A situational analysis on the use of sign language in the education of the deaf in Zambia: A case of Magwero and ST. Joseph schools for the deaf

This study was aimed at conducting a situational analysis of how Sign Language is used in the education of the Deaf. Among others the study tried to establish the levels of training for teachers of the Deaf, and challenges which teachers, pupils and parents face in the education of the Deaf. The study was also meant to find out how Sign language is used in the education of the Deaf children as well as to determine whether Sign language should be taught as a subject.The study adopted the case study design. The population comprised two schools from which a sample of 40 teachers and 40 pupils was chosen. However, only 35 teachers gave responses to the questionnaires distributed. The study used purposive sampling procedures where schools for the Deaf which run the full cycle of the education system from Grade 0 to Grade 12 were selected. Also key informants such as Nongovernmental Organizations (NGO) leaders working with the Deaf, lecturers that train teachers of the Deaf, standards officers in special education and parents were also purposively chosen for the study.Information was gathered through questionnaires administered to the teachers, lecturers, parents, standards officers and NGO leaders. Deaf pupils were interviewed using face to face interviews owing to their difficulties in understanding the English language. Focus group discussions with the teachers, observations and document reviews were also employed to crosscheck information. The data was then analyzed qualitatively by coming up with categories of responses, themes and sub themes. Also where necessary simple quantitative techniques such as percentages and frequency tables were used.The study revealed that the majority of the teachers teaching in the two Deaf schools investigated never underwent comprehensive training in Sign language. It also revealed that Sign language (mainly sign vocabulary) is taught at primary school from Grade 0 to Grade 4 and after that it is mainly used as a medium of instruction. It was discovered that teachers use both Sign language and signed English in which they code switch naturally. The study revealed that the major challenges which teachers and pupils face are lack of knowledge of Sign language, limited vocabulary of Sign language and limited learning and teaching materials in Sign language. The study also revealed that teachers try to overcome these challenges by learning from the learners, consulting from more experienced teachers of the Deaf, and creating new signs for words which are new to both the teachers and the pupils. Lastly the study revealed that the overwhelming majority of the teachers and pupils want Sign language as a taught and examinable subjec