Running head: EXPLORING TRENDS AND ISSUES IN DEAF EDUCATION IN CHINA

Exploring Trends and Issues in Deaf Education in China

Phoebe Tay
Gallaudet University

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Exploring Trends and Issues in Deaf Education in China

Introduction
Culture is defined as the norms, values, beliefs and behavior of people in particular
societies, and is ingrained in the individual through socialization processes such as interactions
with family, friends, the media, and other organizations that individual may be part of such as
churches (Baker, 2014). Individuals backgrounds in terms of their socio-economic status,
ethnicity, class, family background, and nationality defines their culture (Sands, 2010). Gollnick
and Chin (2006) state that language is a means of communication that influences an individuals
cultural and personal identity, and assimilates him or her into a cultural group (as cited in
Colarusso, Orourke & Leotovich, 2013). Language is part of the culture of a society which
shapes the culture of schools as well as the schools philosophy and their attitudes and beliefs
towards different groups of children such as gifted children, minority children, and those with
special needs or disabilities. Language and culture impact the childrens educational outcomes to
a large extent because language and culture determine how educational institutions are operated
and influence the decisions made by educational authorities.
This paper will explore how Chinese language and culture have caused schools in China
to integrate the philosophy of the country and its existing education system. The paper will
specifically address the barriers that exist in the school system for Deaf children in China. It will
discuss how the barriers have impacted Deaf childrens educational outcomes. Recommendations
on how to address these barriers and grant Deaf children in China best access to education will

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be highlighted with direct reference to Deaf education in the United States of America (USA) as
a model for Deaf education.
Chinese History and Culture: Influence on the Chinese Education System
Chinas history, political system and culture are factors that have significantly influenced
the existing education system in China today. Before 1931, the traditional Chinese family was of
a patriarchal nature where males were the head of the household and boys were favored as they
carried on the family name (Callaway, 2000). The majority of Chinese families and peasants
were uneducated and poverty-stricken (Callaway, 2000). Confucianism was adopted and
influenced the Chinese mindset. Confucianism is a philosophy grounded in filial piety, kinship,
loyalty and righteousness where harmony and societal order could be attained if every
individual understood his or her ranking in society and were taught the behaviors appropriate for
their rank (China Mike, n.d.). In ancient China, studying Confucianism was limited to only the
ruling and upper class families to educate in the classics and comprehend morality out of duty for
their families, ancestors and empire. The elite would use their knowledge to deliver Chinese
cultural traditions and define the rules of society for the rest of the Chinese population (China
Education Center Ltd., 2014). Confucianism also influenced the way members of the family and
the extended family related to one another such as the family unit seeing males as head of the
household, and each member were ranked according to their position in the hierarchy.
With the introduction of communism in 1931, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)
promoted equality between men and women in legislation that supported the freedom to choose
their marriage partner and the liberty to divorce (Callaway, 2000). Consequently, women were
allowed to also own land and became more independent. In 1949, the founding of the Peoples

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Republic of China saw a major transformation and reversals in education policies in China in
order to keep up with the changing trends in socioeconomic and political development in the
country such as compulsory education (Tsang, 2000). However, Confucianist values still persists
today in the Chinese worldview.
In 1966, the Cultural Revolution was launched by Mao Zedong, Chinas communist
leader, as an attempt to reassert his authority over the Chinese government because he believed
the Communist leaders were leading the CCP and China in a revisionist direction, emphasizing
on expertise particularly skills and talents of individuals and having an open-t instead of
following communist principles (History, 2014). Mao mobilized groups of youths to enforce
communist ideologies and eradicate the old traditions, culture and ideas of China, leading to the
formation of groups known as the Red Guards (Szczepanski, 2014). The Red Guards caused
much havoc by wrecking antiques, written manuscripts, Buddhist temples, and subjected
teachers, monks, landowners and any person suspected to be counter-revolutionary to
humiliation in public. The Cultural Revolution had adverse impacts on the tertiary and
secondary systems as they were shut down during the political turmoil, and many professionals,
teachers, graduate students and academics were killed (Pang & Richey, 2006).
In 1978, China adopted a policy of reform and opened up to the outside world by
adopting open-trade policies. The CCP also declared that it was the responsibility of local
governments in counties and townships, to provide basic education and reinforced with the
Decision on the Reform of the Educational structure. In 1986, the Compulsory Education
Law of the Peoples Republic of China which is a nine-year compulsory education policy, was
enforced by the National Peoples Congress (China Education Center Ltd., 2014). In 2010, there

