Challenges and Coping Measures in the Education of the Deaf and Hearing Impaired in Times of Pandemic

ABSTRACT:

With the announcement of the pandemic by COVID-19, social isolation and the closing of schools were some of the measures adopted to contain the coronavirus contagion, leading to a worldwide educational crisis. As a reactionary measure, it is expected that pedagogical strategies have been created to mitigate the current educational impacts on the education of the deaf and hearing impaired. In order to outline the main strengths and weaknesses of educational actions and strategies in the teaching of these individuals in the pandemic period in 2020 and 2021, a bibliographic review was carried out through a systematic search on the platform of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), using the keywords “education”, “pandemic” and “deaf”. Te main dificulties in remote teaching for the deaf consisted of the lack of access to materials and technologies for participation in classes, especially in poorer countries, and a shortage of teachers and interpreters in sign language. It was possible to identify that digital platforms, assistive technologies (subtitling, real-time translation, accessible teaching materials for the deaf, among others), training and literacy of parents, students and teachers in sign language were protagonists as a suggestion of confrontation. However, the participation of the State in the training and qualification of teachers and interpreters of Brazilian Sign Language (known by the acronym LIBRAS) are extremely necessary for the achievement of the inclusive Bilingual Education.

KEYWORDS:
Methodological strategies; Sign language; COVID-19