Scaling inclusive early learning for deaf children

 

For all children, early childhood care and education (ECCE) offers a crucial opportunity to prepare for lifelong learning, making it a top priority across the countries of the Global Partnership for Education. For children with disabilities, this period is especially important because it increases access to interventions that can help them reach their full potential. However, children with disabilities are often excluded from early-learning opportunities. For those who do have access, their needs are unmet due to several factors, including lack of special education skills among ECCE teachers.

Deaf children face the most challenges to learning because of language barriers. These children are not exposed to bilingual opportunities that include sign language at home and school, and teachers are not equipped to support their unique needs. Additionally, there are gaps in evidence-based innovations that prioritize sign language acquisition and instruction as foundational in the language learning for deaf children.

This project seeks to generate knowledge and evidence to scale inclusive, equitable, quality ECCE programs, ensuring a smooth transition to primary school for deaf children in Kenya, Malawi and Rwanda. Its objectives are to generate knowledge and evidence on how to scale sign-language-rich environments for deaf learners at home and school; to strengthen the capacity of ECCE institutions and parents/caregivers of deaf learners; and to mobilize knowledge and evidence to inform, advocate for, and improve both ECCE language of instruction policies and practices in relation to their national sign languages as first languages and languages of instruction.

This project is funded under the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Knowledge and Innovation Exchange, a joint endeavour between the GPE and IDRC to connect expertise, innovation and knowledge to help low- and middle-income countries build stronger education systems and accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goal on education.