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was a total enrollment of 15,468,596 young children in 138,209 kindergartens, and 17, 388, 465
students enrolled in 280,184 primary schools which is a vast improvement compared to the
period before 1946. (China Education Center Ltd., 2014). Today, nine-year compulsory
education has been universalized in rural, poor and minority areas which has enabled good
progress in rural education and reaches 99.7% of where the population dwells (China.org.cn.,
2014).
History and Current Trends of Special Education in China
The founding of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949 gave rise to the start of special
education services in China and more schools for the blind and deaf were established at that
time. The establishment of the first Deaf school in China dates back to the 1880s (Worrell &
Taber, 2009, as cited in Kritzer, 2011). However, it was only in the late 1970s, when the equal
rights of people with disabilities started to be addressed under Deng Xiaopings Reform and
Opening (Pang & Richey, 2006). In 1980, teacher training for special educators started and in
the 1990s it became mandatory for teacher training institutions to offer courses in special
education (Kritzer, 2011). The importance of special education and providing special programs
for students according to their learning needs and abilities was recognized at the 1985 National
Conference on Education (Education in the Peoples Republic of China, 2005 as cited in Pang &
Richey, 2006).
Before the 1980s, only two disabilities, hearing and visual limitations were focused on by
special schools and students with these disabilities could only receive special education services
at the special schools. Due to a shortage of trained special educators and resources, children with
physical disabilities and those with intellectual disabilities were excluded from school, and

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children with other disabilities such as autism and learning difficulties were not recognized and
classified as having a disability (Kritzer, 2011). Today, as a result of certain laws enacted due to
the West recognizing disability rights, China recognizes six classes of disability: visual, hearing,
intellectual, physical, psychiatric and multiple impairments even though other categories of
disabilities such as learning disabilities are still not classified as disabilities (Kritzer, 2011, p. 59).
Barriers for Deaf People and People with Disabilities in China
Deng and Harris (2008) state that there are elements in Chinese society and culture that
serve as barriers to providing equal access and accommodations to education for persons with
disabilities. A clear example is that Confucianism is centered on an established social order, and
people with disabilities are placed at the bottom rung of the Chinese societys hierarchical order
(as cited in Kritzer, 2011). The family is expected to take responsibility in providing for the
needs of children with disabilities, sick members of the family and the elderly, and any
intervention by state services is of secondary importance (Callaway, 2000). Despite the fact that
the introduction of Communism appears to have diluted Confucianist philosophies, Confucianist
values are still deeply embedded in the Chinese people and passed on from generation to
generation. Therefore, this implies that it is difficult to fully eradicate and unlearn cultural
values, attitudes, and traditions that are steeped in history in any society. Confucianist values and
attitudes have negatively affected the Deaf education system as well as the lives of Deaf people
to a large extent. They serve as barriers to providing best access in education and workplaces for
Deaf people. As a result, the quality of life of many Deaf people is compromised and
discrimination is rampant (Callaway, 2000).

