Papers of the British Association of Teachers of the Deaf

Minute books, 1885-1907; account books, 1885-1916; examination results, 1885-1907; registers of teachers; general correspondence, 1885-1916; Joint Examinations Board correspondence, 1902-1920; miscellaneous items, 1887-1917; publications of the Association, 1885-1991. Publications include: The Teacher of the Deaf volumes 55-74, 1957-1976; the Journal of the Society of Teachers of the Deaf , volumes 6-24, 1907-1976; the Journal of the British Association of teachers of the Deaf (including the Association Magazine), volumes 1-11, 1977-1987; the Journal of the British Association of Teachers of the Deaf (not including the Magazine), volumes 12-16, 1988-1992; British Association of Teachers of the Deaf Association Magazine , 1988-1992; the Journal of the Society of Teachers of the Deaf , issues 6-22, 1970-1976; the Teacher of the Deaf , volumes 58-74, 1960-1976; various printed booklets, 1959-1971.

In the late nineteenth century there was little formal education provision for hearing-impaired children. The education available, largely through the work of charitable organisations, was often limited in content and difficult to obtain. Dr Richard Elliott (1836-1923), a pioneer in the education of the hearing-impaired, believed that the academic potential of deaf children was consequently not being fully realised and that it was necessary to "ensure a supply of teachers of knowledge, experience and ability " if the situation was to be vastly improved. Although some teachers of the deaf at that time held specialised qualifications, these were generally unrecognised by the government and the wider teaching community. Thus in 1885, Elliot founded the College of Teachers of the Deaf and Dumb in order to establish and administer an officially recognised diploma for teachers, generally based in schools, of hearing-impaired children.

The CTDD was not the only institution to award this type of diploma. In 1907, therefore, following negotiations between the CTDD, the Society for Training Teachers of the Deaf and for the Diffusion of the German System, and the Association for the Oral Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb, the Joint Examination Board was formed. The three colleges remained as separate entities, but a single, unified diploma was introduced. In 1918 the CTDD merged with the National Association of Teachers of the Deaf and was renamed the National College of Teachers of the Deaf (NCTD). After a split in 1959 when a break-away group formed the Society of Teachers of the Deaf (STD), the two bodies reunited in 1976 to become the British Association of Teachers of the Deaf (BATOD).

Reference: Deposit file

The collection is arranged chronologically by document type.

Permission is required from officers of BATOD for access to Examination Board minutes and examination results. Please contact the Archivist for more information. Access to all registered researchers.

This collection was originally deposited with the University of Birmingham's School of Education and was transferred to the Special collections Department in 1999.

See full catalogue for more information.

Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the University Archivist, Special Collections. Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Special Collections will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.

Further deposits are expected.