Os surdos no ensino médio: aspectos culturais e identitários

Abstract

This monograph presents a study on aspects of deaf identity and culture questioning deafness from the school context. This study is an interpretative and qualitative research and it is supported in studies of deafness, cultural aspects of deaf and linguistics, and applied linguistics. The research problem was formulated from the perception that the number of deaf students enrolled in High School in Bagé is small. To what extent identity and cultural issues interfere in this reality? This work aimed to analyze the speeches of deaf students regarding the way as they have had their identity and cultural construction process in the school community. Thus, we intend to understand, from the speech of deaf students, their teachers and interpreters, the difficulties that deaf people face to stay in school, to identify the necessary adaptations to their understanding and participation in the classroom and also understand the role of the Brazilian sign language interpreter in the process. As for methodology, we used semi-structured interviews with deaf students, videotaped in Brazilian sign language, Portuguese interviews with teachers and interpreters. The interviews were transcribed and used in qualitative analysis. Through the responses of the teachers it was possible to conclude that although they had the intention to practice an inclusive education, teaching experiences do not always occur fully, as there are communication difficulties between teachers and deaf students, lack of knowledge about deafness and methodological adaptations. Although limited, it should be considered that the data collected reflect some of the deaf student culture in High School in the city of Bagé, located in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It should be noticed that this research intends to make a way for new research on the deaf in the county, and identifies aspects related to deaf culture that still need to be problematized. Therefore, this research aims to add to the discussions in the field of cultural education of the deaf, identities and educational policies.