‘What’s the sign for “Catch 22”?’: barriers to professional formation for deaf teachers of British Sign Language in the Further Education sector

Abstract

In 2007, Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills standards (QTLS) were introduced for all teachers working in UK further education institutions, with the expressed aim of improving professional standards within the sector. British Sign Language (BSL) teaching is largely delivered by deaf native signers through evening classes at local FE colleges, but the majority hold no formal teaching qualifications. Therefore this initiative provided BSL teachers with an opportunity to enhance their skills and practice, but also presented a formidable barrier to achieving Qualified Teacher status. Two research projects undertaken by the University of Central Lancashire in 2009 and 2010 assessed the suitability of training courses designed to help FE teachers achieve these new qualifications, with particular emphasis on whether these courses meet the specific pedagogic needs of deaf learners. The shortcomings in training provision that were found illustrate the invidious position deaf learners find themselves in, on the one hand wanting to enhance their skills and qualifications whilst at the same time being effectively barred from doing so by a lack of adequate and appropriate training opportunities. This article highlights some of the experiences of deaf BSL teachers seeking to gain these awards and illustrates the ways in which the delivery of training courses fails on virtually every level to respond to the different learning requirements of sign language users.

Keywords:

• British Sign Language
• Qualifications Framework
• BSL teachers
• professional formation
• further education
• disability

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Dr Hanna Eichmann of the University of Hamburg and Tessa Padden-Duncan for their contributions to the research projects and reports that have informed this article. We would also like to thank all the BSL teachers who contributed their experiences and aspirations but who must necessarily remain anonymous.