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In the Gallaudet Encyclopedia (1986), it revealed that China officially has over 3 million
Deaf people while another report indicated that the country has 20.57 million people (as cited in
Harrington, 2010). However, a 2003 United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) study estimated
that more than 120 million people in China have a hearing loss which is the more credible
source. Callaway (2000) reported that 3.5 to 5 percent of Chinese children who are hearing
impaired have at least one Deaf parent. It has been estimated that only approximately thirty-three
thousand attend schools catered for Deaf children. In the whole country, there are about two
thousand Deaf schools but only two Deaf principals and four hundred Deaf teachers are
employed in the Deaf education field. The schools are often found next to welfare factories that
employ a certain quota of people with disabilities which guarantees employment for Deaf
children after they complete school (Callaway, 2000). This meant that it was common for Deaf
people who attended the same school to work in the same workplace, and strong and lasting
bonds among Deaf individuals developed as a result. Interesting information. New idea, new
paragraph and you have a nice transition.
Another barrier is the lack of access to interpreting services for Deaf people in China.
Furthermore, due to the philosophy that Deaf people are visual, career options for them are
restricted to the arts in fields such as calligraphy, painting, sewing, graphic design and animation
(Discovering Deaf Worlds, 2008). Deaf people in China are also barred from getting their
drivers license and from driving (Bleckly, 2014).
In China, maintaining a good image or face is important (Callaway, 2000). Having a child
with a disability in the family is a threat to the familys face and family members often respond
to this by keeping the child hidden away at home or taking off their Deaf childs hearing aid in

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public places. Hauser (2014) reported that trying to appear normal or perceiving that having
normal hearing is superior can lead to internalized audism in Deaf children which creates lower
levels of resilience in Deaf individuals. This accounts for their high stress and anxiety levels in
school settings and social events (Lee & Prevatt, 2010). Callaway (2000) confirmed that Deaf
people in China do not take pride in their Deaf identity as some Deaf adults remove their hearing
aids in formal situations as they wish to appear without defect and also suppress their facial
expressions around hearing people when they are signing out of fear of attracting attention.
In December 1990, the Law of the Peoples Republic of China on the Protection of
Disabled persons was implemented to protect the rights and interests of people with disabilities
and ensure their equal access and participation in society (United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees, 2014). This enables the rehabilitation of Deaf children in order to prepare them to
enter mainstreams schools. However, no reports concerning discrimination of Deaf people could
be found by the Research Directorate as China restricts access to certain information and only
reveals what it wants (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 2014). Although China
took a positive step forward by adopting the Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities
(CPRD) in August 2008, it was found that the government often failed to supply information that
had credibility when it came to the UN review and manipulated the entire process of the review
(Human Rights Watch, 2012).
History and Current Trends of Deaf Education in China
The Timeline of Deaf History (2004) indicates that the origins of Deaf education in China
can be traced back to the 1880 conference in Milan, Italy, where it was declared that oral
approaches of teaching Deaf children were recognized as superior to sign language education (as

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cited in Lytle, Johnson & Hui, 2006). In 1887, two American missionaries who attended the
Milan conference established the first school for the Deaf known as the Chef School for the Deaf
in Tungchow. Yang (2002) mentioned that oral education methods, which has persisted as the
dominant method advocated by Chinese governments and Chinese educators, were adopted (as
cited in Lytle, et al., 2006). Despite this, Chinese Sign Language (CSL) developed especially in
the Deaf schools where the older children taught signs to the younger children (Yau, 1996). The
school was the first Deaf school to use some CSL. A French Catholic Deaf School was
established in 1897 that used the French sign alphabet and other Deaf schools were founded by
Chinese people in 1914 and 1931. However, it was only in the late 1950s that CSL started to
develop rapidly and become known (Jay, 2014). The formal use of sign language was not
permitted nor encouraged in the Deaf schools, and CSL was officially unknown in the early
1950s (Yau, 1996). Oral rehabilitation is the national policy for Deaf education in China and
majority of schools use Signed Chinese to supplement oral modes of communication as many
children cannot afford hearing aids (Lytle, et al., 2006).
The oral approach used in Deaf education as well as the attitudes of Chinese society
towards Deaf people hinders Deaf children from having full access to education and achieving
their potential in many ways. Callaway (2000) indicated that many rehabilitation centers for Deaf
children emphasize speech training instead of language acquisition which causes language delay
in Deaf children. Additionally, social rehabilitation is done with the aim of training or
socializing the Deaf child to fit into the mainstream hearing society. Majority of parents with
Deaf children do not make the effort to learn sign language as they desire for their child to
become normal and acquire speech. Consequently, the needs of Deaf children are not addressed.

