This exploratory study discusses the identity construction of young deaf people in Jordan through their own interpretation and the perspectives of their families. It is based on qualitative data derived from focus groups and semi-structured interviews. The findings show that schools and family environments remain predominantly exclusionary in socializing young deaf into the construction of an identity of disability. However, young deaf people view themselves as a sub-group within a larger collective culture. This study takes into account the wider differences inherent in gender issues, as is significant in the conceptualization of young deaf identity in the Arab world.
Abu-LughodL. (1998) Remaking Women: Feminism and Modernity in the Middle East. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
2.
AhmedD. (2007) ‘Gender, Disability and Islam: Living with Visual Impairment in Bahrain’, unpublished PhD thesis, University of Warwick, Coventry.
3.
Al-MakhamrehS.Lewando-HundtG. (2008) ‘Researching ‘‘at Home’’ as an Insider/Outsider: Gender and Culture in an Ethnographic Study of Social Work Practice in an Arab Society’, Qualitative Social Work7(1): 9–21.
4.
Al-MakhamrehS.LibalK. (2012) ‘The Middle East: Expanding Social Work to Address 21st Century Concerns’, in LyonsK.HokenstadM.C.HueglerN.PawarM. (eds) A Handbook of International Social Work, pp. 451–65. London: SAGE.
5.
BarnesC. (1999) ‘Disability Studies: New and Not so New Directions’, Disability and Society14(4): 577–80.
CrabtreeS.WilliamsR. (2011) ‘Ethical Implications for Research into Inclusive Education in Arab Societies: Reflections on the Politicisation of the Personalised Research Experience’, International Social Work, available online at: DOI: 10.1177/0020872811416486 (accessed 12 December 2012), pp. 1–14.
8.
CrowleyH.HimmelweitS. (1992) Knowing Women: Feminism and Knowledge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
9.
DamajM. (2007) ‘The Social Construction of Disabling Identities: Severely Visually Impaired Children in Lebanon’, unpublished PhD thesis, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
10.
DillB.NettlesS.WeberL. (2001) ‘Defining the Work of the Consortium: What Do We Mean by Intersections’, Connections1(1): 4.
11.
FrenchS.SwainJ. (2010) ‘Disability’, in ShawI.Briar-LawsonI.OrmeJ.RuckdeschelR. (eds) The SAGE Handbook of Social Work Research, pp. 406–17. London: SAGE.
12.
HabibL. (1995) ‘‘‘Women and Disability Don’t Mix!’’: Double Discrimination and Disabled Women’s Rights’, Gender & Development3(2): 49–53.
13.
HanafieA. (2008) ‘Implications for Deaf Student’s Integrations into Hearing Schools: Professionals Perspectives Who are Teaching Deaf and Hearing Students’, a paper presented at the eight workshops for Arabic association for institutions working with deaf, pp. 145–84, King Fahed Cultural Center.
14.
HeugtenK. (2004) ‘Managing Insider Experience’, Qualitative Social Work3(2): 203–19.
15.
Higher Council for Affairs of Persons with Disabilities (HCD) (2012) ‘The Working Plane for the National Strategic Plane for Persons with Disabilities from 2010–1015’, pp. 1–94, Amman, Jordan.
16.
IsraeliteN.OwerJ.GoldsteinG. (2002) ‘Hard-of-Hearing Adolescents and Identity Construction: Influences of School Experiences, Peers and Teachers’, Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education7(2): 134–48.
17.
JamborE.ElliottM. (2005) ‘Self-esteem and Coping Strategies among Deaf Students’, Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education10(1): 63–81.
18.
LeighI.MarcusA.DoboshP.AllenT. (1998) the ‘Deaf/Hearing Cultural Identity Paradigms: Modification of the Deaf Identity Development Scale’, Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education3(4): 329–38.
19.
MarscharkM.BullR.SapereP.NordmannE.SkeneW.LukomskiJ.LumsdenS. (2012) ‘Do You See What I See? School Perspectives of Deaf Children, Hearing Children and their Parents’, European Journal of Special Needs Education27(4): 483–97.
20.
MaysJ. (2006) ‘Feminist Disability Theory: Domestic Violence against Women with a Disability’, Disability & Society21(2): 147–58.
21.
McIlroyGStorbeckC. (2011) ‘Development of Deaf Identity: An Ethnographic Study’, Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education16(4): 449–511.
22.
MertensD.GinsbergP. (2008) ‘Deep in Ethical Waters: Transformative Perspectives for Qualitative Social Work Research’, Qualitative Social Work7(4): 484–503.
23.
Ministry of Education (MOED) (2012) ‘Annual Statistical Report about the Deaf in Jordan 2012/2013’, Department of Special Education, unpublished paper in Arabic, pp. 1–10, Amman, Jordan.
24.
MorrisJ. (1992) ‘Personal and Political: A Feminist Perspective on Researching Physical Disability’, Disability, Handicap & Society7(2): 157–66.
25.
MontelaroJ. (1996) Producing a Womanist Text: The Maternal as Signifier in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple. Victoria, BC: The University of Victoria.
26.
NaborsN. A.PetteeM. F. (2003) ‘Womanist Therapy with African American Women with Disabilities’, Women & Therapy26(3–4): 331–41.
27.
OliverM. (1987) ‘Re-defining Disability: A Challenge to Research’, Research Policy and Planning5(1): 9–13.
28.
PetersS. (2000) ‘Is There a Disability Culture? A Syncretisation of Three Possible World Views’, Disability & Society15(4): 583–601.
29.
ShakespeareT. (1994) ‘Cultural Representation of Disabled People: Dustbins for Disavowal?’, Disability and Society9(3): 283–99.
30.
ShawI.GouldN. (2001) Qualitative Research in Social Work. London: SAGE.
31.
TurmusaniM. (2001) ‘Disabled Women in Islam’, Journal of Religion, Disability & Health5(2–3): 73–85.
32.
WehbiS.El-LahibY. (2007) ‘The Employment Situation of People with Disabilities in Lebanon: Challenges and Opportunities’, Disability & Society22(4): 371–82.
33.
Wells-WilbonR.SimpsonG.M. (2009) ‘Transitioning the Caregiving Role for the Next Generation: An African-centered Womanist Perspective’, Black Women, Gender & Families3(2): 87–105.
34.
World Wide Hearing (WWH) and Higher Council for Affairs of Persons with Disabilities (HCD) (2012) Available online at: www.worldhearing.org (accessed 22 December 2012).
