Despite a strong theoretical foundation, teachers' pedagogical practices that represent the principles of democratic educational theory are not holistically understood. This qualitative integrative literature review provides a more complete view of the practices used by those who define themselves as democratic educators. By analyzing and…

This article describes a novel assignment involving students giving a presentation on YouTube about how to apply behavior-modification principles to change a specific type of behavior, chosen by each student. The presentations covered topics such as how to end nail biting and how to reduce anxiety about public speaking. Giving an oral presentation…

The increased linguistic and cultural diversity of undergraduate classrooms at English language institutions has imposed additional pedagogical and assessment challenges on instructors, many of whom lack the knowledge necessary to design classroom activities and assessments that are fair to all students regardless of students' background and…

This study investigated the beliefs and practices of 28 teachers of the deaf about their practices. The teachers were all working in oral settings either as visiting teachers or teachers in a mainstream school facility supporting groups of students with hearing loss. Teachers who used an Auditory Verbal approach largely adopted a positivist…

The article compares approaches to mainstreaming of students with hearing impairments in Spain and the United States. Discussed are mainstreaming as a matter of law, the importance of deaf role models, school placement in the U.S., integration practices in Spain, and the prevalence of oralism in Spain. (DB)

An exchange program was established to assist American and Soviet special educators in learning about the other country's educational theory and practice. An American participant describes Soviet education of deaf students as being highly structured, involving nationally standardized curricula and methods, using a residential school model, and…

Eight focus groups of teachers of students who are deaf/hard of hearing identified language instructional practices associated with either oral communication or total communication. This generated a set of 79 statements of practices that were then verified by program supervisors using a Likert-type scale. Teachers' identified practices differed…

Teaching public speaking is often part of a junior high or senior high curriculum as well as a part of the college curriculum of many four-year public institutions whereby a student is expected to demonstrate performance skills to an audience. For the exceptional student with disabilities, this presents more than the usual anxieties that beset…

This narrative of a graduate student with deafness describes her experiences in various educational environments including oral communication, total communication, and mainstreamed. The article emphasizes the role of parents as the child's best advocates and advises parents to trust their own instincts and not accept the authority of professionals…

This paper examines the evolution of sign language's role in education, beginning with the debate over sign language versus oral communication, followed by the debate over American Sign Language (ASL) versus other sign systems. The paper points out that this debate process is hindering the educational experience for thousands of deaf children and…

This paper provides a legal update on the role of the judiciary in determining an appropriate communication method for teaching hearing-impaired students. The paper concludes that the judiciary has consistently upheld the right of educational agencies to determine educational methodologies while attempting to protect hearing-impaired individuals'…