The education of Asian deaf children

Abstract

Any discussion of education needs to be set in the broader social context. In discussing education of Asian deaf children, the socio-economic position of Asian communities, and debates and developments in multicultural and anti-racist education provide important background. We briefly summarise these before considering the education of deaf Asian children. In Britain, Asians (predominantly of Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin) now constitute the largest minority ethnic population, numbering 1.48 million people (CSO 1996). Of this, 840,000 are of Indian, 477,000 of Pakistani and 163,000 of Bangladeshi origin. The population is heavily skewed with relatively few people in the retirement age and a high proportion in the under-16 age group. This is reflected in the child dependency ratio (ratio of children to the working age population) of 72 for the Pakistani/Bangladeshi and 37 for Indian, compared to 33 for the white population (cited in CSO 1996). The skewed age distribution translates directly to disproportionate need for schooling.