ORIGINAL ARTICLE
BATISTELLA, Marta Aparecida Abraão [1]
BATISTELLA, Marta Aparecida Abraão. Inclusion of deaf students in the Brazilian educational context. Revista Científica Multidisciplinar Núcleo do Conhecimento. Year 04, Ed. 04, Vol. 04, pp. 43-52. April 2019. ISSN: 2448-0959, Access link: https://www.nucleodoconhecimento.com.br/education/educational-context
ABSTRACT
This research emphasizes the inclusion of deaf students in the Brazilian educational context, showing a brief history of how people who had physical and mental weaknesses were treated in antiquity, clearly without much respect and without admiration on the part of society; we follow the changes that occur during the twentieth century, and what we have of educational trends today, the documents that guide our Brazilian education that are based, the guidelines, Laws, regulations and Resolutions are exposed in this work; thus we build understandings and educational concepts that awaken us to the with great is the challenge of inclusion of the Deaf in Brazilian schools. We identified the importance of appropriation by the deaf of the Portuguese language, which would reduce the school failure of this student. We made clear the importance of the teacher and an interpreter in the classroom to facilitate the teaching and learning of the deaf.
Keywords: Education, School, Inclusion, Deaf.
INTRODUCTION
We observe in the national education plan the clear intention that schools be a place of inclusion, where everyone has equal rights to education, ensuring full access to resources and methodologies that make these students able to develop intellectually; our questioning is, as a teaching system that has great shortages of human and pedagogical resources can present solutions to ensure that human beings with mild, moderate and severe degrees of cognitive and motor impairment can learn, with regard to students with deaf people we find few schools in Brazil that have a Libras professional to mediate between teachers of the disciplines and deaf students in all classes , contributing to the school failure of these students; teachers in the vast majority have excessive workloads who cannot train in a pound course, so we observe that Brazilian teaching leaves much to be desired in the inclusion part of students with special needs, especially those with deafness, which is a physical weakness that appears more frequently in Brazilian schools. Deaf students often achieve school failure or disapproval because of the lack of understanding of the linguistic verbalization of the teacher who is the Portuguese, and their mother tongue is pounds.
The voice of the deaf are the hands and bodies that think, dream and express. Sign languages involve movements that may seem meaningless to many, but which mean the possibility of organizing ideas, structuring thought and manifesting the meaning of life for the deaf. Thinking about deafness requires penetrating the “world of the deaf” and “hearing” the hands that, with some movements tell us what to do to make possible the contact between the worlds involved, requires knowing the “sign language”. Allow these hands to be “heard”, for only in this way will it be possible to show the deaf how they can “hear” the silence of the written word. (Ronice Müller de Quadros, S/D)
Deaf students should be treated more respectfully by Brazilian governments, offering more training to teachers who want to learn Libras, we will not have improvements by elaborating more theories, we should apply and delve deeper into those that already exist, because they are suitable for the realities of the country.
For Minetto […] what should be easier is a deep reflection on the curriculum, so that there is some improvement of practices, no more elaboration of theories about the curriculum. (2008, p.33).
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This research presents a greater understanding around inclusive education with regard to the deaf, it is a research in the bibliographic molds, where it occurs first to choose the theme, then bibliographic survey of existing materials of the theme addressed, mainly scientific articles and books, continuing with analyses and intense reflections requiring the researcher to construct new ideas and concepts to the study carried out , always observing record from reliable sources. Muller and Cornelsen (2003) conceptualize that:
Scientific knowledge arises from the different modes of knowledge production and the use made of it. Thus, scientific progress is dependent on the circulation and effective use of ideas, since information constitutes, at the same time, an insum and product of all scientific activity. (Muller and Cornelsen 2003, p. 1).
The main theoretical foundations of this work are the following: Fernandes (2011), Mantoan (2005), Minetto (2008), Rosana, Glat (2007).
DEVELOPMENT
BRIEF HISTORY ON THE INCLUSION OF THE DEAF IN BRAZIL
The deaf have always been present in Brazil and in the world, but in antiquity there was no respect or admiration for them, today we consider that most were targets of “bullying” in society and in the institutions that represented education.
Jean Itard, was considered a milestone in special education, no doubt cooperating for the first visits of people with physical and mental disabilities or considered as special. Only in the 20th century begins the service for these people in Brazil considered special.
In recent decades, due to new demands and social expectations, combined with advances in science and technology, special education professionals have turned to the search for new forms of school education with less segregative alternatives of absorption of these students by education systems. This process has been accelerating, especially since the 1990s, with the recognition of Inclusive Education as a priority educational guideline in most countries, including Brazil. The Inclusive Education policy concerns the responsibility of governments and school systems in each country with the qualification of all children and young people with regard to the contents, concepts, values and experiences materialized in the teaching-school learning process, based on the recognition of individual differences of any origin. (GLAT, 2007: 15)
We observed in Brazil that there has been a lot of change since the 20th century, but it is clearly noticed a failure by the government to help those with some type of disability, whether with human material or even structural.
