Abstract
The present paper examines how deaf people experience encounters with hearing people, and how this relates to the education of deaf children. Twenty-two people (13 aged 18-22 and 9 aged 40-45) recruited among members of the deaf club and students at schools for the deaf were interviewed in Norwegian Sign Language. The interviews were video recorded (split-screen) and subsequently translated and written in Norwegian.
Within an overall frame of reference based on "inclusion" and "a school for all", questions related to the education of deaf children and Norwegian Sign Language are given particular attention in society's policies toward deaf people. In the Education Act of 1998, there is a new curriculum for the education of deaf children and Norwegian Sign Language is considered the first language for deaf children. As a consequence of this, programmes in Norwegian Sign Language for parents of deaf children and teachers for the deaf have been developed.
These issues, however, are mainly related to the formal framework of the education. In this paper I discuss how experiences related to interaction and communication with hearing persons and the process of constructing identity, can illuminate questions related to the education of deaf persons. Relevant questions are; which aspects concerning interaction with hearing persons are important for the education of the deaf children, and how can such knowledge be used in the education of parents of deaf children?
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