Early Education for Young Deaf Children and Their Caregivers in Ghana

Deafness affects 32 million children worldwide and is disproportionately prevalent in low and middle-income countries where the physical, economic, cultural, and social contexts of children’s lives inhibit access to inclusive and equitable early education. This project aims to investigate these challenges in Ghana where early childhood development and inclusive education for all is a development priority. The research team is working to co-produce case studies in rural and urban environments and survey extant practices and policies to inform a contextually situated and intersectoral approach to early education that builds on the proximal and external resources around the child. The development of research and practice in early language and communication as core foundations for learning supports SDG planning in Ghana and is relevant also to other low and middle income countries in sub-Saharan African and elsewhere.