Bilingual education with a sign language: the case of Flanders

The establishment of bilingual education Dutch – Flemish Sign Language (VGT) for deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing children led to the examination of existing organisational form(s) of bilingual education and the discussion of their potential implementation in the Flemish educational context. For this, a rapid review was conducted followed by a qualitative data collection. The data collection included a Flemish and an international academic think tank and five focus group discussions with education staff from mainstream and special education, itinerant teachers, and parents. The research findings identified co-enrolment as the most feasible and desirable organisational form, capable of providing high-quality education, when the further mentioned preconditions are met. The research has yielded valuable insights into bilingual education in Flanders and provides guidelines for schools interested in offering bilingual education with a sign language.