Social (Justice) Issues Education Among American Sign Language/English Interpreters

<b>Abstract</b><br>This exploratory study examined the experiences of American Sign Language interpreters in regards to social justice education (SJE). SJE is a recent trend in the ASL interpreting profession, and one that is not without controversy. This is the largest study to date on social justice in ASL interpreting, and the first specifically on social justice education in the field. For this study, a random sample of members from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) responded to an anonymous survey (n=1,207, response rate 34%) which asked about educational experiences and interpersonal discussions on social justice issues. Surprisingly, results show that a large majority of respondents (76%) have already had SJE training, and/or have studied SJE topics on their own (84%). Training formats and content varied. Results seem to support literature on SJE in other fields, showing that longer courses correlate with more positive outcomes. Most people also reported that SJE had a positive impact on their work overall. Respondents did report both strong positive and negative reactions, however. Results of this study outline where SJE in interpreting needs to improve to follow “promising practices.” Educators and leaders may use these results to consider which SJ topics most students have already studied, and which are still unfamiliar. Finally, this initial dataset is intended as a possible baseline for future studies, to measure the actual impact of SJE on interpreters and the communities they serve. The dataset is available for secondary research.<br>