Factors inhibiting the implementation of South African Sign Language curriculum in schools for deaf learners

Abstract

The Department of Basic Education introduced the South African Sign Language Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement in schools for deaf learners in 2015. In 2017, a study explored the experiences of sign language teachers when implementing the curriculum. The study used a phenomenological theory to interpret teachers’ and teaching assistants’ narratives and understand their experiences during the curriculum implementation. The study used purposive sampling, whereby participants were selected based on research location and their teaching of South African Sign Language as a home language subject in Grades 1 and 9 at the time of the study. The themes generated during the coding process framed the analysis of the statements by the 26 participants. The study showed that teachers and teaching assistants were amenable to the curriculum and understood the need to introduce the curriculum in schools for deaf learners. Although teachers and teaching assistants reported positive experiences of teaching sign language as a subject, they mentioned factors inhibiting teaching the language. In this paper, we report on the factors inhibiting the implementation of a South African Sign Language subject in schools for deaf learners in Gauteng.