BATOD recognises that some ToDs use the term 'hearing-impaired' synonymously with deaf.

Deaf education in Sweden

Karin Angerby, Swedish delegate to the FEAPDA council

There are two unions in Sweden of which teachers in compulsory school and upper secondary, can be members. Teachers of the Deaf have not had a union of their own since the 1960s.

There is a support association called the Swedish Association for Educators of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, which also is the Swedish member association of FEAPDA. The current Chairman is Sven-Ove Englund and the Association is represented on the FEAPDA council by Karin Angerby, and Berit Hammarstedt.

Qualifications In the past, Teachers of the Deaf in Sweden had a specialisation that consisted of 1-2 years added to their teacher qualifications, depending on what age level worked in. After qualification the individual could either work in the special school system for the deaf (funded by the government), in units with children who were moderately deaf, as a peripatetic teacher or in the pre-school.

The system is changing today. There are some students each year who attend a fairly new 3-4 year course at the University of Stockholm where they become qualified Sign Bilingual teachers. To attend this you have to be bilingual when you start. This is considered basic teacher training and is funded by government loans, as for all other university students. These teachers mainly work in the special schools. The specialisation on top of a teacher qualification is much discussed and under revision today, the question being "what do we need to meet our future pupils' needs?"

In the meantime, a lot of short courses are offered at several universities, but they do not lead to a degree as a specialised Teacher for the Deaf. In Sweden, when we talk about Teachers of the Deaf we generally mean for severely and profoundly deaf pupils. The National Agency for Special Schools for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing also organises university courses for the teachers at the six special schools in Sweden. The teachers working in the local schools today, in units or as peripatetic teachers, often do not have a full degree, but they attend the courses mentioned above and net-based courses. In the special schools there is also some on-the-job training. Short courses and conferences are well attended. All the courses, except the first mentioned, are usually paid for by the schools, government funded schools or local schools.

Remuneration A teacher's salary in Sweden today is individual, although within a certain range, depending mostly on qualifications and experience and individual work. The median salary can be compared to the median salary of a government employee and they also have the same age structure.

Nature of work There is both school-based and peripatetic work, but there is no voluntary work for teachers. Sweden has six special schools, five regional and one national, for deaf children with severe learning difficulties. The special schools are for pupils who need Sign Bilingualism, which also includes spoken instruction for those who can benefit from it. There is also one local school for the deaf and one ‘free school’. There are also some local schools and units for pupils who do not need Sign Bilingualism.

The pre-schools are bilingual and also offer spoken language as in the special schools. There are peripatetic teachers and pre-school teachers who sometimes also function as counsellors. These pre-school teachers mostly work for the county.

Apart from the Agency for the special schools there is also The Swedish Institute for Special Needs Education. They work with all special needs, and their work is mostly to inform school authorities, run short courses which are sometimes net-based, and produce special teaching materials.

Communication As mentioned above, the pre-schools and the special schools are Sign Bilingual. The pupils all need this but some, who can use their hearing with the help of technical aids, have part of their instruction in spoken language. This group includes pupils with cochlear implants. For all of them the aim is to be bilingual, with sign language and to read and write Swedish and for some also to use spoken Swedish. They all have Sign Language as a subject. Pupils who attend their local schools often get a chance to learn Sign Language if they want to.

Numbers Screening of newborns has started in some areas in Sweden. In other areas the identification is made through the regular check-ups that all children have. But early screening will be the preferred method for most in the near future.

In the special schools today there are around 600 pupils. The numbers have gone down a little during the last two years, due both to low birth rates and cochlear implants. In the pre-school and school age group there are around 20,000 under 16. This number also includes children with implants. Around 70% of the severely and profoundly deaf children who are born today get implants.

Support A child in a local pre-school or a pupil in a local school gets support from a peripatetic teacher. The amount of help differs. If it is necessary, they have an assistant. There are some children in local schools who have signing assistants. In the special schools, pupils with special needs may have assistants.

As soon as the hearing loss is identified the family is offered support through the county councils. It is the family who decides what kind of support they want. Apart from medical and technical support the county councils also have psychologists, social workers and pre-school teachers working with guidance. The parents are also offered Sign Language courses, and are entitled to 240 hours before their child reaches school age. The courses are free and participants are compensated for loss of earnings during the weeks they spend on the courses each year. The siblings are also offered Sign Language, incorporated into their regular school year, often with a summer camp too.

Survey of data No national surveys are made today that include all deaf children and young deaf people.

Role of the Deaf Community The Deaf community does not have a specific role in the school but is often involved in after-school activities and also co-operates with the special schools in different projects. The Agency for the Special Schools has regular meetings with a group of representatives from both the adult and youth associations. In the group there are also representatives of the parent associations.

Current concerns The overshadowing questions today are,
Who are the future pupils of the special schools? What do they need?
Do the schools have to develop new services, as service centres for local schools, for both their staff and parents, as well as being schools?
How do we widen the concept of sign bilingualism in people’s minds, so that it can encompass all children and young people, who need it for their emotional, social and academic development?

Useful websites with information in English

The National Agency for Special Schools for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

The Swedish Institute for Special Needs Education

The Swedish National Agency for Education

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