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More than 50 years of educating teachers of the deaf at the University of Zagreb – study programs and research in the field of surdology

There is more than 50 years of tradition of educating teachers and therapists (SLTs) of the deaf at the University of Zagreb, at the Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences in Croatia. Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences is the only higher education institution in the Republic of Croatia that creates and offers well established university-level programs in three areas: speech-language pathology, educational rehabilitation (‘special teachers’) and social pedagogy, in addition to developing high- quality research as well as clinical best practices in these areas. The first curriculum in the field (4 semesters) was established at the Teachers' College in Zagreb in 1947, educating teachers of the deaf and teachers of the blind for the work in special schools. In 1962 the College of Special Education was founded, and two years later it became the University constituents. The first program in speech and hearing sciences was established in 1965. In 1973 College changed its name to the Faculty of Special Education, and in 1997 to the Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences. Today’s study program for educating teachers of the deaf does not exist in the way it was earlier. Courses in the field of hearing impairments are incorporated in study program of speech and language pathology (SLP). SLP program is based on the recommendation of Bologna Declaration on the European space for higher education: In the European Union, the Education of Speech and Language Therapists is situated on a Bachelor or/and a Masters level (3+2). Based on these recommendations we created our SLP programs, and started with the undergraduate study in the academic year of 2005/2006. Duration of the study: three years (6 semesters) ; ECTS: 180 credits ; professional title: Bachelor of Arts in Speech and Language Pathology (BA). In the academic year of 2008/2009 we started with the graduate study program. Duration of the study: two years (4 semesters) ; ECTS: 120 credits ; Academic degree: Master of Arts in Speech and Language Pathology. The study programs include fundamental theoretical knowledge of: 1. Fundamental speech and language pathology disciplines such as: aphasia, dysarthria, dyspraxia, communication disorders, developmental speech-language disorders, feeding and swallowing disorders, dyslexia, hearing impairments ; 2. Auxiliary disciplines such as: biomedical sciences, language and behavioral sciences ; 3. Research methods. Faculty today consists of seven departments among wich is the Department of Hearing Impairments whose members are holding courses, projects and research in the field of surdology. In the SLP program the field of hearing impairments is covered with compulsory courses: Audiology, Introduction in hearing impairments, Rehabilitation of speech and hearing I. and II., Clinical practicum, Croatian Sign Language 101-402. In the past ten years, the scientific, teaching and professional work of the members of the Department has largely been focused on the affirmation of Croatian Sign Language and on creating the prerequisites for the bilingual education of deaf children, in addition to its focus on the hearing-speech approach. Recent projects conducted by the members of the Department, or projects in which we were involved: Bilingual communication between deaf and hearing people ; The basic grammar of Croatian Shn Language (HZJ ; , Youth noise- induced-hearing-loss prevention program ; Presbycusis - unrecognized public-health problem and the initial support in the City of Zagreb ; Stay tuned - support for the people with acquired hearing loss ; Multimedia technology as support to communication and education in children with hearing impairment ; Equal in local community and beyond with your help (...) Sign Language and Deaf Culture Research Laboratory is the place for scientific and professional projects, as well as the teaching place for students in the Croatian Sign Language course (HZJ 101-402). The clinical unit of the Faculty is the Centre for Rehabilitation where one of the units is the Unit for Hearing Impairments. There we offer counseling parents, speech and language assessment for the children with hearing impairment, therapy and habilitation. This is also the place for SLT students’ practical work.

educating teachers of the deaf ; University of Zagreb ; study programs and research

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