Journal article
Preservice teachers’ motivations and perceived benefits of undertaking an introductory course in Auslan
International Journal of Inclusive Education , Vol.30(5), pp.989-1004
2026
Appears in UniSC Supported Open Access Outputs
Abstract
Deaf or Hard of Hearing (D/HoH) students face engagement challenges in mainstream classrooms. While teachers may have favourable attitudes towards teaching students who are D/HoH, they are not adequately trained or equipped with specialised knowledge and skills required to cater for their unique needs. The Australian Curriculum identifies Auslan as an Australian language that may be offered to students in F-10 schools. This paper stems from a larger project that offered an introductory Auslan course, taught by an Auslan (L1) instructor, to university students as an engagement initiative. The study used an exploratory qualitative multimethod design (questionnaires and interviews) to investigate the motivations and perceived benefits for preservice teachers (PSTs) participating in this pilot course (n = 15). The results of the study reveal that PSTs were highly motivated to undertake the introductory course, to extend their learning beyond the course, and to incorporate Auslan signing into their classroom practice. PSTs perceived professional benefits (E.g. alternative mode of communication, classroom management) and personal benefits (E.g. engagement with D/HoH community) from undertaking the course. Findings have implications for PST training and professional development to promote inclusive classroom practices for all students, particularly those who are D/HoH and those with additional communication needs.
Details
- Title
- Preservice teachers’ motivations and perceived benefits of undertaking an introductory course in Auslan
- Authors
- Tracey Sempowicz (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Education and Tertiary AccessRebecca Burtenshaw - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Education and Tertiary AccessAruna Devi - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Education and Tertiary AccessPeter Grainger - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Education and Tertiary Access
- Publication details
- International Journal of Inclusive Education , Vol.30(5), pp.989-1004
- Publisher
- Routledge
- Date published
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.1080/13603116.2025.2511895
- ISSN
- 1464-5173
- Copyright note
- © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
- Organisation Unit
- Indigenous and Transcultural Research Centre; Graduate Research School; School of Education and Tertiary Access
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991131904802621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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