Joint Education of Deaf and Hearing Students at the Campus Vivant´e in Morocco - Inclusive School Development with Signed and Spoken Languages

The “campus vivant´e” is a Moroccan school, that started teaching Deaf students alongside with their hearing peers in 2015. From 2018-2019, a collaborative study was conducted between Fabienne Schwartz from Humboldt University, Germany, and the campus, researching how joint education with hearing and Deaf students can be realised. The aim of the study was to identify possible measures and courses of action that are crucial for a sustainable, inclusive school development with both spoken and signed languages. The study followed the Action Research approach, involving the staff as co-researchers in the whole school development process. The data collection was conducted in three steps: 1. Needs analysis via document analysis, problem centred interviews with staff and school management; 2. Participatory observation in classes and meetings (e.g. steering committee) over the course of seven months; 3. Conclusive problem centred interviews with staff and school management. The data was analysed using qualitative content analysis (Kuckartz 2012) and led to the development of an action plan that was implemented during the research period. The concluding data gathering resulted in a collection and consideration of possible measures for other pedagogical organizations. Key results of the study show that the joint education of Deaf and hearing students affects all three levels of school development (human resources, instructional and organisational development, see Rolff 2018): It highly impacts the staff due to the sudden need to teach and communicate in a different language with their students, making in-service-training and personal motivation highly relevant. Consequently, the instruction must be adapted in method, planning and realisation. Daily life has to be bilingual and adapted to the need of the Deaf, requiring the whole organization to change. One of the most effective steps in the overall development was hiring new Deaf teachers, making teamwork a crucial part of school life.