Dr Powell is a part-time senior lecturer in specialist teaching of the deaf and hard of hearing at the Canterbury University College of Education, Health and Human Development.
She was recently awarded a $10,000 Winston Churchill Fellowship to undertake overseas study throughout next March, which could help improve mainstream education for deaf and hard of hearing children.
Dr Powell will travel to the United States, Hong Kong and Australia to visit leading organisations with co-enrolment programmes.
Insights gained could "drive better outcomes in New Zealand'', a fellowship trust spokesman said.
Dr Powell said this research was "important'' because deaf education in this country was at a crossroads, and discussions had begun on "how we best support and educate deaf children''.
About 95% of deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) were mainstreamed at their local New Zealand school, with or without specialist support.
Many people applauded the right of children with disabilities to attend their local school, but some had "mixed feelings'' about the outcome for deaf children.
Some DHH pupils could become "socially and linguistically isolated'', where they were the only DHH person.
Support for the educational and social achievement of deaf learners ultimately had to comply with New Zealand's international obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Mainstreaming programmes usually had only a single DHH pupil in a general classroom, she said.
"Co-enrolment'' also involved educating groups of DHH students with their hearing peers, but several DHH pupils, and up to a third of the class, participate. Co-enrolment also usually involved co-teaching by a regular teacher and a specialist teacher of the deaf.
