Shaping the early care and education of young deaf children in Ghana

Early childhood care and education (ECCE) for deaf children in high-income countries is typically supported through early identification and timely access to family-centred intervention. In many low-income countries, however, these conditions cannot be assumed, making context-sensitive approaches essential. Drawing on interviews with caregivers of young deaf children in Ghana, this study demonstrates how social, cultural, and environmental factors shape caregiver–child relationships and supportive interactions. The findings highlight the importance of understanding local contexts when designing early childhood care and education programmes and emphasize the need to develop culturally responsive models of support that can improve language development, communication, and learning outcomes for young deaf children in Ghana and similar low-resource settings.