Visies op het gebruik van gebaren in het dovenonderwijs. Wat waren de visies op het gebruik van gebaren van het katholieke Instituut voor Doven en het gereformeerde instituut Effatha in de periode 1978-1983 en waarop waren deze gebaseerd?

Abstract

Aim: This study focused on the vision of a catholic and an orthodox-protestant Dutch institution for the deaf, concerning the use of sign language in their education. The study attempted to discover underlying philosophical or religious motives for the use of sign language or spoken language in educating the deaf. Methods: The data used for this study was collected from a leading Dutch magazine on the education of the deaf from 1978 till 1983. In this study, a content analysis was carried out on selected articles from this magazine, aiming to find philosophical and religious motives for the acceptance or rejection of sign language. Results: The data show little or no philosophical or religious motives for, or against, the use of sign language in deaf education but do show practical motives. The Catholic Institute held on to the use of spoken language while the Protestant Institute seriously considered the use of signs, but the data do not show a direct relation to a religious standpoint. Conclusion: In the chosen period there is no evidence that religious arguments influenced the view on the use of sign language in deaf education.