“Nothing About Us Without Us.” The Storied Narratives of a Researcher with Hearing Impairment

Abstract

The motivation for this study was the realization that the mantra: “nothing about us without us” is indeed a strong foundation for a better understanding of the learning experiences of learners with a hearing impairment. Therefore, analysing the lived experiences of a learner as an insider is a point of departure for the current research paper. The emphasis was to conduct a qualitative research study anchored on an interpretivist paradigm. The study adopted Sen’s Capabilities Approach in framing the lenses through which to view the phenomena under evaluation. The study analysed a journal paper about the reflections of a Deaf researcher who attended a mainstream school. The findings of the study suggested that the narratives of learners with hearing impairment seem to give a better perspective of their learning experiences. As such, hearing their stories can be used as the basis for the evaluation of teaching strategies on the one hand; and education policies that address their unique and diverse learning needs on the other. Keywords: Storied Narratives, Hearing Impairment, Special Educational Needs, Teaching Strategies, Content Analysis, South African Sign Language (SASL)