LDBEN (1996) makes it clear that students with special needs should if possible attended in classes with other students of the school, provide inclusion, but what we see is a disrespect, we have the majority included in the classroom without any human structure in the case of the deaf, without the interpretation and much less physical structure, the number of students often exceeds the acceptable limit in the classrooms , and the teacher who is responsible for all students to learn equally.
Students with special needs need help developing their physical and mental skills and abilities more quickly, noting their specificities individually.
In 1960 there were great advances in inclusive education, but without much success, the students mostly did not adapt to the school with regular education, but in 1990 resformulating the educational system even in the physical structure offered by the school.
The school is an image of society, just as society should be an image of the school, but we observe many assignments imposed for school mainly teachers where we have a high degree of medical problems that occur with them, we note, that teachers are “heroes” often have to be parents, doctors, psychologists or even interpreters for the deaf without training for it , often governments impose only the educational institution the responsibility that are not of an educational nature.
We observe the documents that guide the policies of special education, with common agreement with inclusive education:
– National Policy for the integration of persons with disabilities. Federal Law No. 7,853 of October 24, 1989.
– Law of Guidelines and Bases of National Education. Law No. 9,394 of December 20, 1996.
– Establishes a National Policy for the integration of persons with disabilities. Law No. 3,298 of December 20, 1999.
– National Education Plan. Law No. 10,172 of January 9, 2001.
– Constitutes the National Guidelines for Special Education in Basic Education. CNE Resolution No 02 of 11 September 2001.
– Resolution CNE/CP No. 2, of December 22, 2017 – Establishes and guides the implementation of the Common National Curriculum Base, to be respected obligingly throughout the stages and respective modalities in the scope of Basic Education.
All the bases, guidelines and laws mentioned above should guarantee a school for all, both students with special needs and students without needs, In Brazil often the deaf are treated as mentally handicapped by the listeners, and only has a partial or total hearing weakness which makes the visual part develop more, the deaf are able to develop physically and intellectually like all other students in the room.
The inclusion of deaf students is recent in schools, causing still a lot of difficulty in the school environment and for the teacher himself who often has no skill in the language of the signs “Libras” learning inside the classroom with the classmates of deaf students who also communicate with difficulty with the deaf in the end is a challenge, and all challenges require paradigm breaks inside and outside the school. For the deaf “the disability and hearing impaired expressions (a) are pejorative and carry the stereotype of incurable disease, deficit, limitation” (Fernandes, 2011a, p.61).
We note through studies that deaf people claim the right to be called deaf rather than hearing impaired.
In Brazil, with Law No. 10,436, of April 24, 2002, the Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) was also made official, making it possible, at the national level, to hold discussions related to the need to respect the linguistic particularities of the deaf community and the use of this language in school environments. (BNCC, p.29, December 22, 2017 )
We know that we have numerous challenges as teachers, but we have to participate actively so that these students are treated with respect and inclusion actually occurs in the classroom, so we will contribute to a more democratic and humanized society.
EDUCATIONAL UNDERSTANDINGS AND CONCEPTS IN THE AREA OF SURDEZ
The understanding by the entire school community and society in general of the importance of deaf students learning two languages, that is, bilingual, the Brazilian sign language (Libras) and the Portuguese language, this has become a great challenge.
We can adopt bimodalism, which is the Portuguese language accompanied by signs (Libras).
According to Zillioto (2007, p. 17), Surdes is probably a linguistic difference, because people have expressive hearing loss communicate in the visual-spatial modality, that is, Libras. Learning sign language is like learning a foreign language, we need new school practices that will requires appropriate methodology for bimodalism teaching and learning.
It is important that the Deaf also understand the Portuguese, its orality and writing, making it much easier to communicate with the listeners in the classroom, the Federal Constitution that deliberates in Article 205, education as a right of all, ensuring the absolute development of people, the learning of citizenship and qualification for work. Article 206, item I, establishes equity of conditions of access and permanence in educational institutions, determining as the duty of the State, the provision of specialized educational care, preferably in the regular school system (art. 208).
Fernandes (2003), Bimodalism makes the gathering of signs and orality, being possible the deaf to make association of words and gestures.
We understand that historically deaf people were not treated with respect, they suffered prejudices; sign language has long been banned in Brazil, only in 2002 with LAW 10.436/2002 libras was definitively approved as a legalized language of communication and expression not only of the deaf community more of the listeners.
In previous centuries the schools did not have specialists to serve the deaf, the students themselves who were listeners helped in the literacy part.
In the eighteenth century, I began an individual work with the deaf to understand what the degree really of deafness and even if there would be no other problem besides deafness, more were done by people hired by the nobility. (FERNANDES, 2011 p. 26).
In Brazil only the educational work with the deaf from Dom Pedro II with the French teacher Hesnest Hest began, it was a school intended only for the deaf.
Teaching Libras in schools for the deaf is very important, but the best would be if it were taught in all Brazilian schools, although it seems utopian, it would be something, of paramount importance, as one learns, English, Spanish, because it does not definitively implant libra in the grid of elementary, high school and higher education.
