BSL in education: Closing the gap for an inclusive future
On September 23rd 2022, the University of Edinburgh joined forces with Edinburgh Napier, Queen Margaret and Heriot-Watt to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the aim of improving the development of British Sign Language (BSL) in Higher Education.
Alison Hendry is the BSL Development Officer at the university, a position she has held for three years. She praised the ground-breaking initiative and discussed why all four universities agreed to collaborate on this project.
Hendry said: “We are the first, maybe not in the UK, but definitely in Scotland where a MoU links to BSL, so it was a special day and not just because it was International Day of Sign Language. We all do our own work on BSL, but some of our actions overlap, which allows us to share resources. So, if someone else sets something up, there is no point in another university doing the same. I think it is great that all four universities are getting together for the first time and getting the MoU signed, which the majority will be done through research.”
As well as leading BSL’s implementation in Scottish education, at the heart of the plan is ensuring that Scotland is a welcoming place for deaf/BSL students to study and progress in their learning.
Hendry agreed with that statement but also highlighted the barriers that deaf people face in the education system. She explained: “At the University of Edinburgh, we are really open to anybody who comes here to study. We’re focusing on visitors, staff and students, so we are open, and the hope is that would encourage people.
“But, that maybe then feeds back into the barriers and how things need to be made more accessible for deaf students going to university. I think, we really need to start going back to primary school level and taking it all the way through from there, especially when there’s not enough support.”
Rachel O’Neill is the Deputy Head of the Institute for Education Teaching and Leadership (IETL) at the university. Last month, she released a research paper on Deaf Education in Scotland and Wales, which she published alongside Dr Rob Wilks from Cardiff University.
Source: Matthew Muir Rachel O’Neill discusses the new Scotland and Wales research paper and the first report which was previously released. (subtitles available)
She reiterated Hendry’s stance on the disadvantages deaf children face but went further by suggesting that the barriers filter through to what is considered the start of a child’s education, the early years.
The research paper revealed that in regards to the incorporation of BSL, early years were discovered to be an institutional issue. This links to the ‘very little’ resources available for BSL, which has been labelled as a unique challenge.
O’Neill explained: “We found that there wasn’t enough resources around BSL and that isn’t just about learning materials, but also about the teachers. So, we think it’s important that there should be BSL teachers available for deaf children from a very young age, such as, nursery workers, who are bilingual in both BSL and English. We noticed in both countries that there isn’t much of that.”
Further analysis concluded that the gaps in early years provision are an important theme, and the consensus is that’s the period where language acquisition is crucial to the development of young deaf children. The report also highlighted that Scotland could adapt methods adopted in Wales in regards to Welsh for other minority languages, such as BSL.
O’Neill gave insight into how Welsh preschool playgroups could be adapted for a similar concept in BSL. She said: “In Wales, there is a long history of preschool playgroups in Welsh, which gives us good ideas about how we can do the same for BSL.”
The reason for the majority of those cases is simple, those children’s families don’t speak Welsh, but their child does. O’Neill made it clear that similar situations occur when it comes to young deaf children: “That is a little bit parallel to what happens to deaf children as most parents are hearing and don’t know BSL. But, if they can be convinced about the good things about being bilingual, then they might consider it.”
O’Neill was keen to stress the fact that deafness is not a learning disability, and there should be more emphasis on using a sign language method. However, she admits it comes with its challenges.
She said: “I’ve seen a lot of research which shows that if you just use spoken language methods, a lot of deaf children aren’t going to succeed academically. But, a sign language method has its challenges because it’s not the language of the home. So, just as the Welsh movement has convinced families that bilingualism is a good idea, we think it’s possible to do the same with BSL.
“This is especially through nurseries, because if a child is struggling to communicate in English, why can’t they use BSL? There’s no reason why a deaf child will struggle learning a visual language. But, we’re putting unnecessary barriers in their way if we focus exclusively on speaking and listening.”
In order for these initiatives to have any opportunity of coming to fruition, there is a need for more qualified bilingual Teachers of the Deaf (ToDs). This issue is something that the university hopes to change with the announcement of a new undergraduate degree.
Hendry expressed excitement for the degree and highlighted how the BSL Scotland Act (2015) has laid the foundations for this development: “It [the degree] is progress from the BSL Act, which has helped a lot, but there’s still a long journey to go. We need more ToDs and more people doing sign language. So, I think the degree is a real step forward, especially for young deaf people.”
This Act was passed in the Scottish Parliament on 17 September 2015 and received Royal Assent on 22 October 2015.
The aims of the Act are as follows:
· To raise awareness of BSL and improve access to services for those who use the language.
· To require the Scottish Government and local authorities to create their own plans on how they will promote BSL.
· To build a framework for public bodies to use and implement within their services.
The Government will publish a new national plan every six years, with the next set to be released in 2023.
Hendry continued by demonstrating the positive impact the degree will have and praised O’Neill on her involvement to date: “My colleague, Rachel, has been very involved in getting this together. So, hopefully, the degree will raise more awareness of BSL for young deaf children, especially through education, to take away a lot of those barriers that we have in place.
“It’s about access, access to education, access to the language, rather than forcing people to learn another language, so, for me, it can only be a positive thing.”
O’Neill, who is also a former Teacher of the Deaf, gave an insight into what the degree will entail and confirmed that the process remains in the early stages. She said: “The proposal for the new degree is currently going through the different committees in the university. We are hoping it will start in September 2024.
“It’s for anyone who is already fluent in sign language and wants to become a primary school teacher. So, half the time they will be learning more advanced BSL and the other half, how to be a primary teacher. The idea for these graduates is that they might want to work in primary education and teach BSL as a language or with deaf children.”
The report included its findings from interviews conducted with Teachers of the Deaf. It stated: ‘The ToDs who were interviewed were clear that they were not suitable personnel to teach BSL, although it would be expected that they teach deaf children bilingually. This means that an upskilling of the ToD profession is needed, as well as an uptake in training and recruitment.’
O’Neill continued by commenting on two damning statistics. She said: “Actually, there’s only 10% of ToDs who are fluent and only 40% of local authorities have a ToD who can sign fluently. So, those are two problems we are trying to address.”
What has become apparent is that improvement is required in the education system and more needs to be done for BSL to be recognised as an individual language in its own right.
O’Neill concluded with a mention of the fact that the government’s national plan is up for renewal next year and what she hopes the degree and research will fundamentally achieve. She said: “What Rob [Dr. Wilks] and I are hoping that these ideas will feed into the next national plan, and they might start taking more notice of deaf children, which they haven’t done so far.
“The degree will help BSL be seen as a legitimate language that can be used in schools and nursery settings. I think it will help raise standards for deaf children and give them more options.
“What I am advocating for is that both languages be available for deaf children, so they have more opportunities to learn.”
Hendry also summarised by reiterating that the fight is not over and there is still a long way to go: “For me, we are still on the journey for overall accessibility, but when you compare to a few years ago, we have made giant steps. The education system does have to change, but we are on the right path to a brighter future.”