Being a Dyslectic in Norwegian Secondary School

Abstract

Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty. A The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences of young people with dyslexia in secondary school in a Norwegian context and provide insight that might be used to support the students. The research question for the study is as follows: What experiences do dyslectic students have in secondary school regarding their dyslexia? A phenomenological approach was adopted to explore dyslectic students’ experiences. Purposive sampling was used to identify 4 young people who met the chosen criteria. The data-gathering tool was individual semi-structured interviews. The data were analysed through a thematic step-by-step analysis process. Four themes with several subthemes concerning the experiences of young people diagnosed with dyslexia emerged. Theme 1: Personal coping strategies related to schoolwork. Theme 2: Foreign language torment. Theme 3: Emotional impact. Theme 4: Struggling with educational support. A main finding of this study is the significance of teacher competence for students with dyslexia. The study has identified the need for teachers to understand the students’ learning difficulty, provide alternative tasks and have competence in how to use software teaching aids to support pupils with dyslexia. Keywords: adaptive teaching, dyslectic students, dyslexia, phenomenology, secondary education