About

The Institute

The Victorian Deaf Education Institute (VDEI) is the centre of expertise in deaf education in Victoria. Through VDEI, the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development is committed to improving educational outcomes for deaf and hard of hearing children and young people from birth to 18. 

With Victorian government funding of $9.2 million over the next four years, VDEI’s goal is to provide professional learning opportunities across the disciplines involved in deaf education, to facilitate research and innovation into best practice, and to enable improved access to learning through technology based solutions. 

VDEI enables hundreds of professionals each year including mainstream teachers, teachers of the deaf, audiologists, speech pathologists, psychologists, and speech and language support staff to have the opportunity to build their expertise in providing improved learning support to the 3000 Victorian children and young people with hearing loss. 

VDEI will be a world-class learning centre - a place where individuals and groups can connect, converse and access the resources necessary to learn and innovate for the advancement of deaf and hard of hearing children and young people from birth to 18 in Victoria.

Background

In 2008, the Department undertook a review of deaf education in Victoria - What is my future? – A Review of Deaf Education in Victoria. Involving broad community consultation, the review found that deaf school leavers demonstrate significant language delays and achieve lower school completion rates than their hearing peers. Evidence suggests that, given the right environment, educational outcomes of deaf and hard of hearing students should be virtually equivalent to that of their hearing peers.

The review identified the reforms needed to ensure this outcome is achieved. Those reforms were: improvements in educational support and workforce sufficiency; early diagnosis and family-centred support; equity and fairness in access to services across Victoria; and ongoing support, monitoring and intervention in deaf and hard of hearing children from 0-18 years old.

A key recommendation of the review was to establish a Victorian Deaf Education Institute to play a pivotal role in building the required knowledge, skills and workforce capacity for individuals working with deaf children and young people in an educational setting. This extends to providing localised provision through outreach services in mainstream schools and partnering with families and the community.

Strategic Plan/Aims

In partnership with schools, universities, early childhood and deafness professionals, the Victorian Deaf Education Institute:

• runs an innovative professional learning program for teachers and allied health professionals involved in the delivery of education programs for deaf and hard of hearing children. The 2011 program will include international speakers and a Masterclass series which will provide Victorian education professionals supporting deaf and hard of hearing children across a range of educational settings with the opportunity to enrich their skill base and teaching strategies
• strengthens access for deaf students and education professionals to learning programs and curriculum through the use of digital technology and a pilot program enabling the use of iPads and real time captioning in classrooms
• implements a research program to enable classroom innovation and evidence based practice. Key priorities are to develop effective literacy strategies, a research project examining models of best practice in education service delivery and an exploration of ways to improve deaf students’ school completion rates.

 

VDEI logo

Community consultation was an important process in creating a logo design. A series of consultations with community stakeholders comprising education professionals, deaf community representatives and parents fully informed the identification of a preferred logo. Based on feedback from this consultation process, our logo design and rationale were selected.

The VDEI logo reflects the diversity of needs of children, regardless of their level of hearing loss, communication mode, cultural or educational environment. The logo design also reflects an inclusive, accessible, and outward looking educational approach. It incorporates concepts of innovation and pushing technological boundaries and promoting openness to new ideas. Its fluid motion promotes the idea of continual learning and change, connectedness and bringing together a local and global network of skills and expertise in an environment of community, diversity, dynamism, energy and positivity.