Action Research with a Family ASL Literacy Program
Abstract
This article reports findings from an ethnographic action research study of Deaf and hearing parents and young children participating in a family American Sign Language (ASL) literacy program in Ontario, Canada. The study documents the context for parents’ and children’s learning of ASL in an environment where resources for supporting early ASL literacy have been scarce. Through semi-structured interviews and observations of six individual families or parent-child dyads, the study documents participants’ encounters with professionals who regulate Deaf children and their families’ access to ASL. At the same time, the setting of the ASL Parent-Child Mother Goose Program is presented as a Deaf cultural space and thereby a counter-discourse to medical discourses regarding Deaf identity and bilingualism. This space features the Deaf mother participants’ ASL literacy and numeracy practices and improvisations of ASL rhymes and stories to enhance their suitability for young children. The practices of the ASL Parent-Child Mother Goose Program leader also serve to define and support emergent ASL literacy. In addition, a Deaf cultural space inside a broader context of public services to young Deaf children provides a means for the hearing mother participants to facilitate critical inquiry of issues surrounding bilingualism, ASL, and a Deaf identity.
- Journal
- Writing and Pedagogy
- Published
- 2011-12-28
- DOI
- 10.1558/wap.v3i2.265
- CompPile
- Search in CompPile ↗
- Open Access
- Closed
- Topics
- Export
- BibTeX RIS
Citation Context
Cited by in this index (0)
No articles in this index cite this work.
Cites in this index (0)
No references match articles in this index.
Related Articles
-
Research in the Teaching of English Nov 2018“What If We Were Committed to Giving Every Individual the Servicesand Opportunities They Need?” Teacher Educators’ Understandings,Perspectives, and Practices Surrounding Dyslexia ↗Jo Worthy; Catherine Lammert; Stacia L. Long; Cori Salmerón; Vickie Godfrey
-
The Peer Review Sep 2025The Writing Center as a Rebel Space: Stories of Tutoring and Writing with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ↗Ghada Seifeddine
-
Computers and Composition Jun 2025Dongmei Cheng; Mimi Li; Tony Lee
-
Philosophy & Rhetoric Sep 2024Joshua Hananmodern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism composition theory genre theory discourse analysis cultural rhetorics argument qualitative research quantitative research digital rhetoric social media grammar and mechanics gender and writing disability studies public rhetoric affect and writing body and rhetoric editorial matter
-
Rhetoric & Public Affairs Jun 2024Catherine L. Langfordrhetorical criticism genre theory discourse analysis feminist rhetorics cultural rhetorics decolonial rhetorics graduate education argument empirical research qualitative research race and writing gender and writing disability studies public rhetoric affect and writing body and rhetoric editorial matter