An investigation into the effectiveness of teaching and support that deaf children receive in dance classes in Primary schools

This thesis investigates the teaching and support which deaf pupils receive in Primary school dance classes. Adopting a social model of disability, I emphasise the need to establish a learning environment which promotes a positive view of deafness and the use of sign language. This project posed three research questions. First, what support are deaf pupils eligible to receive in Primary school dance classes? Second, what teaching and support do Primary schools provide for deaf pupils in dance classes? These first two questions examine the relations between legislation and practice. The third question was what recommendations can be made to improve teaching and support to facilitate the access and participation of deaf children in Primary school dance classes in different educational settings? This research critiques the teaching and support by reviewing statutes, Primary school dance education theories and the literature on dance and disabilities, and by analysing observations of and interviews with students and teachers in dance lessons. There is a significant lack in the literature of any discussion about deaf people in the field of dance and disability and this study fills that gap. Its contribution to knowledge lies in showing the reality of Primary schools’ inclusion of deaf students in different educational settings of dance. It proposes the term ‘emotional inclusion’ of deaf students as a more appropriate model of thinking about diversity than simply integration or inclusion. The effectiveness of teaching depends on what its aims are; however, the suggestions and recommendations made in this thesis can be widely used by other teachers or schools to reflect on their own teaching and support with a deaf researcher’s view. They will also help other teachers to prepare and teach dance to classes which include deaf students. It is hoped that this research will help us to understand deaf students and introduce Government policies to provide them with more dance opportunities.