L’educazione democratica alla prova della sordità

Storia, problemi, proposte

Abstract

Contemporary societies are characterized by a pervasive presence of “global” forms of communication. At the same time, it must be said that the pace at which the “form” of the information spread, and culture becoming global, does not actually correspond
to the pace at which the latter has become truly accessible, indeed. From this point of view, one emblematic case is deafness, which is the sensory, and consequently cognitive, condition in which at least 30 million people in the world live (WHO 2021, 40).
These are people who still have considerable difficulties in terms of access to education, information, in terms of knowledge that involves their social life. Consequently, they may eventually face restrictions in the exercise of their citizenship rights. This phenomenon can be attributed to two interrelated factors: the audism typically exhibited by hearing individuals and the paucity of sign language exposure in educational settings. However, to achieve a truly democratic education, it is essential to implement sign-word bilingualism.