Caringbah’s Joyce Tan hopes to make a difference to children with hearing loss, now that she has finished her studies.
Ms Tan is one of 75 trained graduates who were recognised at a ceremony at Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children for completing their postgraduate qualifications in sensory impairment.
She completed her Masters in Special Education (Hearing Impairment) through the institute’s Renwick Centre, the largest provider of postgraduate education programs in the education of children with a sensory disability in Australia.
The centre operates in affiliation with the University of Newcastle.
Ms Tan was offered a teaching position at the institute’s Garfield Barwick School – a school for children who are deaf and use spoken language to communicate.
“I always knew I had an interest in helping and teaching children but it wasn't until I started my university teaching practicals that I realised I wanted to be a specialist teacher,” she said.
“Working in the field and following and observing talented teachers made a huge difference.”
Shortly after she started her new direction in special education, Ms Tan’s mother told her that her aunty was deaf.
“My mum’s aunt was unable to communicate with her family with sign or spoken language and used only basic gestures,” Ms Tan said.
“During this time, education in China was not accessible for all and an understanding of children with additional needs was very limited.
“This gave me further reason to help the children I teach.”
She says it is critical that children with hearing loss continue to receive specialist support from trained teachers.
“All children deserve to have access to education,” she said.
“Specialist teachers are extremely important as they provide the additional support to enable the same learning opportunities as any other child in Australia.”