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From my personal experience as a qualified Teacher of the Deaf in Australia, I know that an oralonly approach does not meet the needs of all Deaf children especially the ones with minimal or
no residual hearing.
The Impact of the Oral Approach on Deaf Children and Adolescents
An oral approach to education also has negative impacts on Deaf children and
adolescents wellbeing. Deaf Adolescents were reported to have difficulties in interpersonal
communication skills and maintaining social relationships, which makes them more susceptible
to loneliness, depression and social isolation (Lu, Yu, Hong, Feng & Tian, 2014). King, Josephs,
Gullone, Madden and Ollendick (1994) stated that several Deaf and hard of hearing children and
adolescents go through greater stress levels, fear, anxiety and emotional distress than hearing
people in everyday social and academic contexts, and these can develop into phobic or anxiety
disorders (as cited in Lee & Prevatt, 2010). From a personal standpoint as a Deaf individual, I
can testify to this fact as I experienced going through the oral approach at school and feeling
tense trying to keep up with social interactions in the hearing world. Exhaustion and anxiety was
common at the end of every school day and after social big hearing social functions.
Furthermore, in the 1980s, special education services were only provided for the Deaf residing in
urban areas. (Yau, 1996). This constituted about 6 per cent of the total number of Deaf children
in the country. Consequently, majority of the Deaf did not get to learn and use CSL as they lived
as individuals isolated within the hearing community, which has led to Deaf culture being weak
in China.
Signs of Progress in Deaf Education in China
Special Education Training for Educators

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Lytle, et al. (2006) pointed out that there is a principal and a party secretary-general in
every school in China and frequently these leaders were not trained in special education or Deaf
education, and were often just assigned to the post not out of choice. However, due to current
educational reform, future leaders and teachers will receive training and will enter the field based
on personal desire. In 2001, Beijing United University introduced the Hearing and Language
Ability Rehabilitation College, a branch of the Special Education Institute for the Disabled,
which was the first training teacher college for deaf children to be established. It enrolled 100
teachers per year, to train teachers to teach Deaf children in China (First College to Train Teacher
for Deaf Children, 2001).
The Benefits of Intercultural Exchanges
When it comes to evaluating Deaf education programs to identify gaps and areas of
improvement that need to be addressed, it can be highly beneficial to measure the local system
against that of a foreign Deaf education system to identify strengths and weaknesses in the
system, especially if the foreign Deaf education system has demonstrated successful learning
outcomes for Deaf children. The World Federation of the Deaf (n.d.) highlights the importance of
the usage of sign language as a first language for Deaf children and access to education in sign
language is a fundamental human right. This is also one of the philosophies of Deaf education
that America holds. Therefore, Americas standpoint contradicts with the Chinese philosophy
which stresses that an oral-only approach is crucial for Deaf children in order for them to
develop skills to survive in mainstream society as there is no accommodation for people with
disabilities in China; this serves as a barrier to many Deaf learners in China because they have

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limited access to information when spoken language is used by their families and educators
instead of sign language.(Martin, Hussey, Sicoli & Zhang, 1999).
Two Deaf American interns from Gallaudet University did an internship at the Dalian
School for the Deaf where they introduced more creative and active learning methods
characteristic of the American education system which contrasted with the Chinese teacherdirected passive learning style (Martin, et al., 1999). The interns who were skilled and successful
Deaf adults, modeled to the other teachers the value of using sign language to communicate
directly with Deaf children and gave a presentation to other staff at the school which sparked
much discussion. Consequently, the Chinese school administrators stated that they wanted to
open their minds at the school concerning communication modes. They voiced their desire to
send a teacher to undertake advanced study in Deaf education at Gallaudet so that the teacher
could share multiple standpoints on Deaf education upon her return to the school. The American
Deaf interns had gained an insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the Chinese Deaf
education system, and learnt about the Chinese culture and values (Martin, et al., 1999). Dokosi
(2014) concluded that intercultural exchanges have numerous benefits for the participants and
their respective countries as it exposes individuals to new ideas, ways of doing things and forges
strong partnerships. Therefore, China and America should continue to have such intercultural
exchanges to enhance both their Deaf education systems.
The Introduction of the Sign Bilingual Philosophy in China
In the 1970s, there were some small-scale experimental projects in Sweden and Denmark
involving research into sign language structures and sign language acquisition which led to the
start of sign language being used formally as a language of teaching instruction in the classroom

