Silent Voices
Bushenyi Local Government Education Department, Special Needs Division aim to improve the quality of education given to deaf children in five integrated schools in Bushenyi district.
- Recipient:
- Bushenyi Local Government Education Department
- Country:
- Uganda
- Implementing partner:
- VSO
- Project partners:
- Oasis Development Education Foundation
- Uganda National Association of the Deaf
- Project contact:
-
Nathalie Jonkergouw Arinda (Bushenyi Local Government Education Department)
- Start date:
- 01 September 2005
- End date:
- 01 December 2006
- Total budget:
- 29,868,050.00 UGX (�9,364.08)
- Beneficiary type:
- Parents, Teachers
- Project type:
- Parents' group, Sign language, Information materials
Summary:
Following the provision of sign language interpreting training for five teachers in each of the units for deaf children in Bushenyi District, the SGP funded project has improved teachers' skills and the quality of education given to deaf children in Bushenyi district. The project has also bought parents and families into a closer relationship with the schools where deaf children learn. Two groups of families have decided to register associations.
As well as the detailed account on this page, you can also:
- Read the learning from experience case study - Calling parents to school in Uganda
- Download the course outlines for the teachers' training sessions covering from signing to writing and the meaning of abstracts.
Aim:
The project aim to meet the needs identified by teachers of deaf children who find teaching abstract words and literacy through sign language difficult and who are aware that parents and community members are neither invovled in deaf children's education nor aware of how they could be.
The project's central aim is:
- to improve the quality of education in Bushenyi District
- to promote integration of deaf children with families and communities.
Beneficiaries:
The project will benefit:
- 10 teachers (who will be able to act as trainers to other teachers)
- approximately 50 children who attend integrated schools and will benefit from improved teaching
- approximately 100 parents and community members.
Activities:
- Train 5 teachers of the deaf as sign language interpreters. (not funded by SGP)
- Train 10 teachers of the deaf in methodology for "from signing to writing" and "meaning of abstracts". (6 training sessions of one week every 2 months)
- Create teaching materials to accompany the training.
- Establish parents groups and train 100 parents and community members in sign language. (1 week residential training followed by once a month refresher)
Achievements:
The project is now completed and has been a successful learning experience for teachers, parents and District government officials. The outcomes of the project are as follows:
- 5 teachers attended Sign Language courses at Kyambogo University. (not funded by the IDCS)
- 10 teachers attended a series of training workshops and a study tour
- Approximately 85 parents attended regular group meetings and a week-long residential Sign Language training course organised by the Uganda National Association of the Deaf.
- 2 deaf primary school teachers from Kampala were recruited as trainers. They worked with the District Government officials to plan and implement the training.
2 training sessions in Signing to writing were attended by 10 teachers, 2 trainers, 1 coordinator and 1 SL interpreter. 10 teachers working at units for deaf children learned practical skills and were encouraged to convert the methodology into lesson schemes and plans. The training sessions were very practical, participatory and covered topics such as:
- General rules - sign slow, repeat, use face expression, move the mouth, use whole body, keep signing space small, repeat repeat repeat, build confidence, use concrete object where ever possible, point, build up signs slowly
- Opening lessons - stimulating children using number games for example
- How to introduce new words - using pictures, stories, spelling etc.
- WHAT to teach WHEN in the first 3 years of primary school (this will be the focus of future training sessions)
- Fun tools - question & answer sessions, storytelling games
- Finger spelling - using letter cards
- Using facial expressions to understand emotions and in classroom management
- Improving drawing skills
Participants were given "home work" to develop schemes of work and lesson plans using what they had learnt. Feedback was given intensively to each participant.
1 training session covering the creation of materials based on signing to writing methodology was attended by 10 SNE teachers, 2 trainers, 1 coordinator. Each school received a box in which to keep the materials that they had made. Teachers are delighted with the training and feel that they are "now properly able to teach".
1 training session covering the meaning of abstracts was attended by 10 teachers. This was a successful training session, covering emotional and spiritual topics, including abuse. More practical elements of the curiculum such as the meaning of numbers, opposites and sets.
The structure of the remaining project was also discussed and it was felt that the demands of the participants went beyond the ability of the trainers. For example the teachers had questions about a diverse range of subjects and across all of the first 4 years of the primary curiculum. This meant that the 2nd training session was replaced with a study tour to the School for the Deaf in Kampala.
Study tour to the School for the Deaf in Kamapala.
The 10 teachers attended and found the tour useful. They critically assessed the fact that despite the resources available to the school, the training available to the teachers and the challenges they faced were similar. The major difference which they found was experience. The project team made many attempts to ensure that the learning experience from the study tour was maximised and included the following activities:
- Each teacher made a presentation about their experience of the study tour
- A discussion was held to discuss and document the lessons learnt from the study tour
- The materials that each teacher collected were photocopied and shared
A final workshop was held to review, collect together and discuss materials gathered for the Meaning of abstract sessions. The group also evaluated the Deaf Friendly Schools publications produced by the National Deaf Children's Society in the UK. These are free publications available from www.ndcs.org.uk
20 parents' meetings were held (4 at each of the 5 schools). These meetings were led by teachers from the unit and the focus was Sign Language training.
- Programmes for each of the meetings was included - these focused on causes of deafness, deaf culture, sign names, sign language topics (greetings, family, household objects, & colours)
Each group attended a residential 1-week Sign Langauge training session which was led by the Uganda National Association of the Deaf. This not only developed the families skills in Ugandan Sign Language and improved family communication, but it also gave families ideas about what could be achieved by groups and assocaitions. Since this course, two groups decided to register as formal associations.
You can find out more about this by reading the Learning from Experience case study, a more detailed account about working with parents and families entitled Calling parents to school in Uganda
Read two case studies about 'Silent Voices'
