The inclusive education for deaf students in the Iberian-American University Corporation of Colombia

Abstract

The research undertaken in the Iberian-American University Corporation of Colombia was aimed at characterizing the process of inclusive education for deaf students in this University, determining the main shortcomings, difficulties, as well as the potential to successfully develop this process. During the research process there were used different techniques and procedures, emphasizing the implementation of systematic observation, in-depth interview and analysis of documents. The work was carried out with an intentional sample of 6 deaf students from different programs, as well as 5 teachers from the Centre who directly serve this population. The main results obtained showed that the essential shortcomings and barriers faced by deaf people at the University and which limit the quality of the process of educational inclusion towards them, are fundamentally in that teachers do not have communicative competence to interact with them, there is not a favorable linguistic environment concerning the Colombian sign language, and materials and educational products are not made with any required accessibility. There could also be described the role of the interpreter of sign language and the value that the deaf students attributed his permanence in the college.