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(Markshark, Tang, & Knoors, 2014). This gave rise to sign bilingual programs for Deaf children.
In the 1980s, this movement spread to many other countries such as the United States, United
Kingdom, Australia, and in recent years in some other countries like China, Taiwan, Japan,
Spain, Brazil and Vietnam (Marshark, et al., 2014). In American Deaf bilingual schools,
American Sign Language (ASL) and English are given equal importance in the classroom and
used as the languages of instruction (Kansas School for the Deaf, 2012). In this context, Deaf
people are viewed as a distinct cultural group with their own linguistic and cultural identity
instead of being perceived as disabled (Ladd, 2003). There are many benefits to bilingual
education as it allows Deaf children to have access to equal opportunities and become active
citizens in their countries (World Federation for the Deaf, 2014).
In 1990, China recognized CSL as an official language (Eastern Red, 1998, as cited in
Callaway, 2000). The acceptance of CSL as an official language means that Deaf people in China
are on their way to being recognized as a distinct cultural and minority group with its own
language, values and norms. Throughout the 1990s, fieldwork research on Deaf children, their
families, and discussions with the Amity Foundation, a Chinese non-governmental organization,
on sign bilingual approach in Deaf education, ensued. (Wu, Callaway & Makey, 1999).
Furthermore, teacher training in sign bilingualism in some schools commenced and Amity set up
the Sign Bilingual experimental class at the Nanjing Deaf School. Currently, the Amity
foundation has a partnership with Signo, a Norwegian non-profit organization that provides
services to Deaf and Deaf-blind people in areas such as education, work assistance, housing and
culture and leisure (Signo, n.d.). Both Amity and Signo are working cooperatively on SigAm, a
project promoting sign language as the natural language for Deaf people. The objectives of

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SigAm are to establish bilingual education for Deaf children in preschool and primary school
settings, and promote cooperation between hearing teachers and Deaf teacher assistants (Signo,
n.d.). The Deaf bilingual program was designed and implemented to cater to Chinas social and
cultural background. The program has clearly reaped some positive results as there were 255
children in the bilingual classrooms from preschool to Grade 6 in ten bilingual project schools in
2012, who had received instruction from both Deaf and hearing teachers (The Amity Foundation,
2013). Additionally, this creates jobs for Deaf people in Deaf education and CSL training is
given to parents of Deaf children to facilitate the communication between them and their child. It
is evident that there is a positive change in the direction that Deaf education in China is heading.
Existing Challenges and Issues in Deaf Education in China
Despite the initial successes, many challenges still remain as the Deaf bilingual program
has reached only about 300 Deaf children even though it has been estimated that there are about
1,800,000 Deaf children below the age of 14 in China (Signo, n.d.). This implies that majority of
the children are still being taught via the oral approach to education and many also do not have
access to education and interpreters. As China is a massive country, it will be challenging to find
the right professionals and to establish bilingual programs for Deaf children in every province.
Additionally, the mindsets of many Chinese people are grounded in Confucianism, which will
make it difficult to find ways to get them to view Deaf people as a cultural group instead of as a
disability group.
Personal Recommendations from a Teacher of the Deaf
From a personal standpoint of an educator of Deaf children and comparing the Chinese
Deaf education system with the American Deaf education system, there are several

