Theory/Review Articles
Social Processes and Outcomes of In-School Contact Between Deaf and Hearing Peers
Thomas N. Kluwin
Gallaudet University
Michael S. Stinson
National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Rochester Institute of Technology
Gina Mason Colarossi
Pennsylvania School for the Deaf
Studies of social processes and outcomes of the placement of deaf students with hearing peers cannot be easily summarized, but can be grouped into a least four major categories of focus: social skills, interaction and participation, sociometric status and acceptance, and affective functioning. We review 33 studies available since 1980 in which a mainstreamed or included deaf sample was compared to another group. Studies indicated (1) that hearing students were more socially mature than deaf students in public schools, (2) that deaf students interacted with deaf classmates more than hearing ones, (3) that deaf students were somewhat accepted by their hearing classmates, and (4) that self-esteem was not related to extent of mainstreaming. There was a tendency for studies to use observational methods with very young children, teacher evaluations with middle school children, and questionnaires with older children. Three major areas of methodology limit general conclusions: samples, measurements of variables, and experimental manipulations. The reviewed studies provide a basis for understanding the social processes and outcomes in these placement situations; however, it is not possible to make broad generalizations about effects of placement.
Correspondence should be sent to Thomas N. Kluwin, Department of Educational Foundations and Research, Gallaudet University, 800 Florida Avenue, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002 (e-mail:
Thomas.Kluwin@Gallaudet.edu).
Received November 13, 1997; revised August 15, 2001; accepted August 21, 2001
