Bernice Adekeye, a PhD candidate in Education, has won the 2025 Rebecca H. Rhodes African Inclusive Literacy Research Prize to study Nigerian parents鈥� beliefs about early bilingual exposure of young deaf children. The $5,000 award, presented by the Association for the Development of Education in Africa and the Comparative and International Education Society, will help her take a closer look at parental perspectives about Nigerian Sign Language and spoken languages.

鈥淚 hope this study will generate meaningful insights to support parents as they navigate the bilingual language acquisition journey of young deaf children in Nigeria. By understanding the beliefs that shape their decisions, we can provide more tailored guidance to help parents make informed language and educational choices,鈥� Adekeye says. 鈥淏eyond individual families, the findings of this research can also inform policy advocacy. With evidence-based data, we can design early intervention programs to provide relevant support to parents of young deaf children during this critical period.鈥�

The noted that Adekeye鈥檚 proposal was selected from a competitive pool of applications. The committee praised its clarity and methodological rigor, and highlighted how this project builds on Adekeye鈥檚 work as founder of the Luminous Deaf Scholastic Initiative (LUDESI), a nonprofit in Nigeria focused on improving educational outcomes through collaboration with parents, educators, and policymakers.

As a teacher of deaf students in Nigeria, Adekeye frequently encountered parents who were wary of introducing sign language to their children. She recalls meeting one parent of a congenitally deaf five-year-old who was focused entirely on medical intervention and speech development.

鈥淚 offered professional guidance, suggesting that enrolling the child in a Deaf school could facilitate exposure to a visually accessible language at a critical period for language development. Unfortunately, their perception of signed language and deafness, shaped by societal stigma, prevented them from acting on the recommendation,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 until several years later, after the medical interventions proved unproductive, that the parent returned to seek support in enrolling the child in a Deaf school.鈥�

That experience has reinforced her desire to pursue this research. 鈥淭he foundation of learning for every child begins at home through early language exposure. When there鈥檚 a gap at this foundational stage, learning becomes especially difficult for prelingually deaf children,鈥� Adekeye says.

In her graduate courses here at Gallaudet, Adekeye has had conversations with fellow educators who share her concerns. 鈥淢any of them, who previously taught in middle or high schools, expressed how challenging it is to build literacy and language skills on a weak foundation,鈥� she says.

Adekeye notes that in the United States and other developed countries, this kind of research is already being conducted. 鈥淗owever, beliefs are culturally situated. That makes it even more important to study this concept empirically within the Nigerian context 鈥� a country with different cultural and institutional values, and educational access for deaf children,鈥� says Adekeye, who has firsthand experience with those differences from her childhood.

Born in Lagos, Adekeye grew up in a family of church leaders and had a childhood 鈥渞ich in love, activity, and learning.鈥� When she started school at age 4, she quickly rose to the top of her class, and represented her school in debates and various performing arts. And then she fell ill with meningitis.

鈥淓verything changed in my third year of high school when I became deaf,鈥� Adekeye says. 鈥淎s a child, I had dreamed of working in the medical field and saving lives. But becoming deaf shook my confidence and clouded my sense of what was possible, especially in a less inclusive country. I had never met a successful deaf adult before, so my future became uncertain.鈥� She continued her education in a mainstream school without any accommodations.

She found her way again after enrolling in the Special Education program at the University of Ibadan. 鈥淎s I grew to understand the value of what I was learning, I made myself a promise: 鈥業f I can no longer save lives, I will commit myself to saving the destinies of deaf children,鈥欌�� says Adekeye, who is now pursuing her PhD to make that dream a reality. 鈥淚 hope to emerge as a leader who contributes meaningfully to improving the education of deaf children in Nigeria, and across the globe.鈥�

Studying at Gallaudet has allowed her to significantly build on her background knowledge and foundational experience in Deaf education. 鈥淭hrough coursework, I鈥檝e engaged deeply with theoretical frameworks around language acquisition, early intervention, and bilingualism. I have had access to rich scholarly resources and opportunities to critically examine existing research while being encouraged to interrogate them within my own cultural and national context. These academic experiences have helped me to refine my research focus and ask meaningful, culturally grounded questions about deaf education in Nigeria,鈥� she says.

Informal learning experiences 鈥� interacting with Deaf faculty, peers, and professionals from diverse backgrounds 鈥� have proved equally important. 鈥淭hese engagements have challenged me to think more inclusively and to appreciate the wide range of experiences within the global Deaf community,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t has helped me become more reflective about the intersection of language, identity, culture, and access, especially when supporting families of young deaf children.鈥�

Gallaudet has also provided her with opportunities to share her work at conferences and connect with mentors and researchers in the field of early intervention and bilingual education, says Adekeye, who credits those experiences with building her confidence and shaping her advocacy skills.

鈥淢y time at Gallaudet has equipped me with the knowledge, tools, and vision to lead this research, not just as an academic endeavor, but as a transformative project that can improve real outcomes for deaf children and their families,鈥� she says.