Deaf Students as Readers and Writers: A Mixed-Mode Research Approach.

This report discusses the outcomes of a project that examined the acquisition of reading and writing skills in 135 children with deafness or who are hard of hearing. Eighty-three of the children attended a state-sponsored residential school and 52 attended a local school district program where students with deafness or who are hard of hearing are educated in special self-contained classrooms. Studies 1 and 2 examined reading achievement in two age-matched groups of these students in two school settings. These studies included a review of institutional variables of the settings where the students received their schooling and analyses of associations between the students' performance and these institutional variables. Studies 3 through 6 examined instructional strategies employed by teachers who use different modes of communication during reading and writing instruction in two distinct settings. Results found: (1) the proportion of students with deaf parents in the residential setting was nearly five times higher than that in the public setting; (2) ages of detection and of first educational contact were higher for students attending public school; and (3) three variables that correlated with reading achievement were parents with deafness, age of detection, and length of time in school. Other findings are also discussed. (CR)