embracing the wind: an autoethnography
Open Access
- Author:
- Mills, Philip R
- Graduate Program:
- Educational Leadership
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- October 07, 2013
- Committee Members:
- Kai Arthur Schafft, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Kai Arthur Schafft, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Joseph M Valente, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Nona Ann Prestine, Committee Member
Charles A Hughes, Committee Member - Keywords:
- Deaf
Deaf Education
Hearing Impaired
autoethnography - Abstract:
- This autoethnographic research is based on the personal experiences of the researcher whose purpose was to explore the issues and challenges of educating deaf children. This genre of qualitative research makes use of the researcher’s experiences to explore the culture(s) involved through an insider’s perspective. The primary source for data in this research is the personal history of the researcher as related in narrative form. Two field experiences were conducted as a means of further enhancing the data set used to answer the research questions. The literature search was guided by the topics and themes which were evident in the researcher’s self-narrative. The field experiences were planned and shaped by reflection on the written self-narrative, interviews with family members who were involved in the self-narrative, and artifacts from the researcher’s life. This blending of storytelling and research led to several conclusions concerning the education of the deaf. The current trends in education concerning the placement of deaf students and standardized testing indicate a need for more in-depth education for prospective administrators. It also concluded that the education of the deaf must be approached from a cultural, holistic perspective to address its various deficiencies.