title: Social studies instruction in signing programs for deaf and hard of hearing students: an ecobehavioral assessment.
abstract: Social studies is a devalued subject in public schools. Worse, apparently no research exists on social studies instruction for students in deaf education. The researchers investigated the allocation of time for social studies in 7 residential schools and 1 day school. Using an ecobehavioral assessment tool, they observed 30 deaf students (grades 3-5) and 17 teachers for 60 school days. Three questions guided the study: (a) How much time was used for social studies? (b) What activities were more prevalent during social studies instruction? (c) Were there differences in the target of teacher attention between high- and low-performing students? Results showed that yoking social studies and language arts resulted in a doubling of the amount of time devoted to social studies content. Hands-on activities were most prevalent across grades. Practices that meets the recommendations of the National Council for the Social Studies are suggested.
authors.affiliation: College of Education, University of the Cumberlands, Williamsburg, KY, USA.
authors.forename: M Lynn
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Woolsey
authors.forename: Tina J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Herring
authors.forename: Susan T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Satterfield
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D012048:Correction of Hearing Impairment; D003479:Curriculum; D003638:Deafness / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D060345:Education of Persons with Hearing Disabilities; D004519:Education, Special; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D017150:Public Sector; D012112:Residential Facilities; D012574:Schools; D012813:Sign Language; D012942:Social Sciences / Q000193:education*; D013334:Students; D013997:Time Factors