The group of students with learning disabilities entering higher studies is growing every year. This is because during their high school years, these young people are encouraged to try higher education in order to increase their chances in the job market. About 10% of the student population suffers from a functional disability and thus has support needs and these can vary enormously in nature and degree. Among the various disabilities we include both visible and invisible (developmental) disabilities such as motor, visual and auditory impairments, but also developmental disabilities such as ADHD, autism/ASS, DCD (coordination disorder), dyslexia, dyscalculia. Dyslexia and dyscalculia together constitute the largest group, i.e. almost half of all students applying for individual education and examination measures. Several studies (Waters & Torgerson,2020; Firth et al., 2013) have found that the extent to which students with learning disabilities received understanding and support from school was an important factor in succeeding in higher education. The purpose of the research project is to map the knowledge and attitudes of teachers at HOGENT regarding students with learning disabilities.Do they have knowledge about learning disabilities and their impact on studying? Do our teachers maintain an inclusive attitude or are they cautious about students with learning disabilities?We also want to find out if there is support to start working on designing a universal educational design so that we can offer broad basic care to all students and as a result students with learning disabilities will have to request fewer individual reasonable accommodations and thus feel less strongly targeted. This will also allow us to make recommendations towards professionalization initiatives for teachers.
Leerstoornissen is een onderzoeksproject van Research Centre for Learning in Diversity.
Sandrine De Coster
01/10/2022 - 24/09/2023
PWO-middelen
PWO_Projectmatig onderzoek