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recommendations that could be proposed to ensure that Deaf education continues to head in the
right direction and show even greater progress for Deaf children and adults of all ages. Firstly,
educators of the Deaf in every province in China need to receive training in Deaf bilingual
education. CSL classes should be taught by Chinese Deaf adults who use CSL as their native
language to educators of the Deaf, other school personnel and hearing parents. They should also
work as language models in the classroom with Deaf children of various ages. Secondly, more
Chinese Deaf adults should receive training to become teachers of the Deaf. Deaf awareness
training workshops should be conducted for professionals who work in schools with Deaf
children as well as in workplaces where Deaf people work so that the mindsets of mainstream
Chinese society can be challenged. Deaf identity workshops should be conducted by Chinese and
American Deaf people for Chinese Deaf people so that they can develop their confidence and be
proud of their Deaf identity. This is vital because any real transformation comes from within.
Consequently, Chinese Deaf people will be motivated to become advocates of the Chinese Deaf
community and campaign for their rights.
The Deaf bilingual schools in urban areas should construct student dormitories to provide
accommodation to Deaf kids from rural areas. Regular intercultural exchanges and international
school internships between China and America could be established so that new ideas can be
shared and disseminated. China should also send hearing Chinese people who are skilled in CSL
and who work within the Chinese Deaf community to Gallaudet University to undergo formal
interpreter training since access to sign language interpreters is rare. The trained interpreters can
then train other hearing people to become interpreters in China. This will enable more Deaf
people to access a variety of courses at universities as well as participate in their workplaces.

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Wong (2014) published an article titled I Was Worse Than A Tiger Mum in The Straits
Times, a Singapore newspaper publication where he interviewed a mother of two deaf boys and
wrote about how she raised both her sons. In his article, Wong (2014) quoted the mother who
said that the boys had to speak instead of relying on sign language and had to wear hearing
aids. I was concerned that every parent with a Deaf child reading the article published would
assume that the oral approach would ensure the academic success for their Deaf child.
After reading that article, I decided to write a response to the forum page of The Straits
Times titled No one-size-fits-all approach to education of deaf children to challenge and
critically interrogate the one reality that the Singapore society holds: that oral education is the
best and only approach to ensure the academic success of Deaf children in Singapore (Tay,
2014).
In the article, I presented different realities. I shared my experience as a teacher of the
Deaf in Australia and how I have seen that deaf children having access to sign language from
birth were academically ahead of those using the oral method and many of their hearing
counterparts. I also presented a balanced view by adding that the deaf children who could
access speech with supportive families also did well (Tay, 2014). My article was written to
challenge the single story that Deaf children can only succeed if they have an oral approach to
education presented in the article I Was Worse Than A Tiger Mum, and to show the risks of using
the oral approach for every Deaf child because those who cannot receive any auditory input or
access speech often experience language and academic delays. Yau (1996) indicated that the
Chinese authorities were gradually compelled to accept CSL as the main mode of educational
instruction due to the lack of auditory aids as well as the repeated failures and frustrations

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experienced by educators and Deaf children. This underscores the fact an oral-only approach
does not work for every Deaf child. Therefore, it is mandatory for the deficit views the Chinese
people, parents and educators of the Deaf hold of Deaf education and Deaf people, to be
challenged in the same way that I challenged the mainstream society with my published article.
Conclusion
The Chinese education system has been largely shaped by Confucianist values and
philosophy which has served as a barrier to many Deaf people because it ranks them as being of
a lower class to the mainstream society. The introduction of communism enabled the literacy
rates of the Chinese population to improve dramatically as the nine-year compulsory education
policy was implemented and more schools were set up. It also created more opportunities for
Deaf children and children with disabilities to receive special education services through the
establishment of special schools, to a certain extent. However, the national policy of adopting an
oral-only approach to Deaf education so that Deaf people can fit into mainstream Chinese
society has limited the potential of many Deaf individuals in China. Due to their inability to hear,
they frequently are not able to access language and important information around them. The
emphasis on speech means that much time is devoted to perfecting spoken language and time
spent on teaching the curriculum is compromised. This also has an impact on their mental health
because they often feel isolated, lonely, fearful and anxious.
Having American Deaf interns work at the Dalian School for the Deaf has revealed the
benefits of intercultural exchanges. The introduction of Deaf bilingual education in China in 10
schools has altered the direction of Deaf education in a positive way. However, only about 300
hundred Deaf students in the whole country have had access to that which indicates that much

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work still needs to be done. The bilingual philosophy needs to be extended to the entire country
and the recommendations for advancement that were highlighted should be taken on board by the
Chinese authorities. It is imperative to challenge the perceptions of hearing Chinese people to
cultivate a balanced view of Deaf education and to recognize the value of using CSL in the
classroom and at home, so that every Deaf child in China can achieve his or her full potential.

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