THE DEAF AND THE TEACHING OF THE PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE
The teaching of the Portuguese language is in an auditory orality, the child sees a figure and is verbalized the name of the same, so we have difficulty to quickly identify children who are born with hearing weakness, so the role of the family is very important when noticed or perceived that this newborn does not respond often to sound stimuli should seek a specialist to identify the problem and since the first of life , so that parents try methods to collaborate and stimulate the child in teaching the Portuguese language in a differentiated way not only in an oral way, then this child will arrive at school with some basic understandings about his second language the Portuguese, after Libras.
When children arrive at school they should be included in this language learning process, which required teachers’ school preparation in Libras and know not only methodologies in theory, but apply them with their deaf students, the assessment should be flexible in the question of their second language.
For Minetto (2008):
The inclusive school has in its curriculum and in the PPP the reflection of its thoughts, conceptions and desires, so it would be of no use to put on paper something that does not correspond to what it will be able to fulfill. Proper structuring of a flexible curriculum will only benefit when everyone understands your reason and collaborates with its execution. (p.62)
In Brazil, despite the various political, social and economic difficulties the deaf have the right to learn their second language the Portuguese, because the country has as its main language the Portuguese, if this does not occur, they will not be easily inserted in social spaces and in the labor market, bilingual teaching and learning is a challenge, which should also be incorporated into the curriculum and grid , in the educational bases in elementary, high school and university education. The teacher has the role of seeking methodologies that are able to apply in his classroom, remembering that he has deaf students and listeners, which requires more effort, so that everyone has skills and abilities in the Portuguese language as a first language for listeners and as a second for the deaf.
When the municipality, the state, the government, the teacher deny the possibility for the deaf to appropriate the Portuguese language, is going against the law of Guidelines and Bases of National Education. Law No. 9,394 of December 20, 1996.
The Brazilian school is marked by the failure and evasion of a significant part of its students, who are marginalized by failure, constant deprivation and low self-esteem resulting from school and social exclusion – students who are victims of their parents, their teachers and, above all, the conditions of poverty in which they live, in all their senses. (MANTOAN, 2005, p. 27).
In this paradigm the teacher should plan his classes thinking about methodology that facilitate teaching and learning for deaf students this includes the evaluation should change the educational practices applied in many Brazilian schools and this lead to changes in the usual teaching of the mother tongue for all.
The evaluation should not be summative, and intra-individual, because thus we will check only if the student has learned the contents, should be formative and interindividual, follow the advances that this student is taking in the classes, we also observe the importance of a self-assessment on the part of the teacher to verify if the methodologies are facilitating the teaching of the deaf or making it even more difficult.
Deaf people should be evaluated in a sign using Libras as their mother tongue, and can use image engravings to facilitate the understanding of the contents, without saying that the presence of the interpreter in the room to make intermediation between the teacher and student is indispensable.
Deaf assessments should preferably not be dissertation questions, as teachers should understand that deaf people have difficulties with writing. (FERNANDES, 2011p.118).
We know that teachers already face various challenges in the classroom and teaching Learning the Portuguese language for deaf students will be another, where it should be organized in a very flexible way, which will require attention and patience redoubled on the part of teachers, more that will cause much satisfaction for these “heroes”, when they verify that their deaf students are advancing in the learning of the second , language the Portuguese.
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
Analyzing the bibliographic studies made and through the experience we have in the school environment, we believe that most schools do not receive human and structural resources so that students with special needs feel included in the classroom; with regard to the deaf the lack of interpreters makes it very difficult to teach learning the Portuguese language, teachers strive, but do not have basic qualification skilled on Libras and the government does not show much concern to offer courses and time for these education professionals to qualify, so this directly influences the school failure of these deaf students, who do not learn the Portuguese consequently do not understand the other disciplines , making them feel excluded in many Brazilian schools, often being treated in a prejudiced way by listeners, and the same deaf students are mostly fully capable of developing skills in any discipline or content, which often requires changes in educational and governmental paradigms, the methodology adopted in the classroom will greatly help in understanding the other disciplines , but first these students have to have appropriated the second language, the Portuguese.
It is a great challenge, we all have to contribute to make these students feel included not only in school, but in all social spheres.
We conclude that we have good bases, guidelines and educational laws in theory that should receive mentions of applause, but in practice the dismay of governments makes it difficult for governments to be applied in practice, thus increasing exclusion and school failure.
There is a lot to do about inclusion, which we should not be with our arms crossed, we must contribute in some way in the family in society, in the political positioning, we can be critical in these issues of inclusion and not conformed to the Brazilian reality of teaching.
We will feel realized as human beings, when the majority of deaf people who finish high school enter universities, we will reach the apex contradicting the reality where most are outside universities, we must always believe in a more just and inclusive country for all.
BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES
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Acesso em: 21 de agosto. 2018.
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[1] Postgraduate in Special and Inclusive Education and Neuropsychopedagogy by FAVENI, Second Degree in Pedagogy from FAEL, Graduated in Letters – Portuguese and Spanish from UFMT.
Submitted: October, 2019
Approved: April, 2019
