The place of turkish sign language in the education system and its social acceptance: A qualitative study

This study examines the place and social acceptance of Turkish Sign Language (TİD) in the education system in Turkey. The linguistic and structural obstacles that hearing impaired individuals encounter in their education processes are discussed in the context of the official recognition of TİD and its place in historical education policies. This research was conducted using the case study approach in qualitative research methods. A case study is used to examine a specific event or process in depth within its context. The use of the case study method in researching the place and social acceptance of Turkish Sign Language in the education system was carried out by providing detailed data on the place of Turkish Sign Language in education and social acceptance with individuals who are experts in the field and who work in schools or communities or who have received training. During the data collection process, semi-structured in-depth interviews with a total of 20 volunteer participants who received sign language training, including Turkish Sign Language teachers, translators and interpreters were analyzed, and issues such as how TİD is positioned in the education system, what needs to be done for its dissemination, and teachers' knowledge of TİD were evaluated using the document analysis method. The findings of the study show that TİD does not find enough place in the education system and that hearing impaired individuals still face various obstacles in their education. It has been determined that there are deficiencies in the position of sign language, which is the mother tongue of hearing impaired individuals, in the education curriculum. In addition, it has been observed that awareness of sign language is low in society and that the full participation of hearing impaired individuals in social life is negatively affected due to this situation. As a result, in order for TİD to take a greater place in the education system, all teachers in the field should receive sign language training, TİD departments should be opened in universities, TİD should be included in the curriculum and used more effectively, TİD training should be programmed in Public Education Centers like foreign language levels, social awareness activities should be increased, and it should be supported by the state and media. This study offers suggestions for hearing impaired individuals to take part in education and society under more equal conditions.