VISIBILIZING PERCEPTIONS OF DEAF STUDENTS: LEARNING IN THE CONTEXT OF BILINGUAL EDUCATION

The article reflects on the learning of deaf students in the Early Years in the bilingual educational context, based on their perceptions. The theoretical frameworks that support the discussions are in the field of deaf education, such as Fernandes (2012), Quadros (2008; 2017), among others. The empirical research material consisted of semi-structured interviews with six deaf students from a municipal bilingual education school for the deaf in the city of Imperatriz/MA. The content analysis as proposed by Bardin (2011), indicated that: a) bilingual school emerges as a fruitful locus for the linguistic acquisition of deaf children and learning of written Portuguese; b) the valorization of deaf culture in this space provides the opportunity for the constitution of deaf identity, in the face of living with deaf teachers. Therefore, bilingual education practiced in schools designed for this purpose, has proven to be effective for effective learning and consistent training in different areas.