Practices and Challenges in Deaf Education in Kenya

Abstract

For a long time in Kenya, deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) people were excluded as a result of myths and beliefs surrounding hearing loss and did not receive equal and fair treatment in education as compared to their hearing counterparts. Many parents with DHH children preferred to educate their hearing children, leaving their DHH siblings at home. The myths and beliefs surrounding DHH people in Kenya still center around the causes of disability and the ability of an individual to participate in daily social and economic activities. Hearing loss was, and in some communities still is, associated with witchcraft, the breaking of taboos, or punishment by God. A common belief is that DHH people cannot engage in productive work, much like those with a mental disability (Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, 2014; Viehmann, 2005). The negative beliefs about hearing loss have led to discrimination and dehumanizing treatment of the DHH in educational institutions, social places, and workplaces, leading to low self-esteem and poverty among DHH children and adults. Common Kiswahili terms in Kenya used to refer to the DHH include bubu and kiziwi. Bubu, a word used to describe people who cannot speak, belongs to a noun class used to refer to animals, not humans. Kiziwi belongs to a noun class used to describe objects. The use of these terms indicates that DHH individuals are perceived as lesser beings or lifeless things (Viehmann, 2005). However, recently there has been a remarkable improvement in how the Kenyan community is beginning to perceive hearing loss and DHH individuals, especially from a social perspective that …