The role of the school and familiar environment on the development and inclusion of a deaf student

Abstract

With the Law nº 14,191/2021, bilingual education becomes a fundamental right of deaf students, consolidating itself as an important legal provision for school inclusion. The increase in the enrollment of deaf children in the first years of Elementary School and adherence to the National Literacy Child Commitment is seen as a challenge for teachers who must have taught literacy by the 2nd year of Elementary School. This research is a case study carried out in a municipal public school in Maceió-AL, through class observations and interviews, aiming to examine how the school and family environment enable the inclusion of a deaf child in the first year of Elementary School. As a theoretical contribution to deafness and educational practices with deaf people, this article highlights the works of Strobel (2013), Gesser (2009), Skliar (2026) and Karnopp (2004). The results showed that there is an effort on the part of the school community to promote the inclusion and development of deaf children, but despite legal advances, educational practices aimed at inclusion and promoting the development and learning of deaf children are still a major challenge for the school, due to gaps in the teacher's professional training, the lack of proficiency of the school community in Brazilian Sign Language (Libras), the lack of accessible resources and materials and a curriculum that considers Libras as the first language (L1) and the language of instruction, that is, the Portuguese language in written form as a second language (L2).