Inclusive Disaster and Emergency Management - Collaboration Between Deaf and Hearing College Students

Oct 15, 2026

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College students training for service careers require authentic, collaborative learning experiences regardless of hearing status. This case study analyzes a classroom collaboration in emergency management between University of Central Missouri and Gallaudet University, where deaf and hard of hearing and hearing undergraduates worked remotely on a disability-inclusive project. Teams assessed community hazards, proposed risk-reduction actions, and navigated differing communication preferences, including written English and ASL.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Disability-Inclusive Disaster and Emergency Management Research Background

Limited Higher-Education Evidence for DHH Training

Framing DHH Perspectives and Inclusive Terminology

DHH Population Context and Legal Accommodation Framework

Communication Challenges in Public Service Training

Shifts in Social Work Programs and Disaster Education

Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 2025, 38(3), 559-573 559 Inclusive Disaster and Emergency Management: Collaboration Between Deaf and Hearing College Students Hayley Stokar¹ Audrey C. Cooper¹ Kota Takayama¹ Abstract College students training to become service professionals need authentic and collaborative learning experiences regardless of hearing status. This case study examines a classroom experience created by educatorsin Emergency Management at the University of Central Missouri and Gallaudet University’s Social Work and International Development programs. Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) and hearing undergraduate students from different disciplinary fields collaborated remotely on a disability-inclusive emergency management project to assess a community hazard and propose risk reduction actions, all while navigating different communication preferences (e.g., written English and American Sign Language [ASL]) . One major finding was that, while non-signing hearing participants gained cultural and communication competencies through working with DHH peers who were ASL users, DHH participants felt they did not benefit as much from the experience and were put in a position to teach about inclusivity, which was beyond their role as students. This study underscores the importance of pre-planning for cultural competency in university settings and illuminates pedagogical components necessary to deliver inclusive training that prepares professionals to lead and serve DHH populations. Keywords: emergency management, deaf people, college students, American sign language Over the past two decades, research on disability-inclusive disaster and emergency management has documented the barriers that deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) communities face with participation in emergency preparedness and management activities around the world,(Calgaro et al., 2021; Cooper et al., 2021; Craig et al., 2019; Engelman, 2012; Engelmanet al., 2013; Takayama, 2021; Tannenbaum-Baruchiet al., 2014) . In the same period, research on disability-inclusive disaster education (DiDE) for school-age children with disabilities has begun to affirm a cultural and linguistic view of DHH people (e.g., shared values and features of experience and shared signed languages), rather than a disability view (Nikolaraizi et al., 2021; Ronoh et al., 2015; Stough et al., 2020) . However, there is almost no research on DiDE training in higher education settings with DHH students (Takayama et al., 2022) to inform best practices for classroom instructors and disability resource professionals, many of whom may have limited experiences with DHH populations. The call to center DHH people’s perspectives in training and programming that involves them has gained traction over the past two decades (Harris et al., 2009; Singleton et al., 2014) . Whereas the broader disaster and emergency management literature includes work on higher education settings (Farris & McCreight, 2014; Know et al., 2019; Takayama et al., 2022; Thayaparan et al., 2015) and cross-institutional training partnerships (Knox & Harris, 2016), few publications address pedagogical approaches to emergency management training with DHH students or training that aims to bridge communication divides between DHH and non-deaf (i.e., “hearing”) students in higher education. Note that this paper follows Ruiz-Williams et al.(2015) and Kusters & Friedner (2020) in using “deaf”as an inclusive term, as well as the inclusive abbreviated form “DHH”; this reflects a shift away from scholarly use of “d/Deaf,” which distinguishes between individuals who do or do not identify with deaf culture and sign language, and toward recognizing all deaf persons regardless of their respective identities. 1 Gallaudet University 560 Stokar et al.; Inclusive Disaster and Emergency Management DHH people represent a substantial segment of the U.S. population. According to the 2021 American Community Survey, an estima

FAQs

How did deaf and hearing students collaborate in the emergency management project?

Students collaborated remotely across disciplines to assess a community hazard and propose risk reduction actions while using different communication preferences, including written English and ASL.

What did the study find about benefits for signing versus non-signing hearing participants?

Non-signing hearing participants gained cultural and communication competencies through work with DHH peers who used ASL, while DHH participants felt they needed to educate others on inclusivity beyond their student role.

Why does the paper emphasize pre-planning for cultural competency in university settings?

It highlights that inclusive training requires cultural-competency planning and specific pedagogical components to prepare professionals to lead and serve DHH populations.

Oct 15, 2026

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