ferent initiatives which empowered hearing parents and provided support forthe home to school transition for the child.

The third section (six chapters) addresses the school environment, schoolplacement issues, curriculum access and the characteristics of deaf learners.The first two chapters consider the social and academic issues relating to seg-regated and inclusive education. These discussions are set within the US con-text but still raise pertinent issues for UK readers. Self-esteem is exploredmore fully in the third chapter where the importance of a deaf studies curricu-lum is discussed. Following this there is a chapter that reports on developingeducational programmes in Mongolia and Nepal. The final two chapters dis-cuss deaf students’ learning styles and individual differences.

Although you would not settle down to read this book from cover to coverin one go, it is an invaluable source of original material and references if youare interested in research into deafness and development. It is a pity thatthere are not more British contributions. That said, this does not underminethe integrity, depth and breadth of this comprehensive and weighty volume.

Reviewed by Ruth Swanwick, School of Education, University of Leeds

EDUCATING DEAF STUDENTS: FROM RESEARCH TO PRACTICE

Marc Marschark, Harry G Lang and John A AlbertiniOxford University Press, New York, 2002. 277pp, £25.59ISBN 0 19 512139 2

This American book is intended for teachers, parents and other professionalsand aims to describe the state of the art of deaf education from the perspectiveof ‘what we know, not what we want’. In this the writers have been largelysuccessful, avoiding the ‘rhetoric, politics and confusion’ to present anaccount based on an up-to-date review of research. There are ten chapters,addressing issues on the history of deaf education, hearing and hearing aidsincluding cochlear implants, emotional and mental health, early develop-ment, language and communication, cognitive development, educational pro-grammes, reading and writing, and the school curriculum.

This book does not serve as a detailed practical guide. Some general rec-ommendations for practice are made, but parents, teachers and others lookingprimarily for suggested strategies for intervention should look elsewhere. Also,some readers might be disappointed that a number of important topics arecovered very briefly (for example, audiology) or hardly at all (the role of per-sonnel supporting deaf pupils in mainstream schools). Those expecting cate-gorical answers to key questions will also be disappointed; the authors

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acknowledge that the book raises more questions than answers.Understandably, also, the discussion is from an American perspective whichon some points will make many readers want to refer elsewhere to comparethe situation in their own country, and on other issues, for example the schoolcurriculum, results in a discussion that is not directly relevant to a non-USaudience.

What the book does provide is a scholarly yet highly readable review of thecurrent research evidence, acknowledging where gaps in knowledge stillremain, and drawing some general pointers for practice. Experienced educa-tors of deaf children will find it a useful and stimulating update. It is also likelyto become a core text for teachers of the deaf in training. It will also be usefulto researchers, both those familiar with the field and those new to deaf educa-tion. Parents of older deaf children will find most chapters interesting and use-ful, but given the focus on issues rather than facts or advice, it would not bethe first book I would recommend to parents of recently diagnosed children.There is only one specific reservation I have about the book; that is where theauthors argue that the research evidence supports the use of sign language inall cases of early childhood deafness (referring to all children with severe andprofound hearing loss). I would be more cautious about interpreting the evi-dence in this way.

Overall this is a deeply thoughtful, engaging and balanced account that pro-vides a valuable overview of current knowledge based on an extensive reviewof the literature, and that invites the reader to reflect in depth on issues thatare fundamental to practice. It is a wise book that should be read widely.

Reviewed by Stephen Powers, Lecturer in Education, School of Education,

University of Birmingham

GESTURE, SPEECH AND SIGN

Edited by Lynn S Messing and Ruth CampbellOxford University Press, Oxford, 1999. 256pp, USD85.00ISBN 0 19 852451 X

In the decade since the publication of David McNeill’s groundbreaking bookHand and Mind: What Gestures Reveal About Thought (McNeill, 1992), psy-chologists, linguists and computer scientists have begun to take a morefocused interest in the relationship between gesture and language (both spo-ken and signed). Lynn Messing and Ruth Campbell’s edited collectionGesture, Speech and Sign examines some of the most important questions inthe field: What is the relationship between language and gesture? Did one

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