Deaf Education in Ethiopia

This chapter provides an overview of deaf education in Ethiopia. It covers the country’s history of special needs education, the history of deaf education, the status of sign language, teachers’ training and communication approaches in the classroom, and classroom access services. In addition to describing student- and school-related challenges to deaf education, it outlines coping mechanisms used by deaf students and opportunities created by legislation. Deaf education in Ethiopia is better than it was decades ago, but it still has far to go. Recommendations are made to pave the way forward in the education of deaf and hard-of-hearing learners. Where available, relevant empirical evidence is provided.