Brian Kokoruwe’s research “Deaf students in the mainstream classroom- their experiences and the perspectives of the professionals that support them in the classroom” has concluded.
Brian’s research identified that deaf students’ viewpoints on the support they receive in the mainstream classroom environment differs from those of the professionals who support them.
Deaf students are often assigned multiple members of support staff in the mainstream classroom, but in many cases they feel that this support is excessive. However, there are many cases where deaf students are under-supported.
This proves there is a need for better assessment systems and procedures which can more accurately identify the individual needs of the deaf student.
Signature chief executive, Jim Edwards, said, “We are delighted to see further research into the work of Education Communication Support Workers (ECSW). This, along with other work, helps to improve our understanding of the experience of deaf learners and the challenges of the ECSW role.”
We would like to congratulate Brian Kokoruwe, who is working alongside us on the NatSIP project, on his MA (Deaf Education) Critical Research project.
As part of the I-Sign project, Signature has developed a qualification for Communication Support Workers (CSWs) working in the pre-16 sector which includes the requirement for BSL Level 3 or the equivalent. It will be piloted at UCLan from May 2014.