Commentary: Shapes and Sites of Deaf People’s Transinstitutionalization

Authors

  • Kristin Snoddon Associate Professor, School of Early Childhood Studies Ryerson University
  • Joanne Weber Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education University of Alberta

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15353/cjds.v9i3.644

Abstract

This commentary describes our perspective on transinstitutionalization as deaf teachers and researchers from different regions of Canada, and accounts for some of the ways in which transinstitutionalization manifests in the lives of deaf people, particularly in educational settings. In the present day, so-called inclusive education is often presented as the progressive alternative to institutionalization, or deaf schools. However, mainstream education in regular settings without adequate sign language support and the continuing polarization of language and identity options for deaf children are two of the main ways in which transinstitutionalization recurs for deaf children and adults and threatens the vitality of sign languages.

Author Biographies

Kristin Snoddon, Associate Professor, School of Early Childhood Studies Ryerson University

Associate Professor, School of Early Childhood Studies Ryerson University

Joanne Weber, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education University of Alberta

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education University of Alberta

Published

2020-09-26

How to Cite

Snoddon, K., & Weber, J. (2020). Commentary: Shapes and Sites of Deaf People’s Transinstitutionalization. Canadian Journal of Disability Studies, 9(3), 16–27. https://doi.org/10.15353/cjds.v9i3.644