UNDERSTANDING CULTURAL DEAF IDENTITIES OF DEAF LEARNERS IN MAURITIUS

The Deaf Acculturation Scale (DAS) was developed by Deborah Maxwell-McCaw[1] and Maria Cecilia Zea of Gallaudet University. The purpose of the tool was to measure cultural identity for Deaf and hard-of-hearing (hh) populations. Mauritius is a culturally rich and quite a complex society with diverse culture and languages being present. So far, very few studies have been conducted to understand the identity of the Deaf and hard-of-hearing population in Mauritius. The study is an attempt to understanding Cultural Deaf Identities of deaf learners studying in a special school for the deaf. Data for this study was obtained through a questionnaire that was translated to Creole language. Thirteen deaf learners filled in the questionnaires. The analysis was done using an online qualitative data analysis tool (http://www.dedoose.com) The result show that the learners identify themselves as Deaf. They are engaged in activities conducted by Deaf. This study illustrates the importance of understanding Deaf culture in order to understand the deaf learners.