A Front Row Seat: A Phenomenological Investigation of Learning Disabilities

Abstract

Based on prior research and theory, we propose a conceptual definition of instructional communication that is holistic, transactional, expansive, and assessable. Second, we extend instructional communication research to test this definition by engaging students with learning disabilities (SWLDs) in interviews and focus groups, employing a phenomenological methodology. Specifically, 21 college SWLDs reflected on their lived experience and shared their perceptions of competent and incompetent instructor communication. Important connections between the proposed definition of instructional communication competence and the ten emergent themes that resulted from phenomenological description and reduction confirm that the proposed definition is valid conceptually and operationally, at least as represented by this study. The central metaphorical interpretation that emerged from this study ‘being in a front row seat’ recognizes not only the interest, involvement, and desire for inclusion by SWLDs, but also the need for teacher instructional communication competence with respect to this population. Future research should test this definition in other communication contexts beyond the classroom and should take into account the diversity of learning disabilities students may manifest.