Experiences of Deaf Students in Chile: A Contribution to Social Justice

Abstract:

In Chile, education of deaf students historically revealed a position of subordination with respect to the hearing population, oppressive dynamics, and reparatory inclusion mechanisms. Therefore, the following questions are to be answered from the individual experiences of deaf adults: What situations experienced at school represent areas of social justice and injustice? And what do Chilean deaf adults expect from education in terms of social justice? The methodological approach corresponds to a biographical-narrative design, with the participation of six deaf adults connected to the educational system. The findings reveal the absence of affection, unequal treatment, and a lack of social esteem in the experiences related in these narratives in regular classrooms. That is, there is no information in the narratives revealing that Honneth's (1997) fundamental principles of reciprocal recognition were respected in their experiences. The narrators also state that deaf individuals should be taught through Chilean Sign Language (LSCh) and other visual strategies. The main conclusions indicate that a cooperative work is necessary to vindicate the spheres of recognition as a social justice approach, especially in favor of the linguistic and cultural rights of the deaf community.