This issue includes articles on a range of topics and from several different countries. At first glance there may appear to be no common thread, but all are concerned with seeing beyond the situation that immediately presents itself to its implications for learners and educators alike.
The effects of unilateral or mild hearing loss can easily be overlooked, especially in situations where staffing and resources are limited. General advice may be given to class teachers, particularly in regard to seating position, safety issues and possibly early literacy, but beyond that it is often assumed that these children will need little additional support. However, the article by Nina Laugen, Karl Jocobsen, Carolien Rieffe and Lars Wichstrom frm Norway presents a study of the way in which these children’s social skills may be affected and makes for sobering reading.
Literacy learning is a topic that is very frequently addressed in Deafness and Education International, and in this issue there is an article by Qiuying Wang and Jean Andrews that addresses the question of literacy instruction in primary deaf education in China. The multimodal strategies that are employed in their classrooms shows both similarities to and differences from those used elsewhere. The article serves to remind us of the complexities faced by young deaf pupils in learning to read in any culture or setting.
Theory of Mind (ToM), or understanding the perspectives of others, may be restricted in some groups of pupils, including those with hearing loss. Whilst this fact has been accepted for a long time in deaf education, interest in how to assist children to develop ToM is more recent. In Helen Chilton’s article she explores the use of booksharing to provide opportunities for discussion of ToM with the aim of enhancing children’s understanding.
The next article is based on work in Chile. Maria Rosa Lissi, Christian Sebastian, Christian Iturriaga and Martin Vergara have researched deaf students’ views of themselves as readers and discovered that the effects of early difficulties with literacy continued to influence students’ perceptions of themselves as weak readers. Their analysis within a sociocultural perspective is of particular interest.
The final article is a second in this issue from Norway. Lill-Johanne Eilertsen has researched the interactions between individual young deaf children with complex needs and their peers. The analysis is based around the concept of play formats and demonstrates the influence of culturally constructed norms.