Assessment of narratives in Libras (Brazilian sign language) for deaf students in Elementary School: formation, application and pedagogical implications

• Grant number: 23/08589-5
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: February 01, 2024
• End date: January 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Education - Specific topics in Education
• Principal Investigator: Cristina Broglia Feitosa de Lacerda
• Grantee: Cristina Broglia Feitosa de Lacerda
• Host Institution: Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Ana Paula Zerbato ; Maria Josep Jarque Moyano
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/18710-9 - Analysis of application of narrative assessment instruments in sign language (NarVaL - Libras) and developments, BP.TT; 24/10098-2 - Application of the sign language prodution assessment instrument (NarVaL - Prod Libras) and developments, BP.TT; 24/11123-0 - Scientific and social dissemination of actions to evaluate narratives in Libras (Brazilian sign language) for deaf elementary school students, BP.TT

Abstract

The school development of deaf students depends a lot on their mastery of the Brazilian Sign Language (Libras). However, Libras is not developed daily in the family environment, and this domain needs to be achieved mainly in the school environment, in which deaf students are expected to have peers in their language and to be able to interact through it. However, the school environment has little tradition of working with oral/sign language development, generally focusing on activities with written language as their goal. Regarding the deaf student, little is discussed about practices that favor the development of Libras in the school space, and their academic performance has been very worrying. The debates around the pertinence of oral practices for the development of the subject as a whole indicated the opportunity to think about teacher training aiming at the application of a proposal of evaluation of narrative in Libras (understanding and expression) to deaf students, as a way of monitor and implement their development in sign language. In a post-doctoral internship, funded by FAPESP and CNPq in 2017, we developed a first version of two 'sign language narrative assessment instruments': sign language expression assessment instrument' (NarVaL Prod Libras) and 'assessment instrument in sign language' (NarVaL Comp Libras). Understanding Sign Language' (NarVaL Comp Libras) together with researchers from the University of Barcelona. As a way of advancing the investigation, we translated and adapted the two instruments to Libras (Lacerda et al, 2020; Montes and Lacerda, 2022) to promote work with sign language in school spaces that serve deaf students, aiming at their development and Enhancement. Our objective in this opportunity is firstly to i) train managers and teachers of the municipal public network of São Paulo for the application and analysis of data resulting from the use of the two instruments and in follow-up, ii) to encourage reflection on the results in order to intervene in the practices developed in spaces of bilingual education for the deaf. To this end, managers and teachers - from all years of Elementary School - from Municipal Schools of Bilingual Education will be involved, in collaborative training for knowledge, use and analysis of the NarVaL Pord Libras anda NarVaL Compr Libras instruments to be applied in the set of deaf school students. The results obtained will be discussed with managers, teachers and researchers from Brazil and Spain in a collaborative way and from them pedagogical intervention plans will be elaborated aiming at the development of Libras. It is intended to apply the instruments in the fifth, eleventh and seventeenth month of project execution, in order to continuously reflect on its results and evolution, and it is also expected to contribute to the improvement of the quality of teaching Libras for this student. These results can also contribute to public policies related to Bilingual Education for the Deaf, so that this public is better prepared to achieve better educational results in their school trajectory. (AU)