social interactions in an optimal learning environment for DHH children.